Sets

Indoor tray

Trays, then light. Heat mat optional. That is the indoor set. Central Florida has two windows: August through September, then January through March. Move outdoors after the last spring frost. Do not sow small seed in a garden row and hope rain is gentle. The full calendar is Grow.

Pepper seedlings in a tray — Tray first. Light next.

Seed tray

Cells, mix, and a tray that drains. UF/IFAS starts pepper indoors because a garden row washes small seed away in a rain. One cell per seed. A tray that holds water in the bottom is a different job from a tray that drains. Label the variety on the cell, not on a scrap of tape that falls off when you water. The indoor set is that tray plus mix. It is not a bag of seed dumped on a bed in August.

Pepper seedlings in labeled cells — One cell per seed. Label the variety.

Heat under the tray is optional. Use it if nights are cool and germination stalls. It does not replace light. A warm dark closet grows leggy stems. Keep the tray where you will see it twice a day. Bottom water so the mix stays even. Do not flood the crown. A 72-cell tray is a classroom, not a windowsill set. Pack six or twelve cells if this is the first indoor round.

Cells and a tray that drains. Get this. Mix that drains. Garden soil is the wrong bag. Get this.

A humidity dome over a seed tray — Dome until the first true leaves. Then air.

Light

South or west sill for a dozen cells. Overhead light past that. Closer keeps plants stocky for the move outdoors. A north window in a Florida ranch is still a north window. Stretch is a light problem, not a fertilizer problem. Do not add a second heat mat to fix a lean. A terracotta pot is a later outdoor object. It does not start seed.

Overhead light if the sill is north or crowded. Get this. A heat mat only if nights stall germination. Get this.

An LED grow light over seedlings — Closer keeps stems stocky.

Harden off, then the bed

A few hours of shade, then morning sun, then the row. The August window and the January window both assume that sequence. Skip it and the first afternoon cooks the tray. UF/IFAS treats pepper as a transplant crop in this climate. Wait for true leaves and a stocky stem before the bed. Last spring frost is the outdoor gate, read on NWS Melbourne and FAWN rather than a seed packet printed for New Jersey. Season dates stay on Season. Varieties stay on Varieties. Datil is a local name with a cited UF/IFAS page. Jalapeño, cayenne, habanero, and serrano are the other named starts. This page is the indoor packing list: trays, mix, lights, cages.

Terracotta pots for a later outdoor move — Outdoor later. Skip terracotta until the tray is stocky.

If that is still the missing pair, Get this kit.

Packed kits sit on Kits. Tray versus light sits on Compare. The field calendar sits on Grow.