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You might have heard how complicated it is to grow peppers indoors. Well, this is true for a beginner gardener.

However, it’s also true that with a few insider tips, you won’t struggle to grow these plants indoors again.

You’ll learn these tricks here!

In this post, I’ll touch on the steps to growing peppers indoors from seeds and guide you through each. Stick around.

1 – Go with “Indoor-Friendly” Varieties

Choosing the right pepper variety is half of the success. Although you can grow almost any pepper variety indoors, some do better inside than others.

For instance, a sweet variety such as bell peppers won’t produce much fruit indoors. Conversely, compact hot peppers will do well in such a setting.

This is not to say you shouldn’t plant sweet peppers indoors; you definitely can. Still, lower your expectations in this case.

If you prioritize picking a potted pepper variety with the greatest fruit yield, I recommend you go with one of these:

Banana
Shishito
Jalapeno
Thai chili
Serrano
Pequin

2 – Start the Seeds

Now that you’ve picked a proper pepper type, you’ll need to start the seeds. Here are the recommended steps to bring the seeds to germination:

Get a well-aerated organic starter mix with no nutrients. Also, purchase a seed-starting tray with a humidity dome.
Pre-moisten the soil with water until it becomes thoroughly damp (without dripping) and sticks together.
Place a layer of soil into the tray and start compressing it lightly until you feel a bit of resistance. Then add an additional layer and repeat until you fill all the cells to the top.
Make a hole with a depth of around 1/8″ to 1/4″ in each tray hole and drop a seed or two inside. Cover the seeds with 1/4″of soil.
Moisten the soil surrounding the seeds lightly using a spray bottle.
Place a seedling heat mat underneath the tray to provide a constant temperature of 80°F.
Cover the tray with a humidity dome to keep the soil constantly humid. If your tray doesn’t have a dome, you can use a plastic wrap instead.
Keep the tray in a warm and dim space until the seeds sprout. This will typically take 7 to 10 days. Keep misting the soil regularly.
After the seventh day, start checking the seeds more frequently. Once you notice they sprout, remove the humidity dome and move the seeds under a grow light.
Place the plant under grow lights for 12-16 hours a day.
Once the plant’s foliage outgrows the tray cells, it’s time to move the peppers into larger pots.

3 – Choose a Spacious Container

Peppers grow an extensive root system that requires ample space to spread. This is why you need to grow them in large containers to thrive indoors.

Here’s my recommendation: Choose a pot with a diameter of 2 inches or more for each pepper plant. The larger the pot the better.

Besides the spacious size, you need to choose containers with many drainage holes. This prevents pepper roots from turning soggy.

4 – Use a Suitable Potting Mix

You should never use your garden soil to grow your pepper indoors. It can cause many health problems for plants when placed in a pot.

The good news is that any high-quality indoor potting mix can be an excellent medium for growing peppers.

5 – Offer Plenty of Lighting, Regular Watering, and Warm Temperatures

For peppers to thrive indoors, you should place them under an LED light for 12-16 hours a day.

You’ll also need to water them once a week, yet you shouldn’t water until the top 2 inches of the soil are dry. Regularly touch the soil to check for this.

As for temperatures, peppers grow better in warm environments. You need to keep them away from AC units and drafty windows.

6 – Keep an Above Average Humidity Level

Peppers prefer above-average humidity levels with slight differences from one variety to another.

You’ll need to do a quick online search to figure out the ideal humidity for your planted pepper variety. Based on your findings, you should optimize the humidity level around your plants.

7 – Fertilizing Constantly

Peppers require a rich potting mix and a constant fertilizer supply during the growing season.

Here’s how to provide them with this: I recommend using liquid fertilizers with peppers.

The ideal frequency of applying liquid fertilizers to these plants is usually once every 2-4 weeks.

8 – Hand-Pollinate

Peppers have no exposure to pollinating insects indoors. You need to hand-pollinate them for perfect fruiting.

To do so, shake the plant gently for 15 seconds in the morning during the flowering period. This mimics the wind effect on the plants, causing them to release pollen.

Now use a clean makeup brush or a cotton swab to transfer the released pollen onto the flowers’ stigma.

Final Thoughts

Following the steps mentioned above, your peppers will fruit in a period ranging between 70 and 85 days from planting the seeds and you’ll be ready to bring them to your kitchen.

If you make it to the end of the post, please share with us in the comments which recipes you incorporate peppers into.

Lisa Bridenstine

Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.