Hi CH's, A few people seem concerned with this, so here are my thoughts from N. America. 1 - You should not start seeds more than 6 weeks prior to the last probable day for frost in your area if you plan to plant them outside. Even then, the plants will not perform well until the soil has warmed up. 2 - If you are going to keep them in pots, at least until the soil is warmed, you might think of starting the seeds a couple of weeks earlier and shuttling them in and outside when the weather permits. 3 - Sufficient indoor lighting is a consideration. The closer you can get them to fluorescent light tubes for 12h per day the better. I use a light fitting that takes four 4' tubes. It is raised on wood blocks as the plants grow and the starter trays slide in and out for watering. A mixture of warm white and cool white tubes is as good as expensive "Growlux" tubes. 4 - Use only water and a sterile seed starting mixture. Just cover the seeds and water with a mister at first. Germination is much improved and hastened by heating (pads) to up to 90degF. Do not apply fertiliser of any type until the plants have at least one pair of true leaves. (Not the cotyledons or "seed leaves" that come through first.) Tomato fertilizer is fine for chiles. Use at the maximum dilution in place of straight water. 5 - Plants need to be blown around a bit to develop strong stems. If you have your lights on a timer, consider hooking a fan in there too to create a gentle breeze. Remember that this will greatly increase water use. 6 - Other stuff I've forgotten, but I'm sure the other CH's will offer plenty of advice. Also check out the archives: Back issues of the Digest are available at: http://chileheads.netimages.com/archives.html -- --- Regards, Cameron.