Collecting chilli/pepper seeds for next year....

[ragingbull81]

Hi All,
I have planted some chilli seeds (Jalapeno and Bird Eye) today in a heated propagator. I don't know if this is the right thing to do but as I am a beginner and I got the propagator today and I have spare seeds I thought "what the hell I'll give it a go". Anyway it got me thinking about seeds and chilli seeds in general and I was wondering if you could tell me how I collect, treat and store seeds from the chilli's for planting next year or the year after? I presume they need some kind of drying or treatment of some kind?
Also I have no red bell pepper seeds so can I just buy a red pepper from the supermarket and plant the seeds from it? Do I need to do anything to the seeds before planting? And would the answer also apply to supermarker chilli's and their seeds?
Thanks in advance

[Shadylane]

To save seeds let the chilli ripen fully then simply scrape out the seeds. Put them on some kitchen paper and leave to dry indoors until they no longer bend. Then just store as you would any other seed. You can try sowing seeds from shop bought stuff. Just sow them straight out of the pepper - no need to dry or anything. They may not germinate and probably won't produce fruit the same as the original but plenty of people do it with success
Oh and yes you're doing the right thing with the propagator, just take them out once they show their heads.

[HotStuff]

Just a couple of points to add to what Shadylane said. Make sure you check the propagator daily and that the compost is kept moist but not wet. Once they pop their heads up they need light, so move them to a sunny windowsill, but make sure they don't get cold at night.

[ragingbull81]

Thanks for the swift and full reply. I'll give a supermarket pepper a go and see what happens.
Once the seeds in the propagator show their heads I'll put them on a windowsill in the sun but should I put them back in the propagator at night do you think? Cheers

[HotStuff]

Once they're up they don't need as much heat, but they do still like to be on the warm side. The thing is, depending on your house, double glazing etc., windowsills can get relatively cold over night. I have a polystyrene sheet and a heating mat that I put on the windowsill to keep their soil warm.

If you do put them back in the prop overnight I'd leave the lid off as condensation can sometimes cause problems. Moving them away from the windowsill should be good enough unless your whole house gets cold.

[Shadylane]

Yeah, and if you do leave them on the window sill leave your curtains open as cold air can get trapped there at night.

[northepaul]

Another idea is to have the propagator in a sunny place (by a south facing window etc) then all you need do is turn it off during the day, and on during the night if its particularly cold....
Saving seeds, the only thing I can add is that both peppers and chillis are quite likely to cross pollinate if nearby each other, so might be worth hand pollinating and closing the fertilised flower up.

[Two_Sheds]

how to save seeds

[Florian]

how to save seeds

Thank you, really useful

[ragingbull81]

Northepaul thanks for the reply. As a complete novice I knew nothing about cross pollinating so thanks for bringing it to my attention. I was planning to grow 7 or 8 different varieties of chilli's so how do I go about hand pollinating and closing the fertilised flower up? Thanks to two sheds for posting that link which is really helpful too

[HotStuff]

RB, hand pollinating can be done with the tip of a soft paint brush, a Q-tip, or just the end of your finger. Wait until you have multiple flowers open on a plant then with your weapon of choice move from one flower to the next giving them a gentle rub on the central bit, the idea being to move pollen around between the flowers. Hopefully you should see traces of yellow powder on your implement. Some people just gently shake the plants every now & then.

In nature this pollination can be done by insects, such as bees. If you want to save true seed from a plant then it must be isolated so that you don't get insects moving from one plant to another cross pollinating. This can be done in various ways, you can put an insect proof net cage over an entire plant, you can put small net bags over individual flowers or you can use the method detailed here:

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ies_53842.html

I haven't tried this way myself yet, but I'm going to give it a go this season.

[ragingbull81]

Thanks Hotstuff that's a great help. What does 'closing the fertilized flower up' mean? Does it just mean it wil close up when i hand pollinate it or do i have to do something else? I know these questions sound stupid to all you experienced growers but rest assured I won't ask the same questions next year! One more while I'm here...if cross pollination does happen does it affect the chilli at all or just the seeds? Muchas Gracias

[Shadylane]

You have to close it yourself which is tricky with chilli flowers - I think that's what the glue things all about. If you don't close it it will cross with others. It doesn't affect the chilli just the seeds it produces.

[ragingbull81]

Thanks Shadylane. I may just leave them and buy seeds for next year or put an insect net over a couple of them and see how I go. I'll keep an eye on new posts on the glue thread and see if it's worth me trying that. Thanks all

[HotStuff]

I know these questions sound stupid to all you experienced growers but rest assured I won't ask the same questions next year!

Not stupid questions at all, we all had to start somewhere. I'd never heard about using glue until McSee posted it the other week, so we're all still learning. We're generally a friendly bunch, so ask away.