Peppers are remarkably resilient when dealing with heavy rain. Once the plants reach about 12 inches and the leaves toughened up, they are no longer in danger of slugs and snails. Having got the plants through their seedling stage it is now just a case of letting them settle for the summer.
Starting hot peppers from seed is quite a science. The seeds are slow to germinate and then the small plants take quite a time to develop. When small, the plants are at their most vulnerable, especially from sudden cold at night which can leave the little plants stunted and weak.
Pepper plants require several stages of moving to larger pots. This enables the plant to balance growing its root system and its leaves. Hardening the plants off by placing them outside should be done slowly, returning them indoors at night until temperatures have risen.
In many ways hot peppers are best suited to growing in pots. They will grow in beds but can become targets for slugs and snails. Using pots the plants can be moved around the garden to give them direct sunshine on the rare occasions the sun does appear.
Pepper plants work well on windowsills. As the do not require a lot of water they only require visiting once or twice a week. If the window sill does get direct sunshine they will require more attention. The plants do benefit from drying out (within reason) and being flood watered once or twice a week.
