2015 Chilli Growers Thread

King85 · 12 Mar 2015 at 18:42

Herman Gelmet said:
Yeah, that can be as long as 21 days and is largely dependent on the type of chilli (Capsicum chinense, or Capsicum baccatuum etc.), and the age/quality of the seed.

Ah ok thanks, patience is not a virtue of mine

monkeyspank · 12 Mar 2015 at 19:21

Herman Gelmet said:
I strongly encourage you to avoid chemicals where possible. This can be tackled by trying to interrupt the breeding cycle of the fungus gnats and a common way is to place shingle/vermiculite/mulch on the surface. This is the barrier method

Also, don't let this put you off using your own compost, as this just shows it is potent, as the fungus gnats were keen to move in! Organic and DIY is the best you can do, and it gives you satisfaction.

Cheap bags of compost from garden centres is by far the biggest risk of infection from (chemically enhanced) composts.

Good luck.

The gnatt-off product that I mentioned is organic

booyaka · 13 Mar 2015 at 10:54

King85 said:
Ah ok thanks, patience is not a virtue of mine

my chocolate habs took about 3 weeks to start showing, whereas the CAP253c's took about 10 days

Zenduri · 15 Mar 2015 at 01:44

Some pictures of those who survived the overwintering. I think i was quite brutal with them though

Missing a photo of 1 of them but there are 6 Aji and 1 Scotch Bonnet

The seeds I am germinating have had about 5 days so far and no joy yet

john_s · 17 Mar 2015 at 08:39

HybridX said:
Just chucked them in the post on my way home. They are in small white jiffy bags in cling film so please dont think i have sent an empty envelope and throw them away

They landed yesterday. Thank you very much.

I launched them last night on some damp tissue in an improvised incubator (ice cream tub).

Hank_Marvin · 22 Mar 2015 at 21:15

Got some Padron and Tam Jalapeno seeds going, just starting to break the surface, looking forward to moving them to pots.

King85 · 23 Mar 2015 at 10:30

I've got nothing

still

Hank_Marvin · 23 Mar 2015 at 10:53

That sounds like my sweet peppers, not doing much yet.

Mark A · 23 Mar 2015 at 11:55

King85 said:
I've got nothing still

How are you trying to germinate the seeds? Best way I have found is to dampen some kitchen towel with a plant sprayer, then scatter the seeds onto it and fold in half. Then place this inside a plastic container, or a ziplock bag and put it somewhere consistently warm. If you have a warm airing cupboard this is ideal. I think the temp wants to be around 25-30c for best results. Check for germination every day and don't let it dry out. I usually leave the root to get to 5-10mm before planting into compost.

All mine germinated in 2-3 days using this method. The 10 or so seeds I tried to germinate before that by putting them directly into some peat plugs only one of them germinated.

Yurka · 23 Mar 2015 at 15:31

Re potted my Trinidad 7 pots from 4" into 10" yesterday. Cut them down aggressively February as I grew them last year and had only 1 decent fruit off 5 plants. They've all started budding and growing back nicely and they've got new soil/fertilizer to grow into, so hoping they put on a big spurt now.

Also had two devil/devon chili plants of some sort, which had loads of fruit (forgotten name of the packet they came in now) heat wise probably around the 100,000-200,000 SHU rating. Brilliant for every day use and salads etc, good favour. They went into 8" yesterday from 4" as well.

Would love to get some habaneros and scotch bonnets but 7 plants is enough for me at the moment.

topgun06 · 24 Mar 2015 at 09:06

Hank_Marvin said:
That sounds like my sweet peppers, not doing much yet.

Same.

Out of 6 Nardello sweet peppers, 2 have sprouted. And I also have another variety of sweet pepper (cant remember the name), none have sprouted.

Cayennes have all come up though.

randomshenans · 24 Mar 2015 at 10:24

I've got some plugs arriving this week. See if I can avoid killing them this year

Hank_Marvin · 24 Mar 2015 at 11:56

topgun06 said:
Same.

Out of 6 Nardello sweet peppers, 2 have sprouted. And I also have another variety of sweet pepper (cant remember the name), none have sprouted.

Cayennes have all come up though.

I planted loads so should get enough winners.

topgun06 · 24 Mar 2015 at 13:04

I normally sow too many and then can't bring myself to chuck the surplus ones on the compost heap. So I end up with too many. Sowed 6 of each this time around. 24 in total.

King85 · 24 Mar 2015 at 17:07

Mark A said:
How are you trying to germinate the seeds? Best way I have found is to dampen some kitchen towel with a plant sprayer, then scatter the seeds onto it and fold in half. Then place this inside a plastic container, or a ziplock bag and put it somewhere consistently warm. If you have a warm airing cupboard this is ideal. I think the temp wants to be around 25-30c for best results. Check for germination every day and don't let it dry out. I usually leave the root to get to 5-10mm before planting into compost.

All mine germinated in 2-3 days using this method. The 10 or so seeds I tried to germinate before that by putting them directly into some peat plugs only one of them germinated.

I have them in a propogator in our lean to green house. Do you think it's too cool for that to work? We don't really have anywhere that is consistently warm in the house either.

Herman Gelmet · 24 Mar 2015 at 18:11

King85 said:
I have them in a propogator in our lean to green house. Do you think it's too cool for that to work? We don't really have anywhere that is consistently warm in the house either.

Measuring the temps where the seeds are germinating would be really useful. If you have no thermometer you might want to get one, or borrow one. If you can't do this, I would try some on top of a modem/router. Use a sealed tub so the moisture is retained, and be careful. I have some seeds germinating on my wifi router, using the moist kitchen roll paper inside a sealable plastic tub. Working well.

Also, I found this on another website:

"I believe that the best method for germination is to soak seeds in weak tea (cold) for three to six hours prior to sowing. This appears to significantly improve germination rates in terms of yield and rapidity. This, however, does have a scientific basis: the tea softens the seed case, making it easier for water to permeate into the embryo and the seed to reanimate and germinate."

King85 · 24 Mar 2015 at 19:34

Ill look into getting the seeds out and trying that then dude. Thank you

Herman Gelmet · 24 Mar 2015 at 20:27

King85 said:
Ill look into getting the seeds out and trying that then dude. Thank you

You will need the modem left on, but I would check occasionally to make sure it's not on fire :eek:

Hamster · 25 Mar 2015 at 13:03

I've got some seeds now, kindly sent by HybridX and have a few different varieties from elsewhere. Also have a cheapo propagator will lots of little trays inside.

What potting compost would you recommend? I've got some compost in the garden but it's been in an open bag for a long time exposed to the elements so not sure if it's ok.

monkeyspank · 25 Mar 2015 at 13:05

john innes seed compost