Germinating Seeds

In my experience, here in Thailand, DO NOT use soil for seed germination. I have tried 6 different types of commercially available potting soil and only one was successful for germination and that was for a Thai pepper of the annum family. Out of 100+ chinense seeds (mostly Costa Rican Red) only 1 germinated. Recently my wife did get 2 orange Habanero seeds to germinate in our top soil (from our yard) but only 1 survived and it's growing very, very slowly.
The greatest success has been from coir pucks; roughly 90+%. Out of 20 successful germinations 17 have survived (pics in a previous post of some) and are growing well.
Chinense are notoriously slow to germinate and one did take 27 days (for 4 Costa Rica Red Habaneros) to pop up; I had almost given up on them. My experience with Nagas, bhuts, choc Habs, orange Habs, and red Habs has been from 5 days to 27 days and I've heard of longer, so don't be too quick to give up.
Be sure not to let the germinating medium dry out, but avoid outright wetness; damp is ideal.
I would also recommend NOT using tap water because it is likely very alkaline. Rain water, distilled water, or RO (reverse osmosis) water is best and that would go for normal watering also. I save as much rain water as I can in large barrels.
After germination, soil is the next most important item. That will be my next post.

Making Calcium Phosphate

If one expects to grow healthy chinense plants one must have a source for elemental calcium. Depending where the grower lives it may or may not be available. Here in Thailand I have yet to find a calcium supplement for my plants. I did some research and asked questions on The Hot Pepper Forum (great resource) and have the recipe for making calcium phosphate;
1. Roast/toast crushed eggshells. I used a dry wok. Heat the finely crushed shells until they are black. Don't do this in the house unless you have a really good exhaust fan. 
2. Soak roasted eggshells in equal volume of vinegar for two weeks until the vinegar dissolves the eggshells. The mixture will bubble and foam for a few minutes so don't immediately tighten the lid of the jar.
3. Dilute 1:20 parts water (2 tbsp/gal.) and spray on plants or water into the dirt around the plants.
4. Calcium is important throughout the entire growing cycle and is especially important during pod growth.

Testing the PH of Soil using Litmus Strips...

Today I tested the PH (potential hydrogen) of my potting soil using litmus strips. Here's how I did it;
I took about ½ cup, of the potting soil I use, out of the bag and put it in a bowl. I poured about 1 cup of distilled water (PH neutral; 7) into the dirt and mixed it thoroughly and let it sit/soak for 1 hour. I then poured the water through a screened funnel (to get as much dirt out as possible) and into a glass. Using Merck universal indicator strips (litmus paper), I wetted the strip, and checked against the color chart. The green color was the only one that didn’t quite match; it was darker than the “5” but lighter than the “6”. Close enough for government work. So now I know it’s about 5.5 to 6.0 which is ideal.
This is a picture of the Merck ph indicator strips;

Welcome to my blog...

     This is a work in progress and specifically deals with Capsicum chinense; I've been a gardener for 40 years and started growing my favorite Capsicum, Habaneros, last year. This has proved to be my greatest growing challenge ever; partly because I live in rural Thailand and one has to adapt and be creative due to the lack of ready resources and, a less than ideal soil.
     I'm growing in dirt and hydroponically, so I'll be covering both disciplines. As time goes on I'll be expanding the range of Capsicum chinense varieties because they offer the greatest heat and unique flavors, IMO. I cover Habaneros and Jalapenos on my other blog; Growing Habaneros and Jalapenos in Thailand.
     FYI, the three pods in my blog header picture are from a Costa Rica Red Habanero I am presently growing.

Cheers...