I used to get saltpeter on the shelf at the drug store. People talk about using gibberellic to help cycad seeds germinate faster, but I didn't see any obvious difference from using that either.
I've germinated plenty of pepper seeds and and types of pepper seeds and have done very well with most of the seeds. The only seeds I've had trouble with was all but one batch that came from Pepper Joe. I mainly start my own seeds now and get a few extras from time to time from specifically pepper seed vendors that I already know will have good seeds. I can tell everyone what I do, but most of it won't help the person starting this thread, because it was stressed that they wanted to go cheap and I just don't do that. I have used all kinds of methods and all kinds of mediums and found what works best for me. I also can elaborate on why I do each thing, but to save time tonight, I'll stick with the basics.
I soak the seeds over night in warm water. They should be clean, and if they are brand new, I dry them on a plate for 40 days before I start them. This simulates a short dorment period. Clean seeds don't need hydrogen peroxide to kill the fungus, but can't hurt if you think you have infected seeds. I'd still soak over night and then just dip them before planting. If you don't have sterile medium though, this doesn't help if you are already starting with good clean seeds. You want medium to be sterile and have a good and uniform water holding capacity. People dry out their seeds or rot their seeds when they don't have time to keep up with watering, or water too much. It happens all the time. I found that the Miracle Grow Sphagnum Peat Moss is beautiful for starting all kinds of seeds liked this. It has a bit of fertilizer in it and it has a wetting agent in it. It is nice a fluffy and is sterile. However, I think it is too wet to use to grow out the plants. I put the medium in first and wet it. I then place the seeds on top at the spacing I want. I then take the very fine medium and lightly cover the seeds just enough that they are uniformly moist. I wet the whole tray down after I'm over. Sometimes I'll do that with a ZeroTol mixture to sterilize the entire tray. I'm good at keeping up with proper watering, but if you are not like me, I would cut the bottom out of some 4 inch pots and plant the seeds in those. Then place those on top of one of those trays you can buy from Lowes that have the capillary pad. You can't mess up your watering that way. You know they are being watered perfectly. I start my seeds inside and put them right under florescent lights. Putting them in the dark sounds stupid. You are wanting them to germinate and grow. What do you do? Once they germinate in the dark, do you pull them out of the tray full of seeds and plant then in light? They germinate just fine in bright light. Unless it is cold, I don't use any heat to germinate. Doing them inside the house instead of the cold garage in the middle of the winter time has enough heat to do fine. Some seeds like Bhut Jolokia can take up to a month to germinate, but most sprout in 10 days if you had to make an average time. I don't start seeds outside. Too many insects have cut down or completely eaten my new seedlings, light can vary, and temperatures vary each hour. Not all seeds germinate. I expect 50% on average and that is why start many seeds in trays to save space. Once the seedlings show which ones are good and which ones are wimpy and aren't worth growing out, I move them up into 4 inch pots until they are ready for something larger. I always start more seeds than the amount of plants I think I need. Most of the seeds I start are free, but if you look on the internet, reaper seeds go for a buck a piece. A little more than the home depot packs of seeds, and I still buy more than I think I need, even when I bought those. The time it takes to start another batch of seedlings, if you are starting for spring planting, it is almost too late. I start seeds all during the year for different reasons. I'm getting ready to start about 200 more plants so they are flowering size for very early spring. Tom
