Sowing starts here.
Discover what you can sow and plant now. Or find a vegetable and see how to give it a good start.
What can you sow now?
Ideas for the rest of november still to sow or plant.
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Guide periods for the Netherlands and Flanders. Check the variety, sufficient light and measured soil and air temperatures.What would you like to grow?
Find a vegetable or browse the species. See when you can start and which approach suits your propagation space.
A good start: warmth and light
Warm sowing can be done indoors or in a heated greenhouse. After germination, every seedling needs enough light. A dark attic needs grow lights. An unheated greenhouse can become very cold at night: measure the temperature and check the advice for your crop.
1 of 108 species and crop groups
Chillies & sweet peppersStart under cover in warmthMid-February–early March for greenhouse growing
Mid-February–early March for greenhouse growingStart indoors in warmth and reserve enough bright space for raising plants.
- Germination and temperature
- Germination: around 18–21 °C. After emergence: good light at about 16–18 °C.
- After emergence
- Give seedlings light immediately after emergence. A dark loft needs suitable grow lights; warmth alone is insufficient. Ventilate and keep the compost moist without saturating it.
- Pricking out and potting on
- Prick out once the first true leaves are manageable. Hold a seedling by a leaf. Pot on when the roots fill the root ball.
- Hardening off and planting out
- Gradually acclimatise indoor-raised plants to sun, wind and outdoor temperatures; shelter them again on cold nights. An unheated greenhouse generally from mid-May; outdoors often late May–June, with consistently warm nights (at least around 12 °C). A heated greenhouse can be earlier if temperature is actually maintained.
Sweet pepper needs a long season. Very early sowing without enough light gives no head start. For outdoor growing, a suitable early cultivar may be sown later; follow seed guidance.
Sources and use
RHS · paprika ↗Britse teeltrichtlijn voor een gematigd klimaat; de genoemde perioden zijn richtlijnen voor Nederland en Vlaanderen.
Guideline periods for the Netherlands and Flanders. Check the variety, available light, soil and measured temperatures. Greenhouse heating does not guarantee enough winter light.