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How and When to Sow Sweet Pepper Seeds in

OTHER SWEET PEPPER PAGES
 

The best time to sow sweet pepper seeds (for plants to be grown outside) is in the last week of March in average areas of the UK.

For plants to be grown in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill, sow the seeds one month earlier.

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Wherever your sweet peppers will eventually be grown (outside, greenhouse or window sill) the process for sowing the seeds remains the same.

STEP 1

Fill 7.5cm / 3in pots to just below the top with good quality multi-purpose peat free compost - one pot for each plant to be grown plus an extra two in case not all the seeds germinate.

Gently firm down the compost and place the pots in a shallow container of water. Leave the pots in the water for 30 minutes or so to let the compost absorb the water and is slightly damp on the compost surface.

Take the pots out of the water and let any excess water drain away for another 30 minutes.

Place one seed on the compost in the centre of each pot and gently firm it into the surface of the compost.

insert picture here of seeds on top of compost

STEP 2

Sprinkle a thin layer of compost over the seeds - just enough to cover them. You can, instead, sprinkle a thin layer of vermiculite over the seeds if you have some.  But, compost or vermiculite, they both do the same job.

Label each pot with the name of the seeds and the date sown. 

insert picture here of covered seeds with label

STEP 3

Possibly the most important part of raising sweet pepper plants from seed is where they are placed after you have set up the seeds in the pots.

Sweet pepper seeds need a minimum temperature of 18°C / 65°F to germinate and will germinate even quicker at several degrees higher. A warm windowsill in most houses is ideal.

Expect the seedlings to emerge between 7 to 21 days later. If the seedlings haven't emerged after 25 days it's safe to say that they have failed to germinate.

insert picture here of newly emerged seedlings

STEP 4

About five weeks after sowing your sweet pepper seeds ( the first week of May in average areas of the UK) they will benefit from being potted up into a larger pot, about 12cm / 5in in diameter.

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