Growing Bell peppers from Seeds

[JustDanO]

I'm in growing zone 5 in Northern Il. I tried to get some seeds going about a month ago but it was still too cold and not enough sun light. How long should it take before pepper seeds start to poke up and shows signs of life? I don't want to waste too much time if the seeds I have are no good. I did a search on this and was not able to find anything so I'm posting this.

Also how many weeks from seed to harvest is common?

Thank you for any information on the subject. DanO

 

[Chuck]

I'm in growing zone 5 in Northern Il. I tried to get some seeds going about a month ago but it was still too cold and not enough sun light. How long should it take before pepper seeds start to poke up and shows signs of life? I don't want to waste too much time if the seeds I have are no good. I did a search on this and was not able to find anything so I'm posting this.

Also how many weeks from seed to harvest is common?

Thank you for any information on the subject. DanO

Peppers need warm soil to germinate. They will sprout, although ineffectively, at 65F. At this low temp it could be as long as three weeks if the seeds didn't rot. The optimum soil temp is about 85F and at this temp they should sprout in about a week but usually about 5-7 days. From seed sprout to ripe pepper usually about 60 days depending on variety. It is best to start pepper seeds indoors

 

[Durgan]

I seldom grow peppers from seed since many suppliers have them at this time of year. Peppers grow well in out 5 Zone but are late summer producers. I grow eight plants and get many fruit in most years. No special effort is required for germination but some bottom warmth may assist.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?UTWHD 26 May 2014 Sweet Peppers
Four California Wonder and four Yellow Bell peppers were placed in the outdoor garden. These were purchased in a flat and transplanted to a larger pot and kept in the greenhouse for about a month to establish strong roots. When placed in the garden they were watered with a weak solution of vinegar and water to establish an acid environment, of pH of something lower than 7. The solution is about a cup of vinegar to one gallon of water. Without this treatment my peppers are misshapen and low production.A stake support was added,since the plants bend when in full production due to the fruit weight
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?QROHZ 6 August 2011 Green Pepper Harvest.
Half a bushel of large, perfect green peppers were harvested for five plants. There will be more fruit later, since many more blossoms are present. There is no scaring and absolutely no worm damage. I will make juice mixing with cucumbers and tomatoes.

 

[Beth_B]

@JustDanO, I gave up planting from seed years ago. With our short growing season it makes (to me) more sense to buy well-established, healthy seedlings from a good nursery and put them in the ground after the frost danger is over.

Peppers need lots of sun and warmth to grow, and to develop good meaty fruit. Or heat, depending on what type of pepper. Our last two growing seasons have been very rainy without a lot of sun, so my peppers (bell, Scotch bonnets and Thai dragon) were quite disappointing recently. Lots of fruit, but thin walls on the bells and insufficient heat on the small hot peppers.

If I grow them again this year I may look into @Durgan's acidifying approach.