| how to start in pots and keep in pots, don't want to put into ground |
| You can direct-sow seeds pepper seeds in containers and grow them on your deck or patio. Start by finding one-gallon sized containers with drainage holes and filling them with either straight potting soil or a 50/50 mixture of potting soil and garden soil. Sow your seeds just barely beneath the soil surface and cover lightly with potting soil. Keep the soil moist and the pepper seeds should germinate in about 10 days. You can sow two or three seeds per pot. If they all sprout, there will still be plenty of room for their roots. Keeping your plants happy and producing involves placing the containers in full sun and watering often enough to keep the soil moist but not soggy wet. You can feed your pepper plants with a half-strength dilution of liquid fertilizer every 2-3 weeks. Diluting the fertilizer will prevent accidentally burning the roots and will provide a constance source of nutrients to the plant's roots. Harvest your peppers when they are the right size and color. Keeping mature fruits harvested will encourage your plants to produce additional peppers. Enjoy! |
