Can you grow jalapenos from store bought peppers?

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If you’re a gardener, then you know that one of the best ways to get new plants is to save the seeds from your favourite vegetables.

But what do you do if you want to grow a jalapeno pepper and don’t have any seeds left?

Can you grow jalapenos from store bought peppers?

Jalapenos from the store are typically hybrids, produced for maximum yield and disease resistance. You may be able to grow peppers from the seeds but they will be different from the original, in fact they may not produce peppers at all.

Table of Contents

Selecting the seeds to grow jalapenos

If you are going to try and grow jalapenos from store bought peppers then you need to make sure that you only use peppers that are ripe and fresh.

You should pick red coloured peppers as your source of seeds as these are the ripe ones and you will increase your chances of success.

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Growing jalapenos from store bought peppers

So you’ve selected your ripe red peppers and have a few seeds in hand to get started growing jalapenos?

If you want the best chance of success, you’ll need to be a little patient and follow these steps:

Remove the seeds from the jalapenos –

The first step in growing jalapenos is to remove the seeds.

If you are lucky, then this should be easy since peppers typically have large air chambers around their seeds which makes them very easy to remove.

You should be able to simply scrape them out with a knife or your finger.

Dry the seeds –

Once you have all of the seeds out of your fresh red jalapeno peppers, lay them on some paper towels in a warm area to dry.

Selecting ripe red jalapenos will increase your chances of success with this method but the paper towels should remove any remaining moisture in the seed chambers.

Planting seeds in soil –

After the seeds are completely dry, they are ready for planting. It is important to note that jalapeno seeds require a warm and moist environment in order to germinate.

You will need your soil temperature to be about 20 degrees Celsius or 70 Fahrenheit for the seeds to germinate successfully so fill some pots with potting soil and place them in an area of your home that is warm.

You may need to use a heating pad to warm up your pots but take care not to overheat the soil in your pots by keeping the temperature just under 70 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 degrees Celsius.

Placing seeds in soil –

Gently place the seeds on the top of your potting soil and cover them with about 1/8 of an inch.

You should have about three or four seeds in each pot that you are using for this method to increase your chances of success with growing jalapenos from store bought peppers.

Care and watering the plants – After the seeds germinate and appear above the soil, then they need consistent care and water in order to grow and thrive.

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Harvesting peppers and saving seeds

Once the peppers reach about 2 inches in length you can pick them and use for cooking for maximum flavour.

You’ll want to save the seeds from this year’s crop as next year’s growing season approaches. Just like with regular jalapenos, you will need to let the plants mature fully, remove all of the peppers and allow them to dry.

After they are completely dried you can place them in a jar or baggie for storage.

Is it easy to grow jalapenos from store bought peppers?

This method isn’t guaranteed to work but if you are an experienced gardener then you should have a good chance of success with growing jalapenos from store bought peppers.

You’re going to need patience and a few supplies in order to have the best chance of growing your own jalapeno peppers from store bought ones.

What results can you expect when growing jalapenos from shop bought produce?

The results can and probably will vary as the store bought peppers that you have sourced your seed from are probably hybrids.

This means that they have been bred from two or more variety of peppers to increase fruiting yield, reliability and resistance to disease and pests.

As a result the peppers that you grow from these seeds will not grow true to form, in other words they won’t be the same.

You may get a good crop of jalapenos or you may get none, the peppers that grow could be larger, smaller in fact there can be a wide range of differences.

Try using an organic source for your pepper seeds

It’s possible that your organic food section or store contains locally grown peppers that may not have been subjected to breeding or any other form of treatment.

When growing any form of store bought produce it is always a good choice to select an organic source for the seeds and, in the case of jalapenos, doing so can significantly increase your chances of a good crop.