Germinating difficult Pepper seed

[Tucson Grower]

I did not originate the following technique, I am only familiar with it because we sometimes used it at NMSU.

"We use saltpeter (Potassium nitrate) for the hard to germinate varieties. We use a mixture of 1-2% saltpeter or 1 gram of saltpeter to 100ml is a 1% solution for a maximum of 24hrs. This helps soften the seed shell and helps them to shed the shells once they start to grow. This is also a must for wild varieties. Because it simulates passing through a birds digestive tract. On these wild varieties we use saltpeter at a rate of 2-3% for 24 hours max." The preceding quote, is not verbatim, I edited it for clarity.

The original text, is here, at Atlantic Pepper Seeds. They also have other techniques listed on their site.

[heavyhitterokra]

We used to kill stumps by drilling holes in them and filling the boreholes with saltpeter. We also used it to make homemade smoke bombs and rocket propellants by mixing it with sugar, but I didn't know saltpeter could be used to simulate the digestive system of birds for preparing seeds. Very interesting. Thanks, for posting that.

[macmex]

That's great information! Thanks!