why won't they grow for me!

[tiggyann]

I have tried and tried to get my chocolate bell pepper seed to germinate and they won't. I tried to get them to germinate by putting wet paper towels along with the seeds in plastic bags, didn't work. Think they rotted or something. Then I read that you need heat for them. So put new seeds in bag and put on top of towel and then on top of heating pad. Got pack got hot so I moved it afraid it will ruin the seeds. and the next day I had one little sprout that broke on me and then nothing else. Does it really require that much heat to get peppers to sprout or what am I doing wrong? I really want the some peppers, but they just don't seem to work for me.

[PaulF]

I've never had many problems getting pepper seeds to germinate; but then I have always planted the seeds in soilless mix just like tomatoes. They do better with a heating pad under the pan of soil, but may take more time without extra heat. I never have tried just in paper towel and plastic bag. Do you then put the seedlings in the soil? I have put old seed in a wet paper towel overnight to soften them up, but then into the dirt.

[feldon30]

I do presoak both tomato and pepper seeds for up to 8 hours before planting in a weak tea solution. I add a used tea bag to a cup of warm water and let soak for a few minutes, then discard the teabag. I then pour that water into one cup for each seed variety I am growing.

Without additional heat, just in the typical 75 degree room temperatures, pepper seeds take 1-3 weeks to germinate. If you can provide some additional warmth with a seedling heat mat up to 85 degrees, they can germinate in just a few days. I don't have a seedling mat. I just start 2 weeks earlier than my tomatoes. I presume you are starting pepper seeds now for a fall crop (to be planted mid- to late-July)?


Also I will just throw out there that I have never had much success as far as productivity out of bell peppers. The bell peppers we get at the grocery store are grown in controlled greenhouse conditions in Mexico.

If you find any Italian sweet pepper types like Carmen, Giant Marconi, Golden Marconi, they are a lot more productive in my experience and have the exact same sweet flavor, texture, and color as bell peppers. I have seen packets of Gypsy, Big Daddy, and Costa Rican on the Burpee racks which are described as Italian frying types, but I have not grown them.

[Lilypon]

Tiggyann your other option is to buy a heat starting tray....it's a little cooler than a heating pad. I think your heating pad would work on a low setting however.

However, after saying the above,I used both a seed heat starting tray and the top of our house's boiler (we live in an old house that is heated by steam heat). That boiler gets pretty (very) warm so I had to check the trays for germination often since any that germinated become tall and spindly pretty fast (if I didn't catch them right away). I used a pair of scissors and would cut out the cells of the tray as soon as I saw a seedling emerge. It's pretty fussy and demanding but I have had hot peppers germinate, on top of the boiler, within a day to a couple of days (the hot ones usually take much longer than the sweet peppers).

[Lilypon]

You might also have old seeds. Don't know where you bought yours but here some of the local stores have been known to sell last year's seeds.......the best luck I've had, with peppers, is buying them straight from a seed company like TGS/Baker Creek/etc.

Discovered one local seed company (SK's *Early's Farm and Garden*) sells wonderful fresh pea seeds. I planted them and it looks like I have 100% germination (STAY AWAY GOPHERS). I've never had that luck before but, up til now, I've always grabbed a couple of packs off the rack in a department/grocery store.