Many people think growing chili peppers from seed is hard and is only for experienced gardeners. In this article I will share with you the experiences I have gained from growing hot peppers over the last few years that will give you some tips to get your chili crop underway.

The first thing you need to do is to source some high quality seeds. Poor quality seed is often taken from plants that have been grown around or near different varieties. This can often mean this hybrid seed when grown produces poor fruiting plants that are prone to disease. Always source your seeds from a reputable supplier.

Germinating chilli seeds can take anything from 1 to 8 weeks depending on the variety. To get a bit of a head start you can soak the seeds in tap water for about 12 hours.

Place the seeds in a shallow tray three quarters full of potting compost, about 4cm apart. Cover with about 2mm of compost the water with a mister. If you do not have potting compost use normal compost and pass it through a sieve.

You need to keep the tray somewhere that is warm and constant in temperature. On top of a pc monitor or refrigerator is a great place as it is usually a couple of degrees warmer in these places that room temperature. As soon as the seeds sprout and the seedlings appear it is essential to ensure that the tray s moved somewhere that gets plenty of light. An ideal place is a sunny window sill.