I have never saved pepper seeds, but I found this link in the FAQ on the seed savers forum.

I had also never started peppers before this year and the folks here gave me information on how to start them.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0215054912864.html?48

Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/seedsave/2002084357025280.html

Those were hybrid seeds. That's why they never germinated. Try some heirloom California Wonder green pepper seeds.

Hybrids germinate ok, You may not get the same pepper, but they grow ok and give you peppers. You need to let the pepper ripen before saving the seed however. In the case of Big Bertha thats full red. Sometimes green pepper seeds are mature enough to germinate if the pepper is full grown, but it is iffy. If you are serious about saving seeds, let them ripen.

Yea...what the_new_guy said...I love growing California Wonder Bells. :)

Farmerdilla, just wondering if you ever tried saving seed from Golden Summer Hybrid peppers and if so how true were they to the parent?

I also heard that pepper seeds can be tricky to germinate.

I heard that soaking them in a diluted bleach solution is supposed to help. I've never tried this method (usually by the transplants or seed packets).

I sewed 16 California Wonder seeds this year and not one germinated. This was from a new 2009 package. I sewed 16 Keystone Giants and every single one of them are healthy seedlings. Both were handled the exact same way in the same germinating condition and location.

Pepper seeds need warmth, about 80 degrees, to germinate. Even indoors, they need a little extra heat, so maybe they were too cool?

Grandad I have trialed a dozen or so bells, But Golden Summer is not one of them. Sorry. I have noticed that the newer hybrids show much less differention than the older ones. Nothing scientific, as I am not generally a seed saver, even with open pollinated cultivars. This years bells are Crispi and Canary.

Yea...my Mucho Nacho Jalapeno's are taking a lil bit extra to germinate since we haven't had too much heat here lately. They are fine though...roots forming & soon to push through the soil. =)

2 different issues - saving the seeds and then germinating the seeds.

Seed Saving FAQs (tons of them written up over the years over on the Seed Saving forum) stress that pepper seeds do best when saved from VERY matured on the vine peppers. Not store bought and artificially ripened nor counter ripened. Many don't understand that means a full blown colored (not green) ripened on the vine pepper - especially so for sweets. Problem is that also tends to shut down the vine production so timing is crucial.

Germination of peppers FAQ on the Growing from Seed forum, address the points already made above - high soil temps, pre-soak, not too wet soil allowed to cycle dry at least 1x, and looooong time to germination.

Pepper seed germination is nothing at all like tomato germination - more like some of the most difficult flowers types. ;) I have found 10-16 weeks for germination to be fairly common so don't give up on them.

Dave

I planted some pepper seeds and thought they didn't germinate, so I planted some beans in those spots. Now that it's warm, I have the peppers coming up. I'm guessing it's because it wasn't warm enough for them.

Thanks for the help. Yes, the peppers were green that the seeds were saved from, so that may have been it.

I am new to seed starting this year. Have not saved seeds...yet! Did some research before hand. And still learning. Research said peppers like warmth as noted. So I did that my sun room with a heater and warming blanket, so soil temp was around 80, air temp in the 70's. Also they take a long time to germinate. So I planted back in beginning of March, with an expected germination time of 3 weeks. In that 3 weeks I had less than a 10% germination rate. So I gave up on the rest. In the time since they were supposed to germinate and now. I had another 10% come up. Even today I have seen a new pepper breaking the soil in the one pot I took out side to transplant. Have to look in my journal... March 16th - May 16th. Next year I am starting much earlier. And will keep the heat to them longer also.

Always pay attention to Farmerdilla's posts. They are right on target with the most accurate information you will find anywhere.

Jim

holldoll: It get's frustrating when they await the proper conditions, especially when they're already seedlinngs! =)

Hmm, guess I was lucky then! I used coir to start seeds this year, better germination rates than I've ever had with flowers, and I've tried everything. Sowed at the same time I did my tomatoes, doubt I let the soil dry, and they came up about the same time the tomatoes came up, maybe a week later. Purchased California Bell, not sure what brand. Oh, and at room temp, which for us averages about 73 degrees. Only prob was they didn't grow much, till I realized they needed some food, so I gave them a weak solution of house plant food, then weak tea, fish emulsion, whatever about once a week. Now my tiny babies are planted and doing great!!

I got antsy to get things planted outside, my tomatoes were just setting on their first true leaves. We're going on vacation in 2 weeks, and I figured they'd have a better shot being in the ground than babied by my son in the seeding pots, so I put them out. I like to plant them deep, so I cut the bottoms out of cottage cheese containers, sunk them so the top is at soil level, and planted my tiny tomatoes in the bottom of that, so right now they're below soil level. They're doing fantastic!! they really like being down there! When they're tall enough, probably after vacation, I'll carefully pull out the cottage cottage cheese container, and they'll be good to go, and deep in the soil like I like them!

This is my first year starting any vegies from seed, now I know I need to feed them for them to grow.

Karen

Peppers seem to be very temperamental when it comes to germinating. However, I have had the best luck planting seeds in a row in a shallow container, then covering and setting it on top of the water heater. The first ones are usually up in 5-7 days, most within 10 days, and the rest will straggle out over the next 6-8 weeks until I decide I have them all and let the soil dry out.

farmerdilla is right. Jimster is too. I must say that I have never had a problem germinating seeds from any pepper I have ever grown or any store bought one. I have done it inside and outside, and it seems to me that room temperature, whatever that happened to be, was sufficient.

All the peppers were red, orange, or yellow, depending on the type. Green ones will not have viable seeds unless they are of some variety that ripens green. Seems to me that there might be such a type, but ... anyway.

I do not know if farmerdilla grows everything, but I get the feeling that he has grown everything. Well... almost everything... wink.
Just as an aside, I am a compulsive pepper seed saver. It is my personal shame. I have a paper bag about an inch full of the seeds. I have others categorized in little packets I have made, too, but I cook, and when I cut up the pepper, I just can't throw away the seeds, so.... I will never ever plant them all. Still, I like Hungarian and Mexican dishes. I average probably one pepper a day. The seeds add up. I save a TON of money on peppers.

First of all you can save seeds from a hybrid and plant them and they will sprout and grill peppers - I have done it with Giant Marconi peppers and Red Impact. In fact, if you search Giant Marconi peppers on YouTube you will find a gardener there that has been saving seats and growing them and they are huge.

Now the reason I bet your seeds didn't germinate is because you probably most likely save them from a green unripened pepper. I say this because this is a very common mistake some people make when they save seeds including my brother. The pepper has to be fully ripe and red...Or orange or yellow depending on the color of the pepper when it's mature.

I have saved many seeds from different plants and di nothing special, all had great germination