Need some advice here from the experts. Thank you to @bogman for the seeds! I’m counting down to when I should start seedlings (zone 6b/7a - still adjusting to the change to 7a). It’s been an awfully cold winter so far this year, and normally our last frost is more mid to late April. Do we think mid February might be too early? Maybe consider March instead?
In past years, I’ve always been a little late with my seedlings. I don’t really move anything outside until early to mid May.
Not an expert but as someone in the same area: I’m starting mine early March, and will plan to get them in the ground mid to late May. 8-9 weeks is a bit longer than usually recommended by gardening web sites, but I want the plants to ideally be around 12" tall when I finally get them in so I can get an actual full growing season for once. We’ll see if I can make it work this time… 
For best production, start the seeds in early to mid February. The plants put more energy making flowers, when they’re small plants, than most other varieties. This diversion from purely vegetative growth slows them a little. Be sure to remove flowers, flower buds until they’re at least a foot tall. I’m in the same USDA zone, and that’s what I did in 2025.
So this weekend for you? I need to get moving…
BTW what do you like to use as a starting medium?
Me too! They are also the subject of a Horticultural Therapy Methods assignment!
My Manzano pepper came through our so-called-winter like a trooper!
I’m suprised to see your time frame – it seems early to me being that we are in the same Zone.
How do you keep your two to two and a half month plants happy when the temps at night can easily go down to low forties or close to freezing? Have a green house or large climate controlled building with good lighting?
I’d love to start them that early and transplant as necessary, but just don’t have the space inside to keep them properly illuminated in any quantity unless I don’t start other plants.
I usually use ProMix BX AGTIV. Heat mat set at 85°F ( 29°C ).
The peppers and other slower-growing starts begin in row-cells. Once large enough to handle/transplant, they go into 128 plug trays. Then into 2 1/2 inch deep pots (rose pots). If necessary, they get stepped up into 3 inch deep pots.
The plants are grown indoors until about late May. They do not get exposed to cold. During the 90-100 days, they’re under a powerful LED light, growing elevated over waterproof trays. The floor space is roughly 40 x 40 inches, roughly 11 square feet (3.35 square meters). By mid March, they’re often joined by other plants, like tomatoes. I tried to photograph it once, but the light is so powerful, it throws the phone camera into some sort of panic mode, even when I’m standing five feet away and the light isn’t hitting the camera receptor directly. The light setup is in the bedroom, which is usually vacant until night, when the light goes off. Heat mats are not usually needed once the plants are in 2 1/2 inch pots.
