Yes, for the past two years. I just looked through this year's pepper
seedlings and somehow I forgot to plant any Tabasco peppers! (I'll fix that
tomorrow for sure.)

Anyway, I've had no problems germinating my Tabasco seeds - germination rate
(75-100%) and speed (14-21 days) were comparable to my other peppers. I used
sterile seed starting mix (Jiffy Plus) and regular black plug trays (32
plugs/tray).

I have had Tabasco pepper plants sulk early in the season, especially if
exposed to cool temps. They seem to be less tolerant of being transplanted
early (into cool conditions) than bell peppers.

However, when the heat comes, they go nuts. Mine get at least twice as big
as my bell pepper plants and make hundreds of peppers per plant. They set
fruit much better in hot weather than bell peppers, and if I keep them
picked, they keep producing all summer and right up to frost, though they do
slow down when the weather cools in the fall.

They also seem more disease tolerant, more tolerant of poor soil conditions,
and less attractive to pests than bell peppers.

FWIW, my seeds were from Totally Tomatoes (www.totallytomato.com).

HTH,
Laura
NW FL USDA Zone 8b

"Penelope Periwinkle" wrote in message
...

Has anyone grown Tabasco peppers from seed? I'm trying to this
year, but my germination rate is very low and the plants that
have germinated are growing slower than the other peppers.
Is this normal for Tabasco peppers? Are they fussy geminators?

I grow lots of peppers from seed, and all the others are doing
well, so it's not my general technique. I'm just wondering if
there is something that Tabasco peppers like that is different,
or if they take a lot longer to germinate, or is I got hold of
some bad seed.

The seed came from Tomato Grower's Supply, and I've never
had any problems from them in the past. I use 4 inch peat pots
with a commercial seed starting mix. The seed tray sits on a
seed warming pad.

I started 7 varieties of peppers in this tray, and all of the
others are doing well. The Jalora jalapenos and the Lemon
Drop peppers have already been transplanted, and the
Corno De Toro Reds and Yellows will go into larger pots
this weekend, with the others not far behind.

So, anybody ever grown Tabasco peppers from seed before?


Penelope


--
"Maybe you'd like to ask the Wizard for a heart."
"ElissaAnn"