As I’ve mentioned before, there are many different ways to germinate chilli seeds and every grower has a preferred method. I usually use a standard propagator placed on top of a reptile heat mat to give the seeds a little extra warmth — a setup that’s effective and more affordable than a heated propagator. For the first week after planting I kept the tray on the heat mat. With a long weekend away coming up, though, I worried the cells might dry out and any newly sprouted seedlings could suffer from lack of light and wilt while I was gone.
Rather than leave the tray on the heat mat, I moved it into my homemade light box. I ran the lights on a simple plug timer set to 18 hours per day. The gentle, consistent warmth from the fluorescent tubes kept the tray at around 19°C — close to ideal for germination but not so hot that the compost would dry out quickly. I also left the propagator’s clear plastic lid in place to help retain moisture in the growing medium.
When I left, about a week after sowing, only three seeds had germinated, so I gave the tray a thorough watering and headed off with my fingers crossed. I’m pleased to report that when I returned the tray was nearly full of healthy seedlings.
I planted these chilli seeds in the first week of January, and now, on the 29th, the germination results look very encouraging despite my short trip away. As shown in the photo, all of the Aji Hot seeds have come up, and two of the Rocoto Reds have also germinated. The Rocotos have been notably slower than the Aji seeds both to sprout and in early growth.
The Wahaca seeds I was sceptical about surprised me in the best way: they have performed very well. Most germinated within two weeks, and the seedlings look robust and are growing faster than both the Aji and the Rocoto varieties.
Soon I’ll need to thin out some of the Serranos; several cells contain multiple seedlings. I don’t enjoy culling young plants, but thinning is essential to give the remaining seedlings room to develop strong root systems and vigorous stems. I prefer to snip the weaker seedlings off at the base with scissors rather than try to tease roots apart, which can damage neighbouring plants.
If all goes well I’ll have a healthy crop of Serranos, Aji Hot and Rocoto Reds. With this first batch of pepper plants underway, I’m already planning what to sow for batch number two and considering which varieties and timings will best complement this first group.