Sowing Chilli Seeds

[LAYLASDADDY]

Hi

I am just after a little bit of advice, last year i succesfully grew 5 chilli plants,
apache, scotch bonnet and cheyenne. I started growing them in may time, i was wandering when is the earliest i could start to sow them.
Iv got room indoors for them. I havnt got a heated prop though only seed trays with propagator lids, will that do???
Any advice much appreciated

Thanks
Lee

[Nicos]

Hi there- and welcome to the Vine!

There are a lot of peeps on here just starting with their chilli sowings indoors.
(I'm going to start my peppers during the first week in February)
They do need heat though.
We have a lot of chilli experts on here ( certainly not me!!!!)...have a look on the various threads until one of them replies to your question!

[Bren In Pots]

Hello and welcome to the vine Lee, here's a link to the early chilli sowing thread its full of useful advice :-

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ead_54087.html

[grenhouse]

I don't normally start mine until end of feb/beginning of march, however the horticulture teacher at school says I can put them in the heated propagator there in exchange for some seeds!

[northepaul]

I sow mine at the end of Jan BUT always use a heated prop - they need a good heat to get going. If you dont have any, it might be worth hanging on acouple of months

[Florence Fennel]

Hello Lee and welcome to the Vine. Do follow the advice already given, I just jumped in to say I've germinated my cayenne chillies on a warm windowsill, sowed them about 10 days ago. I'll be sure to remove them from the windowsill at night to keep them warm and give them plenty of light during the day. Job Done. I keep saying I'll get a heated prop, but I've been successful so far over the years without one. Sometimes I've started them off in the airing cupboard. Good luck with your growing.

[brad1001]

Hello Lee and welcome to the Vine. Do follow the advice already given, I just jumped in to say I've germinated my cayenne chillies on a warm windowsill, sowed them about 10 days ago. I'll be sure to remove them from the windowsill at night to keep them warm and give them plenty of light during the day. Job Done. I keep saying I'll get a heated prop, but I've been successful so far over the years without one. Sometimes I've started them off in the airing cupboard. Good luck with your growing.

same here.
i started mine off 2 weeks ago.scotch bonnet,jalepeno,choclate beauty and traffic lights.
they were in the airing cupboard until germinated then popped on the window sill.i know its still early but i did the same last year and got away with it..

[LAYLASDADDY]

Hi

Thanks for all the responses, iv put mine in a normal propagator on top of a old electric blanket, im hoping that this will be sufficient!
Iv planted 10 seeds each of Explosive ember, colorburst, birdeye and also some bell peppers.
Iv got about 20 dorset Naga seeds aswell, but i got them out of shop bought nagas from tesco, do you think i will stand much chance of growing these, also i understand germination time is a lot longer for these, does anyone know approximatley how long??

Thanks

[brad1001]

there shouldnt be any problem with germinating your nagas seeds.i did the same thing last year with seeds from a farm shop bought chillie (big jim).
i dried them out first on some kitchen roll and planted as usual.they can take anything from 1-4 weeks to germinate.but thay have to stay warm at a constant temp.thats why a majority of people stick them in the airing cupboard.

[northepaul]

Some chillis naturally take a long time to germinate anyway - habs are notorious for taking 4-6 weeks!!

[LAYLASDADDY]

what is the best way to give them light, obviously with the daytime light we have now isnt very good and its a little short when it is bright and sunny! i cant afford any proper lighting! When i first did this last year i didnt have this problem!! How long do they need light for etc?

Thanks

[Flummery]

I don't have a heated propagator but I find living room temperature and a poly bag fine. They usually take 2 - 3 weeks to pop through. Bring them into the room at night - temps can drop amazingly behind your curtains! In March time I put them in the cold greenhouse for the day but bring them in at night until mid-end May as they are frost tender. As back up you could always sow a few more in March/April. It's worth getting them on early as you get more of them to ripen.

Best of luck with it.

[Florence Fennel]

Some chillis naturally take a long time to germinate anyway - habs are notorious for taking 4-6 weeks!!

4-6 weeks - blimey! I'm glad I saw this, I think I might have given up on them as it's the first time I've tried habs. Thanks very much