North GA Weather and Pepper Growing Questions

[cody]

Hey everyone,

I'm new to gardening and recently took up a vegetable garden. I love sweet peppers, but recently the weather in northeast Georgia has been hot then cold, hot then cold. It doesn't end.

I started some pepper seedlings, but they seem to get stunted just as they emerge from their little seedling cups (this batch of seedlings had a transplanting accident and I did not save the plants that fell). I then tried a paper towel and ziplock tactic, and the plants will not emerge from the seeds. So, I tried the old tactic of placing them in seedling cups with potting mix, but this set of seeds will not emerge from the "soil". What can I do to encourage growth?

I've added blood meal, old coffee grounds and crushed eggs to my seedling potting mix to see if that would work.

My seeds include the following: Ferry-Morse "Pepper: Cascabella"; Ferry-Morse "Pepper: Grand Bell, Mixed Colors"; and Burpee "Sweet Pepper: Tangerine Dream".

I would love some advice on where to find heating sources or if a cold front would stunt the seeds from emerging because I placed the ziplock on the roof outside my upstairs window to give it some heat, and then a cold front came and I moved the ziplock into my attic where heat is never an issue (unless the cold lasts for a longer period).

My cable box does not produce enough heat for the seeds, nor can I use my laptop. The refrigerator is room temperature on the top and those are about the only areas when heat may be available (that I know of).

 

[headfullofbees]

Seeds need NO nutrients to germinate, they are self-sufficient.
Some seeds take longer than others, and peppers can be very slow.

 

[Chuck]

Peppers are slow to germinate to begin with. Hot peppers even slower than sweet peppers. The secret to peppers is to keep them very warm and once germinated no temperature fluctuations even if it means keeping them inside longer. They like a lot of sunshine. I have a gas cook stove with pilot lights and sometimes put my planted seeds in the oven. You can cut clear plastic 2 liter bottles, plant your seeds in the bottom half and put the top half back on, sort of like a terrarium, and put it on a sunny window seal and it will be much warmer than room temperature

 

[cody]

Peppers are slow to germinate to begin with. Hot peppers even slower than sweet peppers. The secret to peppers is to keep them very warm and once germinated no temperature fluctuations even if it means keeping them inside longer. They like a lot of sunshine. I have a gas cook stove with pilot lights and sometimes put my planted seeds in the oven. You can cut clear plastic 2 liter bottles, plant your seeds in the bottom half and put the top half back on, sort of like a terrarium, and put it on a sunny window seal and it will be much warmer than room temperature

Chuck, thanks for the idea! It'll be like a middle school project. I wish I had remembered this because I cannot find a suitable area that has persistent heat in the house without having a $300 electric bill.

 

[cody]

Seeds need NO nutrients to germinate, they are self-sufficient.
Some seeds take longer than others, and peppers can be very slow.

Thanks headfullofbees. I'll still continue to use the potting mix after I transplant into larger containers.

The seeds I have currently in seedling containers are about 20 days. The seeds in the ziplock bag are about a month old.

 

[DirtMechanic]

There are some seeding tactics, like soaking in water for a day, or chemistry like rooting hormones that seeds can be dipped in that may serve you.

 

[Silentrunning]

Due to time constraints I bought some 6 packs of pepper plants this year. I have to say that it was great and I am drowning in peppers.