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In climates where the summer highs are below 90F, afternoon sun is better so they reach an optimal temperature. In climates where normalized temp is above 90F, morning sun and evening shade is better so they don't exceed the optimal temperature during the hotter period of the day which tends...

Not the same as a tomato. Tomatoes can be planted with almost nothing above soil and will aggressively root and draw deep moisture from soil. You can literally bury 9/10ths of a tomato and it'll be happy if it gets sun on leaves. Peppers are not that. Don't plant them below the first...

Lots of rain contraindicates hot or over fertilized soil. Seems most likely you have a combination of BLS bacterial leaf spot from it splashing up on the leaves, and insect damage.

Banana peels should be completely (done) composted before use in soil. Egg shells don't need to be and do not take a very long time to become available. A little is available at a time making them a preferred source of calcium. The last thing you want is an overdose of calcium all at once or...

The point of it not being so available is that's usually better. That gives plants a continuous dose over time as it breaks down without your having to keep adding more, without it washing away from excess watering/rain, and with much less chance of an overdose. Have your soil ready before...

It's a personal decision. For every pepper it doesn't grow now the plant will get larger and you may get 10 peppers later for every one it doesn't grow now. Every pepper it doesn't grow now is a pepper you don't get to harvest earlier in the season. Every pepper that grows with ~ 45 days...

Plant leaves grow to maximize their efficiency in the light/environment they start in. When you change that environment the leaves need an adjustment period to acclimate, to be exposed a little at a time. New leaves that start under the new light shouldn't have this problem unless the light...

  Sorry, my aunt just died and my sense of humor is mitigated by travel plans when it's -5F outside. Regarding labor with both methods, that's not really possible. Given enough soil there is practically no work to soil growing including no equipment or cost, except initial...

  But if they're that rare or valuable, wouldn't you sew only one seed per starter pot?

  Don't be ridiculous. We do it all the time by providing them the other things they evolved to need like sun, water, NPK, but there are better and worse ways of providing those things which has been determined by years of survival of the fittest. If plants in the wild did...

It's far too soon to assume anything except to assume they take longer than 6 days to germinate. Some take up to a month or longer depending on conditions and how long you wait until giving up.

When that happens to mine it's usually because they had gone dormant and I forgot to water them so the soil dried out too much. The plant is lost if the entire thing is medium-dark brown. If there's any green stem left you can trim off the brown parts a couple cm above the green and keep it.

No it usually comes down to seed quality IF all else is equal (temperature, soil, water, etc). Generally chinense take longer than annuums but beyond that it might have been old seed, or seed subjected to excessive temperature (generally above 100C), or with mold spores on it that attacked...

With especially juicy seeds like those from fruit like tomatoes, avoid putting them on paper towels if you don't want to have to scrape each individual seed off the towel later, though they scrape off paper plates a lot easier than towels but still a plastic or styrofoam tray or container would...

No potting soil, or at least not that much. It holds too much moisture then practically requires either pointing a fan at them early plus more frequent watering till the roots go deeper, or spraying with hydrogen peroxide solution to retard damping off. For direct sew into solo cups, try a...

You guys must have a severe seed shortage. I start two or three seeds in every solo cup then just clip off the two that didn't grow as well, after they're significantly larger than that. What is the value of a seed versus all the extra work??

^ My experience is the opposite, that you just keep stunting the plant the longer you keep it in a smaller pot. I start out direct sewing in solo cups and they are then transplanted into 5 gal or larger before they ever fork or reach 1' tall. They most definitely have a good stable root...

You are better off mixing it into the soil a couple months ahead of time instead of at time of planting, but the quantity depends on how truly composted it is. If it looks and smells like poo still, it should not be mixed into the hole and the amount spread on top depends on the watering...

If you set your grow enclosure up to trap the right amount of heat, then the right amount of LED or CFL lighting will provide enough heat to keep the soil at 80F-80F without a heat mat, then once all sprouts are up and a little sturdier, you can add fan(s).

  I took a blow torch and cannibalized fan pin headers (among other useful parts) off of an old motherboard, cut the connector off a cell phone charger, stripped and soldered the wires onto the connector with heatshrink tubing over it for insulation and mechanical fortification.   You could skip...