Peppers Planned for 2020
It’s pepper seed time! I decided that I would go the “all seed” route for the 2020 growing season. Although I probably won’t be doing any actual planting of seeds for several more weeks, I have all my seeds ordered. So what’s in store for 2020 in my new location?
Hot Cha Cha!
I don’t have any super-hot peppers planned for this year, but I do have some hot ones ordered! Here’s the hot pepper seeds on the way:
- Purple Jalapeno:Â Seeing as I am also growing a non-heat jalapeno, I wanted to make my spicy jalapeno a different color so I could tell the two apart.
- Bolivian Rainbow:  I grew this many years ago, then had a hard time finding it again. Success! This is mostly ornamental, but the peppers are definitely edible and quite hot. I love the way these peppers have multiple colors of peppers on the bush all at once.
- Buena Mulata: Another purple pepper. This one is more like a cayenne pepper, and about the same heat.
- Tricked You Jalapeno: This is the no-heat jalapeno. I tried to grow the “Fooled You” a few years back, and I guess this one is the newer version.
- Numex Suave Orange: Supposedly a no-heat habanero. I am not sure that every pepper will be no-heat, so I will be careful when tasting the peppers.
- Aji de Sazonar: Another no-heat pepper, this time more like a serrano in shape. Supposed to be great for drying and grinding into a seasoning powder.
- Tobago Seasoning: A no-heat scotch bonnet pepper. Again, not sure that the heat will be absent from all peppers, but I imagine that the seeds and membranes will be what’s really hot.
A few more of the non-heat hot peppers than is usual for me, bit it will be really interesting to see how “no heat” the no heat peppers will be. Hmmm, now that I have all these listed out, I may hold off on either the Numex Suave Orange or the Tobago Seasoning until next year.
Cool It!
As to the sweet peppers, here’s the run-down:
- Chilly Chilli: Just an ornamental pepper. I seem to recall I tried this a few years back and didn’t have any luck, but I wanted a low-ish growing ornamental pepper that was safe to brush up against (i.e., no hot oils getting on my hands or clothes).
- Yum Yum Mix:Â Mini bell peppers, kind of like the ones I’ve been seeing pop up in the grocery stores lately.
- Sweet Pickle: Another ornamental, a lot like Bolivian Rainbow, but with a slightly larger pepper. This one is like Chilly Chilli, supposed to be safe to brush up against, etc.
- Petit Marseillais: Something like a cross between a bell pepper and a frying pepper, but more like the bell. Supposed to be very sweet.
- Roumanian Sweet: This is a bell pepper. I grew it many years ago, it changes color from a pale greenish-white to purple to orange and then red. It was quite tasty.
All in all, this should be an interesting year for peppers.
Planting Seeds
I have a couple new seed sprouting things I want to trial, so that post will be coming up (actually, probably more like a series of posts).
Planting Pepper Seeds
Planting pepper seeds is pretty easy. Sure, all you need to do is put the pepper seed in soil, cover it and water it, but there are a few more steps along the way that can up the germination rate of your pepper seeds. Let’s take a quick look.
Seed-Starting Medium
I can’t remember the last time I planted a pepper seed outdoors, directly into the soil. The germination rate is really poor that way, and seed-starting medium (“soil”) is a much better bet.
Go to your local garden center and locate some seed-starting soil. You can use straight sphagnum moss (finely chopped) or sphagnum and vermiculite combined, if you can’t find a ready-made seed-starting medium.
Do not use garden soil directly; there are too many bacteria, spores and whatnot in it; fine for older transplants, not so great for seeds.
Containers for Planting Seeds
You’ll see in the two videos that I’ve used plain paper cups (“Dixie cups”) for my containers. Cheap and easy to find, you can poke holes in the bottom for drainage, and when it comes time for planting, the cup tears away from the soil very easily.
Planting Pepper Seeds Videos
Here are two videos I made on planting pepper seeds. The first one goes over supplies; the second is the actual technique. And after the second video, I’ll list where you can get some of the supplies online, if you can’t find them locally.
Enjoy!
And here’s part 2 of how to plant pepper seeds.
Germinating Pepper Seeds, Update
It’s been just over a week since I planted my latest batch of pepper seeds, both hot and sweet. So what’s sprouting already?
And the Winner Is…
Corno di Toro, a sweet pepper, was first out of the gate at 5 days. However, of the two seeds I’ve planted, only one has shown up yet. On the other hand, I planted two different strains (confused yet?). At any rate, the red Corno di Toro is the clear winner.
Jalapeno M was the second to sprout at 6 days, with both seeds coming on up. Jalapeno M was closely followed by Cambuci Hot, about a half day behind.
The next two sprouted at nearly the same time — Nardello Sweet and Mini Belle.
And finally this morning — Mustard Habanero. Wow, a super-hot pepper in 7.5 days — amazing.
I’m Waiting On
Some “hotties” — Hot-Banero, Peter Pepper and Bhut Jolokia. Also lagging are two more jalapenos — Jaloro and Tam Jalapeno. Brazillian Rainbow is also nowhere to be seen yet. I know — patience! And considering 10 to 21 days is the usual for hot chile peppers, it’s great that some have already shown their faces (er, leaves). Yes, the seed germination mat I talked about does work well, shaving days off the sprouting.
Thinking About a Transplant
Purira pepper (quite hot) is growing very strong and looks like it will need its final transplant before going outside to harden off for the garden in the next few days. Seeing as I did its first transplant early last week, this one appears to be a winner!
Other pepper seeds that need their final transplants before hardening off include Redskin, Anconcagua and the last of the sweet banana peppers. For Sweet Pickle I just did its first transplant on Saturday, and it appears that it will need its second transplant this weekend — wow, that was fast!
More Seeds?
I think I’ll take a short break, since I have at least 20 pepper plants at the moment, not counting the ones that are just now sprouting. Come the middle of April, it will be time to start thinking about my late Summer wave. I’m planning on the following peppers for then: Datil, Tennessee Teardrop, Ring of Fire, Yellow Cayenne and Scotch Bonnet. On the cooler side it will be more Sweet Banana, along with Anconcagua and probably Nardello Sweet. Perhaps Mini Belle again, if small bell peppers work well for me.
Have You Planted Your Seeds Yet?
I know, it’s been a cold winter, and for many of you, putting pepper plants into the garden is many months away. But for you folks in zones 8, 9 and 10 — it’s pepper “prime time”. Get planting!
P.S. — it’s a few hours later and both my Corno di Toro, both Cambuci and both Mustard Habaneros are up. Even Peter Pepper is starting to break through! What a difference a few hours can make. 🙂
