Container-grown chili plants can thrive indoors after the heat of summer has passed.
Chilis come in all shapes and sizes, from the scorching habanero to the sweet baby bell. While pepper plants vary greatly in what they produce, they all have one thing in common: they need warm weather to grow. Start your chili plants indoors from seed before the weather warms up to get them a head start on growing. If you live in a climate with a short summer season, keep your chilis in containers throughout the growing season so you can easily bring them back inside when the weather cools down again.
Instructions
1. Wet two with water. Add only to make the towels damp. Spread the towels across a counter or table and smooth them, creating a flat working area. Sprinkle the chili seeds evenly across the surface of one towel and cover the seeds with the second towel.
2. Grab the towels by the edge and gently roll them from left to right, creating a loose tube. Slide the tube into a plastic storage bag. Seal the bag and place it in a warm location for two to five days.
3. Check on the progress of the seeds each day. When the seeds have begun to swell and expand or sprout, remove the towels from the plastic bag and carefully unroll the paper. The time required for germination varies from one species to another. If your seeds don't seem to be doing anything, be patient. Keep the towels moist and keep the seeds warm. Given enough water and heat, they will sprout if they're viable.
4. Place peat pots on a plastic tray and then slowly pour water over them, thoroughly moistening the material inside the pots. Gently lift the seeds from the paper towels and transfer them to a moistened peat pot, placing one to two seeds in each pot. Cover the seeds with a light layer of commercial potting soil. Add just enough soil to envelop the seed.
5. Water the seeds so that the planting medium is moist to the touch but not soggy. Chili plants do not do well in overly wet conditions. Check the seedlings daily, misting them with water as needed to keep the peat pots evenly damp.
6. Cover the seeds with a sheet of plastic cling film to help the peat retain both moisture and heat. Once the seeds have sprouted and pushed through the potting soil, remove the plastic wrap.
7. Place the peppers in a warm and sunny location. When the seedlings have developed their second set of true leaves they are big enough to be transplanted into a 3-gallon container or placed in the garden, provided all danger of frost has passed.
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