Growing Pepper Plants from seed

Pepper plants can be started from seed, beginning around March indoors. The plants can then be planted outside in the garden in mid to late May. Pepper seeds can be stated in many types of containers, such as seed flats or small cups. This years our pepper plants were started in a seed flat in a sunny window. Peppers love heat and the environment on the window sill helped the seeds to germinate. As soon as the seedlings emerged, we transferred them to cups to allow more room for growth. The seedlings were then moved to our growing light station.

We use the growing light station at this point because, if the seedlings were left on the windowsill there would not be enough light for good growth and the plants would become leggy or too elongated and thin. The growing light station consists of a standard shop light and a small platform with a height adjustment rack that holds the shop light, which can be raised or lowered very easily. The wood for the platform came from scraps of wood, left over from some of my jobs as a handyman.

In the first photo the pepper seedlings in the growing light station are shown. In the second photo the seedlings are outside ready to be planted in the garden.