The 2019 Pepper Season is Officially Underway

Earlier this morning, I set about getting the 28 varieties of peppers I had chosen for 2019 into their initial homes. Unlike last year, I was able to keep my seething jealousy under wraps while viewing freshly sprouted seedlings across the Twitterverse. I stuck to my schedule like a good boy.

Similar to the medium I used in 2018, I’m using a combination of Jiffy seed starter, Nature’s Care (a MiracleGro product) potting soil and perlite, as well as a light sprinkle of Trifecta+, for my seed starting. The arrangement was pretty successful last year — I believe I only had a couple of seeds that refused to germinate. So, I figured, why mess with a good thing.

This year, I opted to position the initial seed placement a bit differently. Last February, I set two to three seeds in the same hole within the center of the pot. For this season, I’ve opted to position two plantings per pot at opposite corners. This will ultimately make it easier to transplant and separate the seedlings when that time comes. And give them a bit more leg room as they grow.

I should have reviewed my 2018 season start post as I, once again, forgot how long it was going to take me to stay organized and get everything into pots, extra seeds repackaged and everything all set moving forward. The number of plants I’m starting may be less, but it still took a good while to wrap up the morning.

Patience was definitely key as I didn’t want to mislabel or lose anything in the process. Thankfully, when all was said and done, the 30 pots were in their closed bins enjoying a bit of warmth and humidity.

I’ve been itching to get this day going for a few weeks now. Probably to the point where I’m starting to annoy the wife. But, here we are. The 2019 season has officially started and I can’t wait to be challenged, have some fun and enjoy what I hope will be a pepper-filled year.