First of all, what happened to all those other pods? Did the peppers not sprout?

Second, those peppers should be way bigger after a month. Here are some of my peppers after a month since I planted them.

My peppers were the size of yours after two weeks after plant date. Mine come up within a week and I get about 90% of the seeds to germinate.

I would get them out of the pods now and into real containers with decent container mix. And that means removing the netting around the pods before transplanting. Don't use those pods in the future. They dry out too fast and most people simply transplant the seedling with the pod and netting and all which they claim is fine to do.....It isn't. They plant will struggle greatly to break through the netting. Same thing goes with Peat Pots. Don't use those either.

Once you get them transferred, make sure they get plenty of light and warmth. They should stay between 75 and 85 degrees for optimal growth. Limit the watering to only when the soil is close to fully dried out. If you use a commercial potting mix, it will have plenty of nutrients for a couple months so don't add any.

I agree with esox07, repot them in a new mix as soon as you can. Also it looks like they are very wet, drenched which is not good for peppers.

I'm getting two different stories - one is that the pods dry out too fast and the other is that they are too wet.

If you are talking about the missing pods, those had tomato seeds and they sprouted within a week in the same conditions.

I
will transplant them tomorrow, very carefully. I never even considered
transplanting without removing the netting, by the way. I also remove
peat pots, if I buy those, before transplanting.I'll try planting
more seeds after I get back from my vacation - I think I have better
luck with plants started later in the season. What confuses me about
seed packets is that they tell me to start indoors a certain period of
time before the last frost and then plant outdoors a certain time after
the last frost, but since I never have frost, I am not sure how to
interpret those directions. I posted a question on the California
gardening forum, but the responses were not very helpful.

I'm getting two different stories - one is that the pods dry out too fast and the other is that they are too wet.

All plants require air in the rooting media so they can uptake what they need to grow (Including water.) and your pic indicates water saturation, Things Plants Need.

Just like you, plants need air to stay alive. Plant leaves use carbon dioxide from the air
to make sugars and starches for the plant to use as food. Another plant part that
needs air is the roots. Plant roots need oxygen to stay healthy and to do their job of
gathering water and nutrients for the plant.

So if your growing media is completely saturated with water your plant is going to suffer various issues, e.g. stunted growth, yellowing leaves, etc.

I definitely will not use the peat pods again - I bought them because the package had pictures of pepper plants on it, and it was advertised as being a good way to start pepper seeds. Next time I will use small pots instead and see how that works. I would prefer to buy plants that have already been started, but I have trouble even finding the regular Habanero plants - probably because the stores do not stock enough of them, and they sell out very quickly. I bought three Habanero plants in March, and they are doing very well, but I have not seen them in the store since then. Also, I have never seen Chocolate Habanero or Tobago plants in stores, which is why I bought the seeds. I will try to start some seeds again when the weather is warmer, but I still do not know when is the best time to start seeds here.

I am in zone 7/PA and start mine between Jan/Feb and plant out in May. Well established plants can handle 50 degrees or a little below that in the fall. Seedlings not so much. You would have to find someone on here in your grow zone that would better understand your growing conditions. The reason I grow from seeds is that the stores do not carry enough varieties. I am growing Galapagos and I doubt any store would ever carry that.

Since you bought plants in March that's a good indicator that you could start seeds indoors Dec-Jan. Do you have any lights indoors to support growth or do you use a window/greenhouse?

Since you are 11a how cold is the average temp at its coldest and what month does it get that cold?

The coldest average low temp is 50° in January, but that is just the average low temp for January. Last December, it got down to 45°, and in cold years it can get down to 40°. Plants grow well here throughout the winter, and I get plenty of chilies in January/February. Here is a Habanero plant from Feb 11, 2015:

Unfortunately, I do not have a greenhouse set-up - that is not normally needed here, but it would be helpful for chilies and perhaps orchids, although I also grow orchids outdoors all year, especially cymbidiums and epidendrums, which can handle cold better. I have my seedlings in front of the patio door, which gives a lot of light, and the room also has a skylight and large west facing windows.

That's nice weather, guess that's how it is in zone 11a. So if I were you I would start your seedlings indoors a month, two or three before your nighttime average temps are 55-60 degrees. That should give you a healthy head start and avoid the cooler outdoor temps of Jan/Feb and looks like you can plant out in March? Is the indoor temp at least 70 in the cooler months? Looks like your zone is the perfect place for peppers except three months out of the year.

I do get chilies nine month of the year as a rule, because I stagger planting them, and early spring is my only down time - like right now :(, although I have a few that are ready to pick from some old plants. I threw some tomato seeds in with one of my old chili plants, and now it is overgrown with tomato vines, which already have green tomatoes on them. I plan to do some repotting this afternoon.

My indoor temperature is always above 70 during the day, but we allow it get down to 66 at night, if it is cool enough outdoors. In warm weather, we cool it down to 68 at night.

I have a terrarium in the garage that used to house a couple of iguanas (which I gave away), and it has a heating element in the bottom of it. Perhaps I could use that next year for starting my seeds. I could probably set it up in the guest room, but that is on the northeast side of the house and does not get as much light. I guess I could get a grow light to go with it, however. I really do want to be able to start seeds myself and am willing to put the effort into it, since many of the plants I cannot find as plants.

Sounds good, transplanting the overcrowded tomatoes. The terrarium heating element sounds like a good deal, does it come with a thermostat? Before I got a heating mat with a thermostat, I used the DVR for a heat source and a disposable aluminum brownie pan with a plastic lid, made a perfect mini greenhouse. I use T12 shop lights and remove the seedlings from the brownie pans once the seeds sprout. Since I use T12 the light is a couple inches above the seedlings and I adjust as they grow. Peppers seem to sprout faster with 75-80 degrees. Once germinated your room temp will be fine, I've had mine at 55-60 in the basement they grow slower but they still thrive, not ideal but I have to work with what I've got.

Keep us updated on your progress it's always intresting to see how others work with what they got and the different enviorments showing what works and what does not.