Every year we plant a garden in our backyard and every year, it gets bigger than the year before. This past summer we had a really great crop of bell peppers, so I wanted to save some of our pepper seeds to plant next year. It’s a really easy process and you’ll be able to start your own pepper plants early in the season, indoors.
How to Dry Bell Pepper Seeds to Plant Next Year
Step 1: Remove the seeds from your bell peppers and lay them out on a plate. You need to pick out all pieces of pepper, you need just the seeds.
Step 2: I like to line one of my baking sheets (a cookie sheet with airflow holes) with 3 paper towels. Spread the seeds out on the paper towels in a single layer. Try to make sure that they’re not touching one another.
Step 3: Let them air dry in a cool, dark and dry place. Every day I like to gently move the seeds around to make sure that they’re getting proper airflow and drying out. They need to be 100% dry which takes approximately 5-7 days for me.
Step 4: I wash out an empty amber colored medicine bottle with liquid soap and water. Make sure you rinse it well and thoroughly dry. I let mine dry overnight.
Step 5: Place your dried seeds into the medicine bottle and place the cap on top. Label the contents and date. I place mine down in my veggie bin inside my refrigerator and store them until spring.
Once spring rolls around and I’m ready to plant them…I remove them from the refrigerator and allow them to warm-up to room temperature. We like to start our own plants indoors and then will transplant them outdoors into our garden when planting time arrives. We use 3-4 bell pepper seeds in each cavity when trying to start our own plants. That’s it!
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Thank you for these very exact directions. I did not know how to do this nor did I realize all the specific acts the drying involves.
I had no idea that you could do this with the bell pepper seeds. This is wonderful and I so want to try it. Thank you for the easy to follow directions.
Thanks for such an easy to follow step by step tutorial. It all makes sense and seems so doable.. I really like how you reused the medicine bottle.
My Grandma used to do this. She would always have seeds of some kind drying in the kitchen window, lol.
We love rainbow peppers so I really love this post. Thanks for the tips!
That is pretty much how I do it but I keep mine at room temperature until planting season. I will try keeping them in the refrig next time. Thank you for the information.
I have done this for many years! You can plant over and over. I have found using heirloom to begin with for me works best.Notoo long an it will be time to plant I can not wait!
This is the best post in ages! I grow peppers on my patio every year. However, it never occurred to me to dry and plant those seeds. Every year I buy seed packets. thank you Shelly!