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seeds seed starting timing

H

hot charlie

Could I get some advise on timing when to start seeds. Taking into consideration the last frost date for my area and counting backwards 5 to 8 weeks. What about germination times? If it takes for instance 50 days to germinate should I count back 50 aditional days to stIart the seeds. I dont want the plants to get too big before I can get them outside after frost danger has passed. I also want to not waste time and be behind of the growing season. I am in Southern California, I think my last frost date is around March 1st.

If this thought process is correct then the seeds that take the longest to germinate should start first.
 
If your last frost date is around March 1, I think you can plant right away and have some nice sized plants by then.
I don't have the patience to wait 50 days for seed to sprout. Most of my stuff sprouts within 2 weeks if I can get the temperatures right.
Hope this helps.
Toby
 
I am in South Carolina and I have already started some of the real slow sprouting and slow growers. The bulk of the superhots and chinense varieties will be started second week of January for a mid April plant out. For a early March plant out, I would start now if you have ample room inside for the seedlings.
 
My last frost date is May 15th - June 1st (zone 6B). I start C. Chinenses either mid-January/early February. Annuums in early March. Wilds as early as possible. Pubescens mid-February, but to get real pod yield, honestly December is best. It's crazy. Hope this helps.

Chris
 
Still getting the whole chinenses, annuums and such down. Need to take some time to research. I am going with Caribbean Red Habanero, Fatalli, several Bhut varieties, 7 pot,and Scorps

Due to space I'm shooting for 3-4 inch plants when I plant outside. Any idea how long from when I put the seed in the soil to 3-4 inch high?
 
for me i tend to plant my peppers deeper each time i repot coz i would like it to grow more roots. so it takes me longer to put them out on my raised beds. so it really depends. all i can say is start the chinenses and pubes earlier than your other plants then your annuums.

most chinenses from what i've read fully mature at 7 months, almost the same can be said for pubes. then annuums are the earliest.
 
It makes a big difference if you're starting the plants with heat and lights or just California sun. What type of lights or how much sun will the plants get?
I start my chinenses under floro lights Jan-Feb, and most others Feb-march

Germination time for me is usually 3-10 days with good seeds and a good heat source and I usually get pods in 5+ months
 
here are some chinense I started in 2009 that are 44-46 days from seed...

022409atableofheat.jpg


Chinense grow a lot slower than Annuums do so you need to start your chinense first then your annuums...I don't have a photo to show it that I can find but I would say at 44 days, the annuums will be 8-12" tall depending on the variety

IMO THE most important thing regarding germination is temperature...I have had the best luck at 86F constant...light is not important until the seeds emerge, then you need to pour the light to them...
 
This will sound stupid I am sure, but is there a site that describes the differences between chinense, pubes, and annuums? Or a thread on here?
 
if you google "species of hot pepper" you will get a bunch of sites that talk about the different species...there are only 5 domesticated species that most people grow...I don't know if any of the sites go into how fast growing the different species are...it may just have to come with experience growing them...I only grow chinense and annuums and one lowly tabasco which is a frutescens

all habaneros are chinense, all chinense are not habaneros...all of your superhot varieties are chinense...

examples of annuums are Jalapeno, Serrano, Cayenne, Banana, etc...
 
POTAWIE said:
It makes a big difference if you're starting the plants with heat and lights or just California sun. What type of lights or how much sun will the plants get?
I start my chinenses under floro lights Jan-Feb, and most others Feb-march

Germination time for me is usually 3-10 days with good seeds and a good heat source and I usually get pods in 5+ months
Click to expand...
I just set up (4)65w CFLs inside a closet for my Serrano and Cayenne plants that I brought in from the raised beds outside. I also started a germination area with one 26w CFL but the temp there is only around 60-65 degrees. The germination area is located inside of my garage. It sounds as if I need to increase the temps in the germination area to 80-85 degrees to improve it. I can probably do this with an incandesent light bulb.
 
Inside of my germination area I have some snow peas waiting to sprout. I was doing this for a test of the set-up. I have not started any pepper seeds as of yet. I was waiting to start around the end of Dec or the begining of Jan. That is why I was trying to find info about the timing.
 
Here in Wildomar we get night time temps of 20-30 degrees, but today we are expecting an 80+ degree day. My Jalapeno plant that is in a pot and still outside is loving the sunshine but I am keeping a close watch the protect against the cold nights.
 
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