I am no pepper growing expert. Have grown some hots in the dirt, and have my Bhut Jalokia growing in 2 containers and have my first crop drying as we speak, with more peppers on the way. Bell peppers have not been easy for us. Next year we are not going to waste precious garden space trying to grow them. The banana peppers, we just stuck them in the ground and they did well.
There are some pepper growing experts on Youtube that can set you straight help you on what to do. When I start pepper from seeds, I grow them to about 4”-5” inside under the lights, but that is in Jan It’s always best to let the seedlings get a little size before going out into the world, then introduce them gradually to the outdoors by putting them in a shaded area where they can build strong stems by bending to and fro in the breeze, and getting used to the heat/humidity/sun gradually. Our soil in the ground is about 6.0ph and calcium and nitrogen are whatever a soil test tells us to add. We started with nothing and are building it up each year. County ext guy asked how we even grew anything that first year in Texas after looking at our soil test results. Soil testing by county ext service, Airport rd, tested at T A&M.
I know there are others here that grow peppers that can offer better help than I.
You helped me because you did it here. You let them get to 4-5 inches, then move them outside in a shaded area. I will plant the seeds in December, since it said start them 8 weeks before putting them out, and when they are that tall, will put them in the small outdoor greenhouse to keep them warmish and get used to the outside.