[Arid_gardener] Re.: Jalapeno Peppers From Seed

[olin miller]

Peppers hybridize readily.  It is possible but not likely that your peppers, 
if they sprout, would be the same as the parent.  A packet of certified seed 
costs about the same as the super market peppers you are using for a seeds 
source.

Pepper seeds do not germinate easily in our native clay desert soil.  They 
also need warm soil as in March in our desert region.  But plants from seeds 
started in March will not develop enough growth to withstand the warm 
weather so the seeds should be started now in a seed starting mix that you 
can puchase at most nurseries and home improvement stores.  Or you can mix 
your own.  The are a lot of good web sites that tell you how.  Google with 
"Growing Peppers From Seed".

I planted my tomato and pepper seeds on January 2 in 1-inch square X 1.5- 
inch deep cells in 1030 trays with my own seed staring mix of shredded peat 
moss, vermiculite and perlite.  Two  of the 1030 trays fit nicely under an 
inexpensive 4' shop lite using inexpensive flourescent tubes.  All of the 
tomato seeds germinated uniformly in 7-10 days but the peppers (cherry bombs 
and sweet cherry) are just now germinating sporadically.  Chiltepines  still 
have not germinated but they usually need three weeks and then germination 
is usually not as good as with others.  The soil needs to be kept moist but 
if it is too wet the seeds may rot or the seedlings may damp off.  You can 
speed the growth process a bit by keeping the plants under the lights for up 
to 18 hours each day but there needs to be a daily period of darkness to 
promote good root growth.  The plants wil be stronger but slower to grow in 
50:50 light:darkness.   When the plants get too big for the germinating 
cells I will pot up to 4-inch pots and grow outdoors until March when the 
soil is warm enough for the plants to grow.

Olin Miller, Master Gardener Volunteer, Maricopa County AZ
http://home.att.net/~millero/VSG/desert_gardening.htm
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----- Original Message ----- From: <woodyzway at hotmail.com>
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2007 6:49 PM
> I would like to start growing jalapeno peppers.
> I have tried a few different things with the seeds I have aquired.
> First batch of seeds I got were from a slasa and I tried throwing them in 
> the soil in my backyard and in a pot with some soil in the house, no 
> luck!!
> Next and my current method is I have went to the local grocer and bought I 
> red jalapeno pepper took half of the seeds out put the rest in the fridge 
> with the pepper.I took the half that I took out of the pepper and split 
> them in half. I put half in the pot with lots of water in the house. The 
> other half i placed in a paper towel in an open tupperware container 
> filled with about 1/2 an inch of water and placed them in a dark closet 
> for about a week.
> So far I have yet to see any result from the above methods as far as 
> getting a sprout from my germanation processes.
> Please help me with a process that should produce a sprout.
>
> Shawn Wood
>
>
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