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How to save pepper seeds

To save pepper seeds, start by picking the first peppers off healthy plants. You’ll want to collect ripe peppers from 6-12+ plants of the same variety. Slice the peppers and remove the seeds with a clean spoon. Don’t forget gloves and goggles for hot peppers! Swirl the seeds around in a jar of water and discard any seeds that float. Then pour off the water and place the seeds out to dry for a day or two before storing them for winter.

Pepper seed-saving basics

Pepper seeds are easy to save! Beginners can easily save seeds from bell peppers grown in the garden, while hot pepper aficionados will enjoy saving their own prized seeds. Just be sure to choose open-pollinated pepper varieties.

Planting peppers for seed-saving

Start by planting a minimum of 6 to 12 pepper plants of your desired variety. This will help ensure you have a good amount of viable seed that is genetically diverse. Most peppers can self-pollinate but they are also commonly cross-pollinated by bees and flies.

Choose an open-pollinated variety

Make sure the variety you’ve chosen is open-pollinated. Open-pollinated varieties, including heirloom and non-heirloom (newer) types, as long as they aren’t hybrids (F1 crosses), are acceptable.

All heirloom seeds are open-pollinated and perfect for seed saving for yourself and for future generations. Hybrid seeds will not save true-to-type and must be purchased fresh from the seed company each year.

Here are some great open-pollinated pepper varieties:

  • California Wonder bell pepper
  • Banana pepper
  • Corbaci sweet pepper
  • Spanish Mammoth pepper
  • California Reaper hot pepper
  • Tam jalapeño hot pepper
  • Anaheim hot pepper
  • Tobasco hot pepper

Isolation between varieties

Other types of peppers naerby should be kept separate from the group of 6-12+ peppers that will be used for saving seeds. The variety you’re preserving can simply be separated from others by planting it far away from other varieties (or just planting one) or by erecting a physical barrier between them.

Pepper plants have large isolation distances for seed saving. To minimize cross-pollination, isolate varieties by 100 feet (30 meters) or more. If you have a small garden, put up a physical barrier or bag individual flowers with fine mesh or cloth bags.

Row cover, for example, can be used to isolate with a solid barrier. Planting may take place in polytunnels, greenhouses, or hoops covered with insect netting. To prevent bumblebees, mason bees, flies, and other pollinators from entering, make sure the insect netting is firmly attached to the ground and around the doors.

Companion planting for seed-saving

Consider also planting a variety of flowers around the garden area. These blooms are meant to divert pollinating insects and keep them occupied. Instead of traveling between pepper plants, we want the bumblebees to visit nearby flowers.

Planting a tall hedge-like crop like corn between varieties or a flowering crop like squash is another option. To keep bugs distracted, try growing crops and companion plants that blossom at different times of the summer.

Growing peppers for seed-saving

Keep your new pepper plants healthy by watering them regularly, removing any sick leaves, and staking or cage them if necessary. You’ll also want to use a slow-release organic fertilizer and mulch the soil around the roots to keep it wet and keep the roots cool.

Take note of nighttime temperatures. Pepper plants don’t set fruit on chilly nights and only produce viable seed when the fruit sets on warm evenings. In general, be wary of fruits set below about 60°F (15°C).

As the plants start to flower, take a bit of time every day to tap the flower clusters or gently jostle the whole plant. Most pepper flowers are self-fertile and have both male and female parts. Jostling the plant can help pollinate the plant by causing the pollen to fall from anthers onto the stigmas of the blossom. Make it a habit to shake the flowers to increase the chance of self-pollination.

To minimize cross-pollination, consider putting a mesh or silk bag over the flower buds before opening. Small organza bags from craft stores and dollar stores also work well. Wrap bits of a cotton ball around the stem to block the entrance. This will keep out insects and allow for careful hand pollination with a paintbrush.

Once the peppers are pollinated and the flowers have fallen off, the peppers themselves will start to grow. Continue caring for your plants as usual, ensuring they get enough water and nutrients.

As the peppers mature, the seeds inside start to swell. These are almost ready to harvest! Pepper seeds are mature at the same time that the pepper fruit has ripened to its final color. Harvest pepper seeds from individual fruits as they ripen, choosing the first 1-2 peppers from each plant.

Choosing peppers to save seeds from

Harvest the first peppers from the plants for the best future germination rates. If you have more than 6-12+ plants, only pick from the middle of the patch to reduce the danger of cross-pollinated seeds. Seed savers working to preserve genetic diversity usually save seeds from more like 50-100 plants.

Look for healthy, uniform plants with many blooms/fruits to save your pepper seeds. Avoid harvesting peppers from sick, diseased, or weak plants in the vegetable garden. For saving your own seeds, try to select healthy, consistent plants with many flowers/fruit.

Harvesting peppers for seed-saving

When the first peppers are ripe, they should be picked for seed harvesting. The seeds inside are ripe when the pepper itself has turned its expected final color and is ready to eat. Note that some peppers we eat as green peppers are eaten when immature, and these peppers should be left to ripen to red/yellow/orange/purple/et cetera on the vine.

The exception is when the fruits were set when temperatures were overly cold. If nighttime temperatures were below about 60°F (15°C), the peppers will likely be small and contain little/no seeds. If this is the case, wait until fruit set during warm evenings ripens and choose those peppers for saving from.

