I got a pepper from my friend's house and I want to plant that variety. It's red right now ready to eat. Can I use its seeds now to start seedlings or I have to leave it until it dries up 100% and the outside is wrinkle?

Also can I start seedlings now or it's best to do it next spring?

I'm in zone 10

You should dry it out until you can shake it and hear rattling inside. That means the seeds are completely dried up and detached from the pepper.

You're in CA, where you can pretty much start anything at anytime. But yes, I would recommend doing it in the Spring.

Hi Andy,

I start green seeds of zinnias frequently, with a reasonable rate of success. They are a few days slower to germinate than dry zinnia seeds. I have never tried planting green seeds from anything else. If there is any significant advantage for you to plant those pepper seeds now, I would experiment with planting some green seeds now. In the event they germinate, you will have seedlings at a rather odd time of year, but you are in CA, so the experiment might pay off.

ZM