Saving seeds from Scotch Bonnet peppers for next year

8 years ago

I finally found some imported fresh Scotch Bonnet peppers in a Caribbean market, and would like to try to save some seeds to plant for next year. Any tips about the best way to dry or preserve and store the seeds? Should I keep the seeds from the red peppers over the orange ones? Is it possible to try to grow them indoors in a cold climate over the winter? Thanks!

Comments (3)

Terry Thomas
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The way I save all my seeds from fruit such as peppers, tomatoes, etc. is quite simple and not at all scientific. LOL!

I usually collect seeds from food I'm eating such as salads or sandwiches. So I just tear a paper napkin in half and write the fruit type, where I got it and the date near the top edge. Then I flip the napkin over and write the same information on the bottom edge.

Then I flip it back to the first side and picking up some seeds with a spoon place them on the paper then spread them out up near where I wrote the data. Then I fold up the napkin and allow it to dry while I finish my meal. (Now the note from the back side is visible on the top side.)

Here are some seeds I saved from an eggplant from the grocery store:

When I get home, I put the folded napkin on a window sill to fully dry. When it does, I stick it into a cleaned out 16 ounce plastic yogurt tub marked with the year I collected the seeds. I have several such tubs going back 5 or 6 years.

When winter starts to fade, I pry open the napkins and put the seeds into sterile seed starter that is in pairs of small 3 ounce white plastic cups that I buy in bags of 150 for a couple dollars. These are sold as disposable bathroom drinking cups in my local Kroger grocery store.

I heat the tip of a cheap Phillips screw driver and melt a hole in the bottom middle of half of the cups. The sterile seed starter goes in these cups. The cups without a hole are where I put the water. This way the seeds, new roots and tender shoots are evenly bottom fed. I use a black Sharpie pen to write the seed information, date I started them etc. on the white plastic.

Here is a pair of cups where the seed starter has just started to absorb some of the water from the bottom one:

Once the seeds have spouted, the stem grown and real leaves get going, I transfer the plant to pairs of 8 ounce beverage cups that I have prepared in the same manner but with those I use potting soil or Mel's Mix instead of sterile seed starter. When those plants get going I transfer them again to pairs of 16 ounce beverage cups prepared in the same manner.

For final containers I decapitate 2 liter plastic soft drink bottles then burn a hole in the bottom of them for drainage. Or the plants are now ready for the garden.

Here are various peppers that are happily growing in the manner that I have described:

As I said, my method of collecting seeds to grow is not at all scientific but it is fast, simple, cheap and works.

Terry Thomas
Brookhaven Gardens
Brookhaven (Atlanta), Georgia USA
Skype: AtlantaTerry
the_northeast_chileman
8 years ago

I see Terry covered seed saving very well so I'll address the others:

First is "Should I keep the seeds from the red peppers over the orange ones?". The term Scotch Bonnet is one of most overused and least understood term in Pepperdom, for a look at TSB (True Scotch Bonnet) click here.> Growing Scotch Bonnet Pepper in Jamaica or at the pic at the bottom of this post. There are peppers listed as Red Scotch Bonnet but as you can see they look like Habs and not a Tam O'Shanter. So not knowing what you have, other than red and orange and TSB is yellow, I ask you to save the seeds as such, i.e. Red Scotch Bonnet and Orange Scotch Bonnet as generally after they leave their green shade they are ripe and seeds can be saved.

Second "Is Is it possible to try to grow them indoors in a cold climate over the winter?", you can try but generally peppers don't fare well without a generous amount of sunlight and warmth. You can get seeds to sprout but generally they will not grow to full size, flower, fruit or ripen indoors without some kind of light source that will simulate sunshine.

Hope this helps!
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isgen
8 years ago
jodyj21,

I assume you weren't too limited in the amount of seeds you collected, so I suggest trying to sprout a few fresh ones and plant right away to see if you can get them going indoors during winter, for kicks if nothing else. I'm in zone 4b southern Québec and am attempting just this. In addition to two plants I've had since early summer, I have two healthy Jalapeno seedlings and three from seeds I was given, labeled only as "Indian peppers". I have them under 42W, 6500K, 2850 Lumens CFL's in aluminum reflectors. That'll be their winter-sun.

As for drying the rest to start them in late winter or early spring, as is more usual, a sunny window sill should do just fine.

Good luck in whatever you attempt!

the_northeast_chileman,

Thanks for that info on Scotch Bonnets. I was given a small plant that is supposed to be a Scotch Bonnet. It has yet to bud or let alone grow pods, but I'll remember that info when (if) the time comes. Might just be a Hab of some sort for all I know.