Q: Hi Dave!
My friend introduced me to pepper growing a few months ago. He gave me a few jalapeno seedlings which are doing well in my window area in Cologne, Germany. However, I would like to grow some more varieties. As it is proving very difficult to obtain seeds here in Cologne, I was wondering if it is possible to take seeds from chiles bought in a supermarket/shop and grow them. Can I do this? There is a Thai shop near my house which sells very hot chiles and I would love to try and grow these. Thanks in advance.
–Mark
A: Hello Mark:
Take only the seeds from dried peppers, as they are more mature. Fresh red peppers might work, but the green ones are immature. However, if the dried peppers were furnace dried, rather than sun dried, the seeds won’t germinate. Since you live in Germany, you should buy your seeds from www.pepperworld.com which is a German website for all things hot & spicy. They have an excellent selection of seeds.