Hot pepper seeds can be kind of tricky for the beginner to start. In this guide I'll try to give you the fundamentals of hot pepper growing and hopefully save you from the painful mistakes I've made. And I do mean physically painful. Growing hot peppers can really hurt if you're not careful.

Whenever you are working with hot peppers or seeds ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES. Even a little bit of capsaicin on your hands can be dangerous. If that capsaicin gets into your eyes, its just like getting a face full of pepper mace. Capsaicin will irritate all mucous membranes. And it will get under your fingernails. This is a REALLY BAD combination for a romantic interlude. I've found that disposable latex or vinyl gloves work fine. Please practice "safe peppering." ;-)

The first thing to remember is that hot peppers are tropical plants. They like heat, lots of light and a long growing season. Now comes the problem, if you're like me and live in an area like "Hoth the Ice Planet" (Pronounced Minneapolis MN), the growing season just isn't long enough. Some hot peppers can take 200 days before you can harvest a crop. Now that 200 days isn't 200 days from when you planted your seed. It's 200 days from when you transplanted your six inch seedling outside. To add insult to injury, some peppers seeds germinate very slowly. Conceivably you could have another 60 days before your seeds even sprout.  Then another 60 days before your seedling hits the six inch bar. Hmmm...320 days...That's over ten and a half months. Good thing there are basements and artificial light. I usually start my next year's crop a few weeks after I've harvested the last peppers of my current year's crop. If things go good, I have some very, very large pepper plants to transplant outside like these mushroom peppers.

Pepper plants are a perennial in their native habitat. They can live for years and years. If you've bonded with your plants, don't despair. You can dig them up and plant them in a container to over winter. A better approach is to just grow the plants in a container. Five gallon pails work great. Sometimes if you ask very nicely at your local bakery they will give them to you. Most of their fillings and lard come in the buckets. I would be careful about using buckets that held construction materials. The plants could absorb contaminants from the bucket which probably wouldn't be to healthy for them or you. Once you've obtained your buckets, drill some holes in the bottom for drainage and you're set.

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