Pepper Planting

We grow our own tomato and pepper plants from seed.  For one thing, it is cheaper.  But, it also gives us access to varieties that we cannot buy from local nurseries.  This past weekend I started our pepper plants for the season.  If all goes well, we will sell about half of these to our customers at our local farmers' market. 

The varieties of peppers that I started include the usual ones:  California Wonder (green) bells, Cayenne, sweet banana, jalapeno and Ahaheim.  However, I also started Golden California Wonder (a beautiful yellow bell pepper), an orange bell pepper, miniature yellow and red bell peppers and Blushing Beauty (a bell pepper that starts out an ivory color and then "blushes" to light red and orange-red and finally to deep scarlet). 

Finally, I started a couple of sweet peppers that I have never tried before.  I ordered these from Seed Savers Exchange (see earlier post).  They are "Healthy" and "Napolean".  Healthy is a Russian pepper with "sweet wedged-shaped fruits, 2½" at the shoulder by 4" long, ripening from yellow to orange to red".   And Napolean that is "mild as an apple. Fruit about 8" long and 4" in circumference, standing upright until they get so heavy they sometimes droop."  How could I possibly resist?

Anyway, here is a picture of the way I started the peppers. 

The clear plastic boxes are the boxes that we put blackberries in to sell. I discovered last year that these make excellent seed starting boxes. I cut newspaper to fit in them and fill them with seed starting medium. Then I sprinkle the seed over the top of the soil, cover the seed with a shallow layer of potting soil, water well and close the lid. Most important is to label them correctly. I cut a slit in the lid and insert a plant stake on which I have written the variety, date and seed company from which the seed came. These boxes are then place on a heated seed starting mat under lights until they germinate. After germination, they can be taken off the heated mat.  Then it is just a waiting game of keeping them under lights and watered until the plants are big enough to transplant. 

I'll keep you updated on the progress of the peppers as we go along.  This coming weekend I need to get the tomato seeds started.   Fun!  Fun!