How to Care for Hot Jalepeno Pepper Seedlings

Overview

Jalapeno peppers are easy-to-grow, with thick, dark green skins. Jalapeno peppers grow to about 3 1/2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide, with a spicy-hot, yet sweet flavor. Caring for jalapeno pepper seedlings is not daunting, even for the novice gardener. If you give your jalapeno seedlings the right water and sunlight, and if you transplant the seedlings outdoors at the right time, you'll be enjoying your home-grown jalapeno peppers in hardly any time at all.

Step 1

Sow two to three seeds in each seed plug in a seed tray. Push the seeds down 1/4 to 1/2 inch into the seed plug. Sprinkle a pinch of soil or organic compost on top of each seed plug.

Step 2

Water the seed plugs. Place the lid on the seed tray and keep the tray in a shaded spot until the seedlings begin to sprout.

Step 3

Remove the lid and place the tray in bright indirect sunlight, preferably on a southern-exposure window sill. Water the seedlings lightly once each day. Turn the tray 180 degrees every three days to encourage the seedlings to grow upright and straight.

Step 4

Separate the seedlings and transplant them into individual 2-inch planter pots when the seedlings develop two to four leaves. Plant the seedlings in organic compost or seedling soil filled nearly up to the leaves.

Step 5

Place the planter pots with the Jalapeno pepper seedlings outdoors in a protected area and away from direct sunlight for one week, a few hours each day. Gradually increase the amount of time the seedlings are outdoors to "harden them off" and prepare them for transplantation outdoors.

Step 6

Transplant the seedlings outdoors about two to three weeks after the last frost. The soil temperature should be at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit.