Pepper (sweet, bell and chile) from seed

Capsicum annuum · also searched as bell pepper, bell peppers, chile, chili, sweet pepper

Germination temperature: 65 to 75°F (18 to 24°C)
Minimum soil temperature: 60°F (16°C)
Sowing depth: ¼ in (6 mm)
Days to germinate: 10 to 20 days
Light: Cover the seed; darkness helps
Before sowing: Nothing needed
Start indoors: 6 to 8 weeks before planting out
Plant out: 2 weeks after the last frost
Spacing: 15 to 18 in (38 to 45 cm)

Your dates from your last frost Seed not coming up?

Sowing

Peppers are slow and want warmth: soil below 60°F (15°C) hardly germinates them. A heat mat helps; NDSU suggests 80 to 85°F for indoor starts. Sow 6 to 8 weeks before planting out.

Care and transplanting

Keep seedlings warm and in bright light, water from below and do not overfeed. Plant out about two weeks after the last frost, when nights are mild.

Problems

Slow or patchy emergence is nearly always cold. Seedlings that stall after transplanting have been chilled. Bell peppers are often pruned of their first flower buds so the young plant builds roots first.

Saving seed

Take seed from fully mature, ripe fruit, dry for a week or two and store. Peppers cross readily, so isolate varieties if you want them to come true.