Successfully Growing Peppers from Seed.

It's the time of year when we can finally start getting our hands dirty! Starting seeds in our zone (zone 3) is crucial if you wish to harvest longer-season crops such as peppers and tomatoes. You could purchase pre-started plants from your local greenhouse, but why spend $4.99 per plant when you could purchase 20-30 seeds for around CAD 2.00?

Growing your plants from seeds allows for creative freedom, being able to choose which varieties you'll grow, rather than being limited to what is at the greenhouse. You'll want to choose peppers that grow well in your zone (think daylight hours + heat), but you'll also want to consider your personal taste! I'm growing a mix of bell peppers and some hotter varieties like Anaheim and Jalapeno. We're big salsa lovers at the Lekemans, so I'm planning on making several salsas that vary in heat.

Starting your own peppers gives you the opportunity to raise and grow your plants how you see fit. Perhaps you're comfortable with fertilizers but not pesticides, or perhaps you want 100% organic. There's no real way to know how a particular plant is raised since it usually has had several homes before arriving at your local greenhouse.

Peppers take a loooong time to germinate and grow to a mature, productive size so they need to be started indoors about 8-10 weeks before the last frost date. There is a ton of information online about the type of pot, type of soil, temperature, etc., on how to start a pepper. I prefer to take a very simplified, closer-to-nature approach.

Peppers in their natural habitat don't always have perfect soil conditions, perfect temperatures, humidity, or someone who speaks encouraging psalms in their leafy ears. I tend to give all my plants the tough love approach. I use regular dirt that I siphoned from old planters, or seed pods that I can place in a tray. Nothing fancy for my babies. Sometimes, it's as low-key as a cardboard egg carton that I haven't walked out to the recycle bin yet.

There are probably gardeners who read that and are rolling their eyes at me but I have a kid and a full-time job, and there are only 24 hours in a day for me to manage everything. Honestly, I find my approach builds extremely tolerant and hardy plants (I haven't watered my caladium in two and a half weeks and it still looks beautiful).

Once the seeds germinate and have their first two true leaves, I'll give them a small dose of fertilizer (about 30-50% a full dose) to enhance the soil composition and get them through until I transplant them into a coir or other biodegradable nursery pot. When they're small, I'll keep the tray dome on or attach cellophane to keep the humidity levels high, occasionally misting the seedlings with some water. Once the seedlings get tall enough that they start to touch the dome, I'll remove it and ensure I mist them at least once a day.

When it's time for the seedlings to be put into their big-boy pots, I'll incorporate some natural fertilizers such as coffee grounds and finely ground egg shells. Coffee grounds are high in nitrogen, an essential nutrient for seedlings to help them put out lots of large and healthy leaves. Make sure you add it in a thin layer over the soil, or better yet, mix it thoroughly before transplanting your plants. Too many grounds can create an acidic environment and actually burn your plants. No more than a maximum of 20% of the pot volume should be added.

During this time, I have my grow lights on for about 16 hours per day. The thing I love about grow lights is they give me the freedom to start my seedlings anywhere I want. Mine are currently in a small bedroom on the north side of the house that gets about 8 hours of filtered sunlight, best case scenario.

After you've survived about 2 months of trying not to overlove your plant babies, it will be time to kick them out of the nest. But, before you stick them in the ground to fend for themselves, it is always a good idea to harden them off so they get used to the real world. After all, they've been living in your climate-controlled house their whole lives.

At the end of the hardening-off week, your plants are ready to be planted into their new home where they will face every adversity Mother Nature has to offer them. Now comes the real work! Hopefully, this guide will help you get through the next two months of loving and caring (but not too hard) for your peppers before they hit the outdoors.