Pepper seeds gone small, black and shriveled

[Leeds_lad]

Are these worthless? Dried them out how i usually do and those ones usually come out white and rounded but not this time. Left them too dry or something perhaps?

[Creemteez]

Hi Leeds lad,
How long have you had them? What variety are they? Have they got damp at some point - the black could be due to mould - in which case they probably won't be viable.
You can either wait until pepper planting time (Late Dec/Jan) and sow them or try chitting a couple on damp paper to see if they start to sprout.
Remember, though, that Peppers are notoriously slow to germinate, so don't give up on them too soon!
Good luck,
Teez.

[taff]

you can't let them get too dry, and no, they aren't viable. they might have been going mouldy inside the pepper, were they sort of black when they came out?

[Two_Sheds]

I'm getting a few of my drying chillies going mouldy too, which is a shame. Keep them somewhere really dry, not in the kitchen (steamy)

[Leeds_lad]

They came out of the pepper the usual white and rounded look. Yeah i t them in the kitchen, that is probably why =(

[KarlB924]

Did you harvest them from the peppers when they were still green, or fully ripened? When I was first starting to grow chillies I had the same problem. If you don't wait until the peppers are fully ripe (red, orange or yellow usually), they'll curl up or simply blacken and rot, and they certainly won't be viable.

My tip for drying the seeds, make sure there's none of the placenta left on, get all the seeds on a piece of kitchen roll, and pat them dry. Once the surface is dry, transfer them onto a new piece of kitchen roll in the centre, gather the corners and make it into a little parcel (maybe put an elastic band round the top). Pop them in a jam jar half filled with dry rice. DO NOT put the lid on. Just pop the jar in a dark, cool cupboard.

[Leeds_lad]

a mixture of both, some were green and some were red

[Two_Sheds]

Ah. Red is ripe, green isn't. Next time, to be sure, let the ripe peppers dry until crispy in a dry place (not the kitchen, not a damp shed) then harvest the seeds

[Rottie]

Cheers for this info. Very new to this growing lark, 1st year. Most things I grew did ok. Grew some hot chillies and sweet peppers but have froze the excess as I was not sure about drying them. Growing more varieties next year so will have a go at drying them and also drying the seeds for future use and giveaways.