I started my peppers at the same as the tomatoes. Some of the peppers did not come up until 2 weeks later than the tomatoes. Why is this happening?


Peppers are related to tomatoes, but have different requirements for germination. Sweet pepper requires a germination temperature of 75° – 80° (F). The seed trays benefit from being covered with plastic domes or plastic wrap to retain humidity until germination. A minimum of 6 hours of sunlight will allow your seedlings to have shorter, stockier stems.
To meet these requirements you will have to supply:
- Heat source
- On top of the refrigerator, where the defrosting coils are located.
- On top of an electric water heater.
- A wire shelf with an incandescent light fixture placed underneath.
- A thermostatically controlled electric heat mat placed under the flat.
- Light source
- Natural sunlight – 6 hours minimum
- Artificial light
- Fluorescent fixture – seed trays 1 inch from the bulbs for 16 hours a day
- LED fixture – seed trays 1 inch from the bulbs for 14 – 16 hours a day
- Humidity retention source
- Clear plastic wrap stretched over seed flat
- Clear plastic dome placed over flat
- Soil
- Soil vs. soilless mix
- Jiffy planter pellets – peat moss or coconut coir
- Soil blocks made from compost and other natural amendments (blood meal, bone meal, green sand, rock phosphate, etc.)
- Water
- Tap water
- Well water
- Filtered water
- Rain water


Hot peppers require a germination temperature of 80° – 85° (F). The hotter germination temperature is necessary for tropical pepper types. Some varieties such as Ghost Pepper, Habanero and Trinidad Scorpion (all 3 are Capsicum chinense) require a longer germination time. You need patience to grow these types of hot pepper. You may be able to speed up the germination process by soaking the seed overnight. By re-hydrating the seed, the plants may emerge more quickly!!
The basic requirements for hot pepper are the same as the sweet pepper mentioned above.
Papa