Anna, community engagement specialist at Prisma, loves to challenge herself by trying new things. Even though she lives in an apartment in Tallinn, this year she decided to join the green thumb community and grow not only houseplants, but also vegetables and fruits on her windowsill.
She will share her experiences on the Prisma blog, so that we can all root for her experiments. The first things to be popped into the soil were chili and bell pepper seeds – will they develop into lush plants? Only time will tell.
Chili and bell pepper seeds are a little more demanding than many other vegetable seeds because their germination time is longer. The seeds need more time to germinate properly and are particularly sensitive to transplanting. Therefore, it is important to start growing them now so that the plants would have time to develop sufficient roots before transplanting.
When choosing the seeds, Andra trusted Kairi, Category Coordinator at Prisma's garden products department, and chose Nelson Garden’s chili and bell pepper seeds. Nelson Garden has been selling seeds since 1933 and is one of Scandinavia's largest gardening and plant cultivation companies. They offer a wide selection of seeds and sprouts, including both traditional favourites and new varieties of flowers, vegetables, and herbs. Every year, their products are thoroughly tested to ensure high germination and quality standards. Andra decided to experiment with the bell pepper variety "California Wonder" and the chili peppers "Chiluacle Negro" and "Trinidad Scorpion". The latter chili pepper scores a whopping 1.5 million units on the Scoville pungency scale. It is so hot that its fruits should only be touched while wearing rubber gloves. As you take a bite of it, it's not too bad at first, but then the burning sensation starts spreading...
As chili and paprika seeds are particularly delicate, Andra carefully followed the preparation instructions and soaked the seeds before sowing. She placed the seeds in a small container with water temperature of around 22–25 °C and left them to soak overnight. This process helps the seed coat soften and the germinating plant emerge more easily. Then, Andra carefully placed each soaked chili seed in a separate peat pellet. For bell pepper, she used 2–3 seeds in each tablet.
Andra decided to use peat pellets because chili and bell pepper plants are sensitive to transplanting, and excessive handling can slow down their development by 8–10 days. Sowing in peat pellets allows the seeds to germinate and grow in the same place. Also, the peat pellets provide a good growing environment and help prevent seeds from being planted too deep in the soil (the right sowing depth for chili and bell pepper seeds is about 1 cm).
As February is a cool month, Andra put an emphasis on creating stable and warm conditions. She placed the peat pellets with the seeds on the windowsill accessing the most light so that the emerging plants could get as much light as possible. Andra isn't particularly worried about the temperature, as the nearby radiator helps maintain an even temperature. She also doesn't have to worry too much about watering because the peat pellets retain moisture naturally, providing the seeds with the perfect environment to grow without the need to be watered all the time.
Now that the seeds are in the soil, Andra is eagerly awaiting the first sprouts! When the sprouts reach the stage of one or two true leaves, she will plant the strongest of them in larger pots, taking care to avoid damaging the roots. In March, Andra will plant the seeds of other vegetables, and is also thinking about growing plants from seeds for a window sill flower box. In any case, she will keep us posted on all new developments!
