It’s finally about time for the first frost in Minnesota. If I bury a few of my peppers instead of eating them will they grow next year and be the same thing?
In my experience peppers aren’t as eager to self-sow as tomatoes. And it’s a crapshoot as to whether seedlings would grow into plants producing the same fruit.
Ornamental peppers (which are generally hot) tend to produce offspring that are similar to the parents. I let the fruit dry, refrigerate the seeds and start them in pots in spring.
There is a good chance, but better if you dry the peppers, remove the seeds, and germinate them in small pots in early spring.
Peppers generally self-pollinate, which means the seeds are essentially clones of the mother plant (unless the mother plant was a hybrid). They can cross-pollinate, so if you had several varieties in your garden, it is possible to get new plants that are widely different than the parents. But, if your garden only had, say, six jalapenos that you bought in a six-pack from the store, you can be pretty sure that your new plants will be like the last ones.
You say you’re in Minnesota. Peppers are generally a warm-weather plant. They will not germinate until the ground gets above 60F or so. That probably puts you into mid-summer? Not much of a growing season. If you dry them, separate the seeds, then germinate the seeds in the spring (inside) and get them to be about the size the ones you buy from the store before you plant them, you will have many more peppers.
Agree. The ground in MN freezes and would probably kill the seeds, and even if it didn’t they wouldn’t get much of a growing season. Definitely preferable to give them a couple month head start indoors if possible.
I’ve always had pretty good luck with store bought peppers breeding true. But, if you grow a variety of different peppers in your garden at home, you can end up with some pretty interesting crosses the next year, and you can fairly easily develop a strain that’s all yours.
More info here:
*"A chile seed (like any other seed) is the mature ovule of a plant. It contains all the genetic material, and stored energy, to grow into a plant (potentially) displaying the same traits as its parent. However, hybridisation (cross-pollination between chile varieties), introduces new and different genetic material and the effects of this hybridisation can be seen in the next, and future, generations. Seeds identified, and sold, as ‘F1’ hybrids identify first generation hybrids. Avoid saving seeds from these plants since the only predictable characteristic of the second generation is that - you can’t predict it!
Almost all known species of chile plants will self-pollinating. However, with the aid of insects, they are also very promiscuous - readily cross pollinating with other species of chile. This cross pollination may result in viable seed. Cross pollination within the same species is almost certain to result in viable, and very vigorous, hybrids."*
If you’re saving seed from fruit that grew on a hybrid plant (i.e. pretty nearly anything you bought in a supermarket, unless explicitly labelled ‘heritage’), the offspring will not be the same as the parent, and might be OK, or horribly inferior.
If you’re saving seed from an open-pollinated traditional variety, they will be fine.
Pepper seeds are adapted to passing through the digestive system of a bird, so to encourage germination, you could abrade the seed coats a little before you plant them - mix them half and half with sharp grit in a plastic container and give it a good vigorous shake for a minute or so (there’s no need to separate the grit out - just scatter the seed/grit mixture on some seed compost in a seed tray and lightly cover with a little more compost, then water in.
what cultivar are you planning to grow? I grow peppers every year, and my experience is that the “novelty” ones which are cultivated for more heat generally produce slower-growing, more fragile plants. This year I started both jalapeno and habanero plants in mid-March (indoors.) The jalapeno plants grew at 3-4x the rate of the habaneros, and were producing fruit in short order while the habaneros were just dropping their flowers. now as the weather gets colder I’m drowning in habaneros; I’ve given dozens away already with a couple dozen more still on the plant.
I’ll also add that if they’re grocery store peppers, they’re almost certainly hybrids of some kind, while farmer’s markets tend toward open pollinated varieties.
If they’re from your own garden, then you’re the person who would know.