I'd advise that you use a good, fast draining potting medium and keep the plastic pots. And you will not need to transplant from the 3 inch containers to a larger size. At least, it's not likely that you will need to. By all means, start your peppers at the same time.

Be sure that you turn off the heat mat once the seeds have germinated and that you have plenty of good lighting for the plants. Bedding plants like a warm soil during the germination process, but prefer to be cool once they've begin to grow. A too-warm environment will result in lanky plants prone to insect and disease problems. Colder temperatures will result in stocky, sturdy plants.

6-8 weeks before planting date is more usual for tomatoes. Peppers can be started at the same time. They like warmer soil so its not a problem if they get planted out a little later. To save space I start them at high denstities in small pots and then pot up to the 3" square pots when they get true leaves. By the time they get potted up it is usually warm enough most days to put the tomatoes outside during the day so the lights can be used for other things (peppers).

Ready for potting up

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51251503@N03/5151645292/

Just up

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51251503@N03/5151643714/

Thanks for the great info. I should be able to transplant to garden no later than Memorial Day, so I'll count back 8-10 weeks or so for the seed germination beginning (about mid to late March likely).
Have my lights, stand, heat mat, thermostat and all pots, trays, dome, etc.
Am I anxious or what???

Thanks again!!

Jeff+

Jeff: I've always started the peppers about 2 weeks earlier than the tomatoes if they are bieng started in the same size containers. In your case, you are using a much larger container than my cell packs. My goal is usually to plant the peppers out a week or 2 later than the tomatoes as they are even more susceptible to cold injury than tomatoes in the spring and need more heat to actually grow. Never could see the point in putting out a transplant in conditions that were too cold to grow in, too many bad things can happen and you really won't speed things up appreciably.

My transplants get put outside in a cold frame as soon as possible, usually 3-4 weeks before planting and the peppers always are behind the tomatoes if planted at the same time, that's why I plant them earlier. In your location, there may be warmer temperatures than here and both tomatoes and peppers may have optimal growing temps. early where mine don't.

BTW, get a small dial thermometer like those used in the kitchen to use when germinating your seed. The heat pads are great but it pays to keep track of the temp at seeding depth starting as soon as the pots go on the mat. If the temp is too low with those pots, try placing some plastic over the whole setup including the mat or just over the pot tops. Experiment with your germination setup before you even plan to start the process with everything arranged as you plan to do it ultimately to work out the kinks, that way you won't be wasting time and seed figuring out how to best get to where you want to be, awash in seedlings! Good luck.

I start the peppers well in advance of tomatoes because they are slower to get to a transplantable size and much slower in temperate climates to bear fruit. I also find I prefer, as do most of my customers, to have peppers sized up well when purchased. Mostly I do not go below 18 per flat even though I will sell tomatoes in 36 or 48 count flats because the tomatoes catch up with them and pass them in how rapidly they grow.

In my part of z5 we also start peppers ~2 weeks prior to toms, habanero and ornamentals ~three weeks. The toms and habanero go outside under walls o' water three-four weeks prior to last frost so my countback dates are dependent not only on frost date but WOW date. Also remember you must harden off so you start that ~week prior to actually putting them in the ground.

For others, I don't use a heat mat but rather an enclosed box and my lights provide the heat. Much cheaper in material and electricity.

Dan

I find also that peppers take way longer to germ than toms and have a lower germ rate.

Jeff, be careful that you get starting medium, NOT potting soil. The latter is death to small seeds. People at garden centers will often give you potting soil.

I never harden off peppers and potting soil seems to work fine for tomatoes and peppers. I think the trick with germinating pepper seeds is to let them dry out after the initial watering then begin watering again. Using this technique they usually all sprout within 3-4 days of each other.

I use a potting soil with no perlite in it so I don't have to look at the mess in my garden. This requires being careful with watering to lessen the chance of compaction. I also use plastic pots as here in my part of z5 peat pots don't break down in the soil, so I must transplant.

Dan

Dan if a little perlite looks like a mess in your garden you're not planting deep enough and might have a case of OCD lol.

The perlite always seems to make its merry way upward, regardless of depth. But I'll cop to perlite-specific OCD, surely.

Dan

;o)

Everyone is so different...it cracks me up ;-)
I added 15 yards of Pumice to my concoction....just for that look ;-)

Dan's right. Because of it's sp. gravity perlite will work it's way to the top (just like the classification that occurs when I pan gold or some other mineral). In my case, I don't care, except that the white color (or lack thereof) might keep my soil temps too cool.

I live in a 5b, but with an added challenge, 7400' elevation. Thus, one or two freezes are the norm through June. I transplant my tomatoes and peppers and a zucchini in a cold frame in early May with an electric heater for the occasional sub freezing night. Without that plastic covering, I couldn't plant them prior to the last week in June (I've seen frost on the 5th of July at 7,000').

I like to start toms and peppers indoors at the end of February. I put the pepper seeds in a wet paper towel in a sandwich bag to germinate even earlier than that. I move the strongest plants into larger pots, 1 gallon for toms and half that size for peppers. If you don't have room, I suggest moving the tv into storage and using it's shelf.

I'm not a master gardener by any means, but I do harvest a nice crop of toms and peppers in an area that many people believe neither can be grown.

By the way, when transplanting toms, bury a part of the stem beneath the surface to increase root system.

Mark

If I were still in Cascadia I'd add white to my soil as well, on the chance the white makes the area brighter and fights off the gloom ;o) .

One more thing for frjeff (then I'll shut up) is with a dome you have to watch the moisture carefully to avoid damping off, esp with a heat mat. And again, you can extend your season and plant out earlier numerous ways to get the plants in the ground sooner: row covers, Walls O' Water, cloches, 5 gal buckets...

Dan

Have you checked out all the great info and the many FAQs available over on the Growing from Seed forum here? Lots of informative reading and you'll find answers there to most all the basic questions.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing from Seed forum