I picked up a whole bunch of seeds from pepperlover this year and have had nothing but success getting them started. I was actually very impressed with the high germination rates.

Out of curiosity can you explain your set ups that you have used? It sounds more like it could be something in your set up than the seeds. It's extremely unlikely all the seeds you've received from a reputable seller would not germinate.

Persimmonbob, are you only interested in Thai peppers? Also agree with penguinsrock09 it may be something in the environment, heat, water, temp, and soil. I experienced zero germination rate with good seeds and my own collected seed from the 2012 season and the reason was the water from bottled water. Once I nixed using bottled water and used tap water I had great germination rates. This is just one example there are many factors at play so understanding what you tried will be helpful to know.

Mark

persimmonbob: Don't give up. It just takes a little experimenting to get it right. It is probably just a simple issue and once you figure it out, all will be well. I suggest you start with some common easy growing varieties. Buy them at a local walmart or other store. They are innexpensive and you will have plenty to experiment with. Try some Bell Peppers, Cayennes, Jalapenos, etc... They are commonly carried in the seed racks.
If you do as penguinsrock09 says and describe your specific setup and give a detailed description of your seed starting process, maybe someone will find the problem. Maybe even some pictures.

Good luck.
Bruce

It is probably me not knowing nothing.I still have some seeds in moist napkins in a ziplock bag on top of the waterheater now going on 3 weeks,nothing! I put some seeds in plastic cups with drainage holes, nothing. Put some seeds in a large plastic container with a round cfl, with a lid,nothing. My room temp,s night 65*, days 69*.
I am interested in several kinds of peppers. By the way pepper seeds from last year hot finger peppers doing very well, they are now about 4" tall.

This is my third year of starting pepper seeds. I built shelves with light in the boiler room.The topmost shelf has 85deg.F while the lowest has 78 . All kinds of seeds germinated from 3 days to 3 weeks.

How hot is it on top of the water heater? Get you a thermometer and find out for sure.

While i wouldnt consider myself an expert at peppers, ive been growing many varieties of heirloom veggies for about 20 years. Ive had great results this year with my pepper germination and I would recommend the setup Im using to anyone.
Get a heat mat and a thermostat. the temp range is critical for proper germination, set the thermostat to 80 degrees F and forget about that part. The thermostat will maintain the even temp. now just use a good seed starting medium, you can make your own, but i recommend MG seed starting mix as it just works. Ive had great results. I tried straight (cheap) potting soil for seed starting and had mostly poor results. Also I tried just getting the heat mats as I thought the thermostat might be overkill for my set up. I was wrong. It got too hot. some of the seedlings suffered. and I had to constantly move off the heat mat once anything sprouted up. I think the water heater would be fine for many types of plants. also I like to plant seeds straight into pots so I dont have to transplant the fragile seedlings. I use the 72 plug trays putting 1 seed in each hole with a small amount of vermiculite on the top to cover the seeds and since its so light it's easy for the seeds to push through. Ive gotten 95 to 98percent germination rate. Even with the Bhut's and other tough to germinate seeds. i germinate indoors under 24/7 flourescent lights and use one of those mylar lined zipper closing black tents to hold in heat and keep my temps even. Once my plants get big enough, I move them outside to my temp controlled greenhouse. Eventually Im planning on building one of those propagation chambers! If you think my system is overkill then check out this bad boy!

Propagation Chamber from Greenhouse Megastore


Now thats sweet. shouldnt be too hard to make one I think.
Good luck with your seed starting! I hope you find some answers that are useful to you!

I changed my mind on the water heater, because the temp's changes from hot to cool all day long ,so i made a greenhouse out of a plastic container with a small cfl in it.
The temp is alittle warmer than roomtemp(69*). Will see if this work.Pepperlover send me some extra seed and i wonder if some of you guys like to have it.I believe some are too hot for me so i am not going to try to use them.

What have you got?

I Sent You An Email, Bob. Also Interested To Hear What You Have.

Due to the posting problem, I deleted the multiple post.
Caelian

This post was edited by chilliwin on Thu, Mar 28, 13 at 7:34

I have grown Thai Peppers from the dried pods I have bought from the Thai grocery shops, I have now two varieties.

The pods of this one looks like Tabasco:
{{gwi:1159218}}

This one is Bird's Eye:

{{gwi:1159225}}

I have used 24 W HighOutput T5 K 6400 recently, the result is awesome. This 7 Pods Brain Strain is about 1 month old it has grown with the T5, I am very impressed with the result:

{{gwi:1159227}}

The www.pepperlover.com is one of the best seed sources for me, germination rate were very high.

Some of seeds takes very long time to germinate. For example Habanero Tree and Aji Amarillo took about one month for germination for me. Some times growers made mistakes such as lack of proper heat, sterilized seedling soil, moisture control and cleanliness, made fail to germinates the seeds.

Caelian

Whatever you'd like to try do it on your own risk:))

What i got from Pepperlover are:
Most Prolific, But jolokia Red, PI 281429,Blue Mistery Malaguata, Golden Rocoto.
Most of these are too hot for me,eventhough i spend about 11 years on the Island of Java. Lots of hot stuff overthere.
Thanks guys for your encouragements,Appreciate much ,Bob.