Sowing My Pepper Seeds Early!
Each year, about February 15th, I sow my pepper seeds. The book says, 8 to 10 weeks before my average last frost is the BEST TIME to sow pepper seeds. So, I did for 4 years in a row. LAST YEAR, I started 6 Coral Bell Pepper seeds on Jan. 15th, as an experiment. I started 4 other varieties of pepper, Feb 15th as usual. 3 Bell Pepper, 1 Sweet Banana, 1 Spicy Lemon Drop Aiji pepper.
For those of you around the world, here in the US, we call Chili's Pepper. There are specific types of Pepper: Sweet, Spicy, Hot, Bell Pepper, Chili, Serrano, Jalapeno, Poblano, Shoshito, and so many more. Irony: I usually do not eat a lot of Pepper, and NEVER spicy! I do grow it for salsas, and also, because I cook with some pepper in some sauces and make some stuffed pepper for my girls!
Last year, my little experiment surprised me!
My coral bell pepper produced more than the rest of my bell pepper plants. My guestimate/hypothesis is, the slightly longer growing period gave me better, stronger, HEALTHIER Pepper seedlings when I finally planted them outside.
This year, I am trying two varieties of pepper, early: Big Red Bell, and California Golden Wonder Bell. Both are still sweet bell pepper. BUT, I suspect, the longer growing season will help. This year, I sowed my experiment seeds on January 21st.
Bell Peppers originally came from Central and northern SOUTH America. They grow in warmer climates and have a longer growing period than I do here in New England. The soil is warmer there, year round. My ground freezes for a few months of the year, and it takes until END of May to really get to the same temp soil as the COOL parts of the Bell Pepper native lands.
By planting indoors, I can take advantage of growing for an additional 2-3 months before my seedlings go outside into cooler soil. Hopefully, the seedlings are healthier and stronger. This year, instead of 6 seedlings, I will be trying 12 seedlings (two varieties of 6 each). Out of that, I hope to get 3 good, strong plants, of each variety Bell Pepper.
I will be experimenting and plantings the spicier plants a few weeks earlier, too. Spicier, hotter pepper (chili) typically prefer warmer soil, and longer growing. We shall see???
Check out the video, and see how I sow my Pepper Seeds! Please let me know in the comments, do you have FAVORITE Chili or Pepper you grow? Let me know, below! My gardens are in Zone 7a/7b New England.
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