Chili Seeds, When to Plant?

[homebeerbrewer]

I was given some Bhut Jolkin seeds, and Anaheim Chili seeds. Should I start them indoors? Or should I plant them in the ground, and when? I live in Massachusetts, if that helps.

I'm new to gardening, and this forum, so sorry if it's been brought up before. I'll go do a search, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Thanks

[Dan]

Hot peppers generally (in my experience) should be started 10-12 weeks before the last frost and hardening them off/transplanting outdoors. Most hot peppers have a longer time before the fruit matures, which is why starting them early helps.

I always start my peppers indoors, only because it's too damn cold outside to start them there and i don't have a greenhouse

[lavandulagirl]

I'd definitely start them indoors. Do you make salsa? What other ways do you plan to use them? I have some awesome Black Hungarian pepper seeds, if you would like to start more than two kinds.

[homebeerbrewer]

Thanks, I guess I better start them now. It's probably only 6-8 weeks before last frost.

And yes, I do plan on making salsa. My wife makes the best salsa on the planet. No, I'm not biased at all...

[ottawagardener]

Since peppers are perennial (they just don't tolerate frost), you can take them in to ripen or to overwinter for cropping next year if you find the season isn't quite long enough I find. Or at least in my condensed season this has worked well for some of the long season ones, or ones that got off to a slow start whatever the reason.

[sandbar]

I've read that the Bhut Jolokia (Naga Jolokia, Ghost Pepper) have a very long germination time ... up to 30 days, so be prepared to be patient, I guess.

Also, you'll need about 85F heat. If you don't have a propagation mat, then you will need an ambient air temperature of 90F (soil temperature lags ambient air temperature by 5F) to achieve optimum germination rates. Temperatures below 85F will result in longer germination times and potentially rotting of the seeds.

Good luck. I'm growing them this year, too.

[lavandulagirl]

I've known some folks who cheat on the heat source, so to speak, by keeping the seed tray on top of the refrigerator, with some reporting very good results. Not sure how well it'd do with a long-germ seed like Bhut Jolokia, but it couldn't hurt, if no other warmth can be provided.

[cortona]

in my experience(second year growing buth jolokia, naga jolokia, trinidad scorpion) nodifference in germination time from jolokia family to hab family, it need surely more time tan capsicum annuum but with appropriate temps it sprouts in usualy a week.
if you do salsa with the buth prepare to use a lot of tomatoes with it..it realy byte like a dragon.. first time i tested/tasted it i was surprised by the flawor for the first 5 second and alf... after this the eath start end seems to never stop! ;ò) but never a pain are so sweet!
Emanuele

[homebeerbrewer]

Thanks for the info. I'm gonna have to figure out how to keep them warm, I don't have any space available over the fridge. I could use the heating pad I use to warm up my fermenter. Hmmm, now I have an idea...

Thanks again.

[mnjrutherford]

Question... if you warm them up, are they still chili?

[grunt]

Put the seeds in baggies, between two sheets of napkin (not paper towel, as the roots tend to go into the toweling), and hang them on the back of the cooling coils for the refrigerator.

[homebeerbrewer]

Mar 18, 2010 21:52:53 GMT -5 mnjrutherford said:

Question... if you warm them up, are they still chili?

Sure, I boiled a bunch of Serrano chilies in a beer I made a couple years go, they chilled quite nicely.

[homebeerbrewer]

Mar 18, 2010 22:49:52 GMT -5 grunt said:

Put the seeds in baggies, between two sheets of napkin (not paper towel, as the roots tend to go into the toweling), and hang them on the back of the cooling coils for the refrigerator.

I wish I could, but the fridge isn't an option for me. I have a heating pad that I use to help regulate the fermentation temps of my beer. I've got an idea, but how much light do sprouting seeds need? I'm assuming that once leaves start developing, they'll need light. But before that, they don't need any. I was thinking of using newspapers in plastic bags wrapped in the pad. Then putting them in the egg crate when the leaves start. Will that work?

[lavandulagirl]

How hot is the pad, HBB? And can you regulate it at all? Personally, I'd start them in growing medium, with the pad beneath the egg carton or whatever you plant them in. But I don't like to overhandle my seedlings. I start mine in peat cells. Transplant once to a 4" degradable container, then outside. I plant only one seed per cell. I'm very OCD! Once they sprout, what are you going to use as a light source?

[sandbar]

Historically, I've used Pro-Mix as my seed starting mix or I have mixed my own (Eliot Coleman recipe). I've read that the acidity of the peat reduces germination rates. Since I've only had average germination rates (70% with heirlooms, much higher with hybrids), I changed to a different "seedling" mix that purports to have a balanced pH this year.

Sowed seeds last Saturday and first sprouts are up today. They are on grow mats at 85F.

Received my Bhut Jolokia seeds in the mail today. Plan to sow them tomorrow.