The 2022 Pepper Season is Under Way

Finally! The 2022 pepper season has begun. It’s been a long few months since the end of last season – I’ve been itching to get the seeds sown and moving forward to Spring. For this upcoming season, I’ve got 41 different varieties (listed below), of which 37 are new to me.

For the most part, the seed starting is roughly the same as last year. The material that the plants will be in for the next couple of months is a faithful blend of peat moss, potting soil and perlite. This year, however, I tweaked a couple of things. First, I added a bit of bone meal and blood meal to the mix – not so much for the seeds, but for later as the seedlings start sending out roots. Secondly, I opted to fill the pots a couple of days prior to sowing and had them on the heating pads ahead of time.

Typically I prepare the dirt and pots the same morning I sow the seeds. I figured getting the seeds into warm dirt may help accelerate the process a bit. We’ll see in the next week or so. And I really won’t know the impact of the amendments for another month – when I compare this batch of plants and their growth to previous seasons.

Also like last year, I’m sticking with the vermiculite layer and Chamomile tea dilution for this grow as well. I had pretty good success with this method and decided to keep rolling with it. The combination of the two should continue to help reduce the number of helmet heads as the seeds germinate.

The list of varieties that I am growing has been tweaked a bit from the initial plan. Below is everything that was started this past Saturday:

And now we wait to see who pops first. Happy gardening!