Now that you’ve made your own (#MIM) seed starting mix, it’s time to start some seeds. Yippee!

I’m in Zone 7 and last year I started my spicy peppers about 12 weeks before my LSF (last spring frost) and my sweet peppers just about 8 weeks before my LSF. It all went super well and I could do it exactly the same way again this year but as a gardener, there is always something to test. It took what felt like a really long time to actually get bell peppers that I could harvest, like late July timeframe.

That being said, I’ve decided to start both my spicy and sweet peppers at the same time – about 10 weeks before my LSF. I’m doing the same varieties as last year: jalapeno, fish, banana and bell. Maybe I’ll score some others with a well-timed trip to Home Depot and find loads of free plants in the parking lot like I did last year. And if not, I’m good with what I’ve got.

Here’s the steps to get your seedlings started:

Once you are ready to start some seedlings, I recommend keeping a notebook nearby and creating 6 columns on the page like so:

Crop/Quantity	Start Date	Germination	Phase 1	Phase 2	Phase 3
Jalapeno – 12	2/15	??	2/18-2/21	2/22-3/7	3/8-

You’ll want track when you started your seeds, how many, when they germinated, and the different phases of lighting

• Phase 1 is days 4-7: 24 hours of light
• Phase 2 is days 8-21: 16 hours of light
• Phase 3 is day 22 and beyond: 12 hours of light

A couple other tips:

• Your seedlings need to be in a warm place. I’ve not invested in a heat mat so as long as your seeds are indoors and your house stays around 67 degrees or warmer, you should be good.
• Place seedlings in a location you will frequent daily. You’ll want to regularly check the soil moisture, lighting, and sing to them (ha!). If you put them in a closet or guest bedroom or hallway you never use, congrats on having a ginormous house but that likely means you are going to forget about them. They are babies. They need your constant care and attention.
• The soil needs to stay moist until the seeds germinate. Not soaking wet but certainly damp. Then water regularly when the soil has turned entirely light brown.
• Have trays under your seed cells. It’s best to water from the bottom so it’s a lot easier to just fill about an inch of water in the bottom of a tray (use a 9×13 casserole dish or a cookie sheets with a rim if you didn’t buy a whole fancy seed starting set) and let the seedling soak it up for about 20 minutes.
• Your lights need to always be about 2-3 inches above your plants. If the light is too close, you can dry out your plants and even burn them. If the light is too far, the plants will get leggy from stretching toward it.

Don’t stress. It may feel like a lot of work and babysitting this first or second go around but you’ll get the hang of it. I mess with my seedlings about 5-10 minutes a day. Well worth it for not having to buy them at the store. But if you do kill them, hey, you can always buy them at the store 😊