Try to pluck the ripe fruit from inside the plant (rather than hanging out the side of the cage, where the blooms were likely more susceptible to cross-pollination). Do not save seeds from rotten peppers.

How to save seeds from peppers

Start with safety! Always use rubber gloves and goggles when working with hot peppers, as the capsaicinoids in hot peppers can burn your skin and eyes.

Slice the pepper open and scoop out the seeds into a bowl or glass jar. If you are harvesting pepper seeds from multiple varieties, label them with a permanent marker so you can keep track of them.

The next step is to add a bit of water and stir. This is not to wash the seeds (although it does this), but to separate the non-viable seeds out. The seeds that float should be removed and discarded while the seeds that sink can be dried and stored for planting. You can also keep all the seeds and plant 2-3 in each location, thinning out the plants to the strongest seedling. Pepper seeds do not need to be cleaned or washed – they’re ready to go straight out of the pod!

Dry the pepper seeds on a plate, coffee filter, paper towel, window screen, or in a fine mesh strainer. A minimum air temperature of 70°F will aid in the drying process. Avoid using a dehydrator or oven, as the high heat can damage the pepper seeds.

Once the pepper seeds are dry, store them in a glass jar with a tight lid in a cool, dark place such as a cupboard or closet. You can also store the seeds in the freezer.

Storing pepper seeds

Store pepper seeds in a dry, cool, dark storage location. Keep the seeds away from moisture, warm temperatures, and direct sunlight. These factors all decrease the viable lifetime of the seed.

Packaging pepper seeds

Start by packaging the clean, dry seeds in a small package. Use gloves for hot peppers. Here are some good options for storage containers:

  • Small paper coin envelopes
  • Small plastic baggies
  • Glass wide-mouth mason jars

Press very lightly when closing the package to avoid crushing the seeds. Try not to leave too much air in the package, but don’t press out all the air. Don’t vacuum seal seeds because all seeds need a bit of air for cellular respiration.

Lastly – be sure to label your seeds! Include the variety name, the date the seeds were saved, and any interesting notes or tips for cultivation. I always think that I will remember the details – but it doesn’t always work out that way! Label your pepper varieties.

Seed storage containers

Once the seeds are packaged for storage, all the packages can be placed into a container. This can be anything from a repurposed plastic bin or wooden box to one of these fancier options:

  • Library card drawers
  • Photo storage cases
  • Large glass jars

Airtight containers like large/thick freezer Ziplocs, plastic tubs, food storage containers, or mason jars work well to store seeds. If you can find an airtight tub that is a solid color, that will help keep light away from the seeds. Tightly sealed glass containers tend to lead to the longest seed lifespan in home seed-saving conditions.

Wooden library drawers – while not airtight – do an excellent job of keeping light out while maintaining organization. You can also tuck multiple paper envelopes or thin plastic baggies into a large glass mason jar for storage.

To reduce humidity, you can tuck a silica gel pack rescued from other packaging or include a tablespoon of dry rice or powdered milk. These drying agents are a good hedge as they can absorb any excess moisture.

Seed storage conditions

Even when stored in ideal conditions, pepper seeds don’t last particularly long. At home, a good storage spot generally means a location with low humidity (but not zero humidity), no light, and a cool temperature just above freezing.

Here are the ideal conditions for home storage of pepper seeds:

  • An air temperature of 32°-41°F (0°- 5°C)
  • An air humidity of less than 50% humidity
  • Near-total darkness
  • Free from pests like mice that like to feast on seeds

Common places to store seeds include unheated closets, dry and cool basements, and the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. If storing in a place with variable humidity (like the fridge), use an airtight container like a thick Ziploc freezer bag or glass jar. Consider popping a humidity meter in with your seeds.

Pepper seed lifespan

Pepper seeds usually last 2-4 years when properly stored in a cool, dry place.

Planting pepper seeds

Pepper seeds are generally planted indoors in seedling trays, grown as seedlings for about eight weeks, and then transplanted into the outdoor garden.

Pepper seeds germinate in soil temperatures between 60ºF and 95ºF. Seeds are slow to germinate at the cooler end of this range, so the seeds are usually planted at an optimum soil temperature of 70ºF to 95ºF for quicker germination. Viable pepper seeds usually take about a week to germinate in ideal 86ºF (30°C) soil. Use a seedling heating mat with a thermostat for the most control over your seedling soil temperatures.

Plant your pepper seedlings in loose, friable soil enriched with organic matter. You can also plant your peppers in a container with good potting soil for growing peppers.

Mary Jane Duford
Mary Jane Duford

Mary Jane Duford is a quintessential Canadian gardener. An engineer by trade, she tends to an ever-expanding collection of plants. In her world, laughter blooms as freely as her flowers, and every plant is raised with a dash of Canadian grit.

Mary Jane is a certified Master Gardener and also holds a Permaculture Design Certificate. She's also a proud mom of three, teaching her little sprouts the crucial difference between a garden friend and foe.

When she's not playing in the dirt, Mary Jane revels in her love for Taylor Swift, Gilmore Girls, ice hockey, and the surprisingly soothing sounds of bluegrass covers of classic hip-hop songs. She invites you to join her garden party, a place where you can share in the joy of growing and where every day is a new opportunity to find the perfect spot for yet another plant.

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