2016 Chilli Growers Thread

Ok, got the following in the prop ... with some damp towel

Habanero Big Sun
Apache F1
Demon Red
Thai hot
French long pepper

So no naga this year.. at the moment ;)

I'd agree with the chilli focus - leave until later once they're plants. Simple compost will be enough..
 
Another check today, and a few of the aji lemon, and a couple of the chocolate and orange habaneros have started sprouting, so I've potted them up. The already potted Apaches and jalapenos are already breaking their shoots through to top of the soil, very happy.
 
Right, apaches are jalapenos are firing on all cylinders. I've moved the sprouted seeds to an unheated propagator and move them round the house to follow the sun during the day. I usually give them a few sprays each with a water bottle once a day, is this enough or do they need a bit more with the intensity of the sun on them? I measured 32C in the sun in the heated propagator today.
The others that I've potted but haven't broken the soil yet are still in the heated propagator along with the seeds that haven't sprouted. I'm sticking that next to the radiator overnight to see if I can speed them up a bit.
Once these grow a bit and start their second set of leaves, what is the best size pot to move up to? I have plenty of tiny pots in the shed but I think i'll need some bigger ones. My end goal is to get the chillies all in 10 litre pots. What is the best way to step up the size each time I repot?

Also has anyone grown pimientos de padron before? I thought they would be easy to grow as they are so mild, but they are the only variety to not have a single germination. Even the habaneros are ahead of them. Do they need something else that I'm missing? I've made up a new ziploc with some new seeds in, will see how that goes.
 
As seedlings they need sun but not too brutal. Last year the conservatory killed my crop outright in one day. The sunflowers loved it.. but the temps can get to 50+ degC in there!

Some species take a little longer to germinate.. some even a month..
 
RossG said:
Right, apaches are jalapenos are firing on all cylinders. I've moved the sprouted seeds to an unheated propagator and move them round the house to follow the sun during the day. I usually give them a few sprays each with a water bottle once a day, is this enough or do they need a bit more with the intensity of the sun on them? I measured 32C in the sun in the heated propagator today.
The others that I've potted but haven't broken the soil yet are still in the heated propagator along with the seeds that haven't sprouted. I'm sticking that next to the radiator overnight to see if I can speed them up a bit.
Once these grow a bit and start their second set of leaves, what is the best size pot to move up to? I have plenty of tiny pots in the shed but I think i'll need some bigger ones. My end goal is to get the chillies all in 10 litre pots. What is the best way to step up the size each time I repot?
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You want the plant to not be too constrained. Remember you have a limited time for the fruiting season.

If you leave them in a constraining pot then they will slow down their development and not get enough water as the roots won't develop enough before fruiting time. Next year when overwintered the whole things will attempt to send out roots again..

This year I am doing this:
1. seeds germinate on paper towel.
2. seeds moved to heavily watered compost plugs
3. Once plant roots are showing in the plug sides then move to medium pot
4. Once plant ready plant out if required.

In the past I've used a small step spot and then into larger pots but I want the plant to develop a decent root/support structure in the medium pot from the start. Once the first signs of roots are bending around the pot, i'll look at plant out options. It should be warmer and we have a sun soaked wall that they can be put against.
 
Thanks. I'll go for a medium pot straight after these tiny ones then. Reading around and getting conflicting information makes things a bit more confusing. Some sources say a big pot too early gives the plant less incentive to grow quickly :/
 
RossG said:
Thanks. I'll go for a medium pot straight after these tiny ones then. Reading around and getting conflicting information makes things a bit more confusing. Some sources say a big pot too early gives the plant less incentive to grow quickly :/
Click to expand...

The main thing with the small pot is that the roots get bundled up, the result is that there's a large amount of roots in the centre .. if you have a large (tall) bush in a windy situation (but sunny) then having wider roots are preferable.

I did the small pot method before.. I just found that it took an age to get to fruiting and that I am assuming that giving a larger pot will result in more roots so will still take some time but the expanse of roots means better water/support. More concentrated the roots the faster that part of the soil gets depleted of water/nutrients.
 
Another quick update. Most of the Apaches and Jalapenos are well on the way. Will look to repot when a second load of leaves develop. The hotter plants are just starting to poke through. They are definitely much slower, but seem to still be growing.
Still got a dozen or so seeds left in the ziplocs, bout I don't hold up much hope for them now. One or two went mouldy and the Pimientos still show no signs of life. But if I get a good proportion of the already plotted plants through to crop then I'll be more than happy.


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How's everyone else getting on?
 
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I just left my Chilli plants at work, sitting about, with minimal maintenance over the last few months.

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I'm not sure why, but one of the plants produced this tiny specimen. I ate it today...
I have 3 plants from last year, that look in alright condition, but I never trimmed them back. Just left to their own devices...
Not being clued up on this, what is the likelihood that these plants would produce fruit this year?

Cheers :)
 
Oh, that's pretty awesome. I'll need to remove the worst of the leaves, but they look healthy enough to me...

I expected them to die the last month or so, as I'd been away for a few weeks with work, but they were fine. Still in the base of the Aerogarden, so it circulates water with some generic nutrients in it. Plants got too tall to keep the grow light part on though.

One of the plants is the cap 253 Herman had sent seeds through for last year, but I don't remember which is which. They've been swapped to different places on the base, after a couple plants died. :(
 
Joining the club ;)

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I've got an old heated propagator from my grandfather and bought some Root Riot and chilli focus to start things off. Time to catch up...
 
Just went out to the greenhouse and looks like the Aji Limon might have survived but all the other plants are well and truly dead. Brought it inside and watered it, hopefully it survives as I haven't started any seeds this year yet. Might just end up grabbing a few plants from the garden centre.
 
Moved house last weekend and new place has both a greenhouse and conservatory :D Never had much success with chillis on the patio previously, so just ordered a couple of packets of seeds from Dorset Chilli Farm for a fresh attempt this year.
 
I finally got round to launching my chillies last night. I've planted 5 each of:

Aji Limon
Golden Cayenne
Joe's Long
Long Slim Cayenne
 
Chilli seedlings are doing well - one is about an inch long. First sets of seedling leaves appearing.

The electric propagator has done an awesome job. Using a small covered seed tray prop inside the main electrical prop works really well - it keeps them toasty with double glazing :)
 
Does anyone have experience with germination in a heated propagator?

I keep reading about the paper towel and zip bag method on here, should I do this and place in the propagator or could that dry them out too quickly?

This guy seems to keep them really wet during the germination process whilst in a heated propagator:


Any advice?
 
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