I’m glad I stumbled upon this because I’m trying habaneros for the first time this year. I was going to start all my peppers at the same time next week, but after reading this, the habaneros will get started today!

Edit: ok, reality check says I should wait until the first week of March!

I am probably going to start my hot peppers earlier than usual this year. I am trying to grow some new varieties and pepper seedlings do well indoors for me. They do not get leggy as quickly as tomatoes and are also more resistant to damping off as long as I keep a fan going.

Here is something from the Dave’s Garden website that has helped me with some of my more stubborn seeds:

“Soaking pepper seeds speeds germination. Try a two to eight hour soak, until seeds sink to the bottom of the cup. Although you could use plain water, a solution of hydrogen peroxide or weak chamomile tea may help to break down the seed coat as well as to disinfect the seed. Use one to two teaspoons of standard 3% hydrogen peroxide per cup of warm water.”

I have also used the peroxide method successfully on old tomato seeds.