Hi,
I am trying to grow a pepper plant from a store bought pepper. It had turned red. I have been trying to germinate from seeds from that pepper. I have failed, it is frustrating. I have tried 10 seeds so for.
I usually spray water on napkins and put the seeds on it. Usually whole thing in a box on top of my refrigerator.
Where is it going wrong?
Are the seeds immature? or some thing else?
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ButterflyLady29
- Greener Thumb
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- Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:12 pm
- Location: central Ohio
As far as I know just because a pepper is red, doesn't mean the seeds are mature enough to grow. How long have you waited for them to sprout?
Most grocery store peppers are hybrid and you probably won't get fruit similar to that which you purchased. Store bought fruit seeds are fun for experimenting as long as you don't expect a whole lot from them.
Most grocery store peppers are hybrid and you probably won't get fruit similar to that which you purchased. Store bought fruit seeds are fun for experimenting as long as you don't expect a whole lot from them.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Yeah it will still be a bell pepper, but not the same variety as what you bought.
"I usually spray water on napkins and put the seeds on it. Usually whole thing in a box on top of my refrigerator."
Not something I've ever tried. We have a whole section on seed starting, with lots of info about how to do it.
Lots of things could have happened, doing that way. If the napkin dried out, your seeds would die. If it stayed too wet, your seeds could rot and die. If they sprouted and were in the dark, they would die. If it isn't warm enough (I usually start pepper seed on a heat mat), they could take a very long time to sprout.
This: https://tomclothier.hort.net/page11.html (if you scroll down a bit) has a nice chart of germination rate (% of seeds that sprouted) and how long it takes different veggie seeds to germinate at different soil temperatures.. No pepper seeds germinated until the soil was at least 59 deg F. and then it took them 25 days to sprout! At 68 deg F, they almost all sprouted and it took 13 days. Optimum was 77 deg and it took 8 days.
I don't know what all the conditions were for this experiment. For me on the heat mats, pepper seeds sprout in about four days. But the interesting part is not the absolute number of days (your results will vary) but the difference in rate and time by different temps. The conditions would have been constant across the different temps.
"I usually spray water on napkins and put the seeds on it. Usually whole thing in a box on top of my refrigerator."
Not something I've ever tried. We have a whole section on seed starting, with lots of info about how to do it.
Lots of things could have happened, doing that way. If the napkin dried out, your seeds would die. If it stayed too wet, your seeds could rot and die. If they sprouted and were in the dark, they would die. If it isn't warm enough (I usually start pepper seed on a heat mat), they could take a very long time to sprout.
This: https://tomclothier.hort.net/page11.html (if you scroll down a bit) has a nice chart of germination rate (% of seeds that sprouted) and how long it takes different veggie seeds to germinate at different soil temperatures.. No pepper seeds germinated until the soil was at least 59 deg F. and then it took them 25 days to sprout! At 68 deg F, they almost all sprouted and it took 13 days. Optimum was 77 deg and it took 8 days.
I don't know what all the conditions were for this experiment. For me on the heat mats, pepper seeds sprout in about four days. But the interesting part is not the absolute number of days (your results will vary) but the difference in rate and time by different temps. The conditions would have been constant across the different temps.
Peppers are warm plants they don't like cold. I put about 10-15 seeds on top of a 3.5 inch pot of moist potting soil. Sprinkle some potting soil over to cover. Temperature should be consistently in the 70's for best germination but will still germinate albeit slower if the temps are in the mid 60's. I you are colder then use a heat mat to germinate seeds. Water with warm, not hot water.
You can soak seeds overnight in warm water to speed germination. Potassium nitrate is not necessary for bell peppers.
Market bell peppers will sprout, I have used them before, however, sometimes not all of the seeds are viable depending on when the peppers were picked.
If I save seeds from my hot peppers I want them when they are already starting to shrivel up on the bush. It is easier to get the seeds to come out too. If peppers are picked too early the seeds may not be fully mature.
You can soak seeds overnight in warm water to speed germination. Potassium nitrate is not necessary for bell peppers.
Market bell peppers will sprout, I have used them before, however, sometimes not all of the seeds are viable depending on when the peppers were picked.
If I save seeds from my hot peppers I want them when they are already starting to shrivel up on the bush. It is easier to get the seeds to come out too. If peppers are picked too early the seeds may not be fully mature.
Success at last!
So after hearing about heat pads from Rainbow and several other websites. I decided to try heat pads but at the same time didn't want to buy one.
Here is the set up I made...
That was 6 days back. Well the peppers sprouted yesterday. I am thrilled that it worked. As rainbow had said the peppers sprouted in 5 days!. 
Thanks.
PS: I had a LED string light, those thing put out heat but not burning hot. Decided to use yogurt cups to hold soil. The plastic bag from cereal bags to cover both cups. I guess the whole setup makes it hot and humid.
So after hearing about heat pads from Rainbow and several other websites. I decided to try heat pads but at the same time didn't want to buy one.
Here is the set up I made...
Thanks.
PS: I had a LED string light, those thing put out heat but not burning hot. Decided to use yogurt cups to hold soil. The plastic bag from cereal bags to cover both cups. I guess the whole setup makes it hot and humid.