Pepper seeds are real rarities - but be careful, if you buy pepper seeds from specialist retailers or online, you should plant them as quickly as possible. They are only viable for a limited period of time.
How to sow pepper seeds?
To sow pepper seeds, soak the seeds in lukewarm water for a few hours. Then mix potting soil with sand, fill it into a growing container and press the seeds in about a centimeter deep. Cover the container and place it in a warm, bright place.
Sowing pepper
Before you can sow pepper, you first need the right seeds. Unfortunately, it is not possible to grow a pepper bush from commercially available dried black or green peppercorns. These spice grains have been pre-treated, some of them fermented, and are therefore no longer able to germinate. However, you can purchase fresh seeds (€198.00 at Amazon) from specialist retailers and online. Pepper can be sown all year round, provided it is warm and bright. As a tropical plant, it needs temperatures of at least 25 ° C and a humidity of at least 60 percent to germinate, which is why the plant is best kept in a heated greenhouse or winter garden. And this is how it should work when growing your own pepper plants:
- Soak the seeds in lukewarm water for a few hours.
- Meanwhile, mix three quarters of fine potting soil with a quarter of sand - both made as germ-free as possible.
- Usually potting soil is steamed in a special pot, but you can also use the microwave.
- Don't be surprised though, the process stinks.
- The substrate mixture goes into a cultivation container and is slightly moistened with a spray bottle.
- Now let the soil rest for at least half an hour.
- Press the pre-swollen seeds, which have been dabbed with a kitchen towel, about one centimeter deep into the soil.
- Cover the growing container with glass or transparent plastic.
- Place it in a bright and very warm place, but not in direct sunlight.
- Keep the humidity high using spray mist.
It can take a few weeks until the young pepper plants poke their heads out of the ground - if it works, after all, pepper is also a very irregular germinator. As a rule, the plant is propagated via cuttings.
Care for pepper properly
It has already been mentioned that the pepper bush likes it warm and moist. Otherwise, the plant prefers a partially shaded location rather than full sun. Caution is advised when watering, as the exotic does not like large amounts of water at once. It is better to water little, but regularly. The soil should not be wet, just slightly moist. During the growing season you should fertilize once a week and only once a month in winter with a liquid container plant fertilizer.
Tips & Tricks
Since the real pepper is a climbing plant, it needs a climbing aid.
