I have loved hot peppers for some years now, since I was a young child. I remember the first taste of a fresh hot pepper I ever had; I was in 7th grade. I recall thinking it was hot, but loved the taste and adrenaline rush. Since then I have been hooked; always looking for a new pepper to try, to get that next pepper high. After some years I had tried all the pepper varieties you could buy at stores in the area. I had a problem; how could I try new peppers with out moving? Then it came to me, why not grow your own? I look back on it now and wonder why I didn't start sooner, but this is how it all started, my obsession with growing hot peppers.
I had been looking online for information on a good source of seeds for weeks. I was very picky about where I bought seeds from, as there are thousands of seed vendors you have to make sure to pick a quality one. I ended up choosing pepperjoe.com; he had so many good comments and feedback, as well as lots of peppers I had never heard of. You can buy seeds for peppers in all heat ranges from sweet, to melt your face off hot. I had a hard choice to make, I remember saying to myself "How hot of a pepper do I think I can handle?". At this point the hottest pepper I had tried was in the habanero heat range, and peppers get much hotter then that. A little unsure of what to get, I figured I would get a nice mix of heat ranges and colors. I ended up buying 16 different varieties of seeds that day.
I needed some other key pieces of equipment before I could get started planting the seeds. I ordered a heating mat to help keep the seeds at proper temperature for germination, which is when the seeds sprout. I found a good deal on root plugs and a tray to hold them, which is where the seeds go to germinate , and a humidity dome to keep in the heat and moisture. Lastly, I went to Menards in La Crosse to buy a fan to blow on the plants once they sprout, and a light fixture with bulbs. A week went by and all my packages had come in the mail. I figured I was very well set, and was ready to get started!
It was January 15, 2013 when I started my seeds, in the dead of winter. I ended up planting two of each seed, so thirty two in total. I remember thinking "not to bad for a first year, thirty two pepper plants should give me peppers for the year". I should have done this along time ago, it was too easy not to. I thought it was going to be easy at first, but would soon learn of how much work really goes into growing a plant from seed indoors. Work that, in the long run would be well worth it, I just knew it had to be.
I checked the seed trays each day to see if the root plugs needed water and to ensure the temperature was right. The humidity had to be kept in check as well, so I would take off the humidity dome for a half hour each day. The morning of January 19, 2013 I came into check on the seeds, and had a surprise waiting for me. I looked down at the seed flat and one of the seeds had sprouted! Words can not express how excited I was, I jumped for joy. I felt like it was my wedding day and daughter being born wrapped up in one, that’s how good I felt. "So who are you little guy" I asked the sprout, and I checked the label I had on it. "O my, you’re a yellow 7 pod, what a cute little guy you are", I found myself talking to the seeds a lot, my wife was starting to think I was crazy. After the first sprout came up it was time to turn on the lights, as the sprouts would need light now. From this point on I was so excited to check each day for new sprouts, it was like Christmas each day.
As the weeks passed by, more and more seeds sprouted. After a month all 32 root plugs had sprouts in them, and were ready to be planted in a bigger container. I had purchased some red Solo cups, cut holes in the bottom, and filled them with a organic potting mix. I made a little hole in the potting mix and put the root plug in, then covered the plug up with the mix. This was very rewarding to me; getting my hands dirty in the dead of winter. I watered each cup and put them back under the lights; it was a good day. At that time things became easier as the plants needed water less often, since the larger containers held more water. As they became older, it was time to add some food to their diet.
It was time to start the seedlings on a fertilizer, and I had some research to do again. I found a great organic fish and kelp fertilizer, that fit all of my needs. I had never used this product before, but read it was stinky. Now,let me tell you the plants loved it, but my goodness does it stink! My wife said it reminder her of her home town, which is right on Lake Michigan. The whole basement would smell like this for a few hours. Luckily I only had to feed them once every 2 weeks, so I could deal with the smell. The process of water, feeding, and fanning went on for 6 months inside my house.
After 6 months inside, it was time to introduce the plants to the outdoor environment. The first day I placed them outside for one hour, then brought them inside. The next day 2 hours outside, then inside; third day three hours outside, then inside. This went on until I could leave them outside for a full day; it was a time consuming process. If the plants are in the sun for too long without slowly being introduced to it, their leaves will burn, which is not good. Three weeks of this went by before I was finally ready to transplant my peppers to their permanent soil. It was a perfect day in the first week of June that I chose for my planting day; the weather was just right. Finally it was time to get out my garden shovel and knee pads, and get dirty. I spent 2 hours planting peppers, just basking in the early morning sun, loving every bit of those moments. After a good watering and quick fertilizer feeding it was time to sit back and enjoy my work. After months of babying these little guys it was bitter sweet to see them outside and in the ground.
After all of the work that went into the plants it was time to harvest my first pepper. Oddly enough it was from my first sprout, the little yellow 7 pod. This was just the start, over the next weeks and months, more peppers were harvested. I soon had a good amount of peppers, I really could not believe how many actually. For being my first year doing this, I would call it a success. I now have all the hot peppers I could want, and then some. This was a experience I will never forget, one that I hope to share with my daughter some day.
