Talkback: Sowing seeds - chillies and sweet peppers

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  April 2008

  I planted the free pepper seeds(Anaheim) indoors as suggested but unfortunately thev'e all failed although every one of the tomato seeds (Gartenperle) are doing well

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  April 2008

  Are you sure those Chilli pepper seeds have been left long enough? Mine always take ages to come up even on a warm windowsill!

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  April 2008

  hi can i grow seeds in greenhouse in april without a heater.

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  April 2008

  Eireens, I agree with Rosemary that you're being impatient! Chilli and capsicum seeds can take much longer to germinate than tomatoes, and are slower to grow and develop. Much depends on the temperature of the compost both day and night. A warm south-facing windowsill should be ideal for germinating pots of seeds this month. You can buy electric windowsill propagators that help provide warmth to get seeds germinated during February and March, but by mid-April you should be successful without.

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  April 2008

  hi trying out seeds in greenhouse first time, success with a few frosty mornings

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  April 2008

  I have sowed chilli big banana seeds for the first time this year, sowed in march - no show, so I have sown more april still no show. I put cling film on, and grit, now I am sowing my last batch before giving up, inside the house. Hopefully 3rd time lucky sighed frustrated sower. I sow seeds every year snd never had any bad results.

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  April 2008

  Don't give up on the chillies! I always start mine off on top of the boiler for 24 hours then on a sunny windowsill. They can drag their heels but usually raise their heads after about 3 or 4 weeks. I'm pretty tough on my plants and put them outside once it starts to feel like summer and I still have one Apache chilli growing outside that i planted last summer.

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  April 2008

  I've sown banana pepper seeds as well as the free chilli pepper and gartenperle tomato seeds. The banana pepper seeds took approx 3 weeks to appear and thats on a sunny windowsill above a radiator. I'm growing veg for the first time, is it too early to put the tomatoes in grow bags outside?

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  April 2008

  I have 2 Demon Red chilli plants on a bedroom window ledge, they were planted in April last year and have been giving me fruit all through the winter, there is another crop ready to pick now,I sowed them in a 3" pot then moved them to 5" pots, where they are now, we live in Yorkshire, they did take a long time to germinate so I just left them, it has paid off, I picked 15 chilli's last week.

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  April 2008

  Don't put tomatoes outside until All Risk of the dreaded frost is passed (even outdoor varieties) The frost will either finish them off completely or badly damage them.

  Peas are safe to put out as are salad crops - tho if you sow direct they will be a bit slow (mine are!) I tend to start most veg crops off inside on the windowsills (I don't have a green house- but have one on order!) and then acclimatise crops in the coldframe or outside during the day before planting out.

  Hope you enjoy growing veg- I started 5 yrs ago and am now fully converted.
  PS - the best tip I was ever given was only grow what you like to eat- there's nothing worse than having a crop you looked forward to fail and a novelty crop that you grew just to see if you could, thriving, leaving you overwhelmed with mountains of something you don't like. (I had massive bags of radishes and courgettes my first year)

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