That makes sense, I was keeping them out of direct sunlight so they didn't dry out too quick(facepalm). I'll move them to pots now, really appreciate the advice mate
Update,
2016 Chilli Growers Thread
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Update,
They're going to be falling over each other when fully grown?
My old Dorset Nagas were about 3-4 foot tall and about as wide if they could...
I didn't realise they get that big!
I have got a good size green house I can clean up and use, or it might be more manageable to give a couple to family members to continue growing if they get out of hand haha. This is a completely new experience for me so I decided to grow 24 just in case some didn't sprout or if a few died...
Do any chilli plants live through winter?
You can overwinter. Infact they crop better in the next year.
You wait until they drop their leaves (cold weather) and then wait until the sap draws back. At which point you cut it back to the step (i.e. left with a y shape). Keep away from frost/freezing (cold house location), with infrequent watering (once every couple of months - just a small amount).
The stem will remain green (although the top may die and go wood brown. Then in spring it will start budding out again with new shoots/stem/branches. It also grows more rapidly and fruits earlier.
The size of plant depends heavily on the species. My Jalapeños were a lot smaller (think small pot plant) whereas the nagas were more small shrub.
Their size is determined by the pot. One they have exhausted the pot they start focusing on flowering but if there's not enough roots then they will not be able to maintain the flowers through to fruiting. Their water demand also goes up when they start fruit. More sun the better the fruit quality (and hotter in my opinion).
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Likewise. By the time I'd thought about it, it was too late to start with seeds so I ordered some plants.
Got one of each of:
Thai Demon
Scotch Bonnet
Orange Habanero
Bhut Jolokia
Pimiento de Padron
Red Habanero (this was a freebee from World of Chiilies)
My first venture into growing anything! So I cheated on the germination and ordered some online.
Just potted them up. They looking a bit sorry just now but will hopefully perk up
Left to right
1. naga (bhut jolokia)
2. habanero red
3. habanero red
4. habanero lemon
5. bulgarian carrot
Just potted them up. They looking a bit sorry just now but will hopefully perk up
Left to right
1. naga (bhut jolokia)
2. habanero red
3. habanero red
4. habanero lemon
5. bulgarian carrot
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Ultimately that question is why I changed my crop this time around - last crop I left in the care of my mother and it "didn't work out".
This time I was thinking and whereas the hottest are a novelty - i'd like to eat some of the stuff I grow!
I like making kimchi, so I'll probably add some of the fruits to pickles and sauces. The rest I'll dry out or freeze and use in cooking?
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The only overwintered plant to make it, a choc hab:
Ten germinations so far, 3 x Chocolate Morouga Scorpion, 3 x Trinidad Douglah, 2 x Carolina Reaper, and 2 x Trinidad Scorpion Morouga. Here are some pics:
In the last one the little runt on the far right has three seed leaves ! Here's a close-up:
Too much sun making the colours go weird No sign of the Early Jalapenos, so I'll have a second go at them... they have a short season anyway.
Fwiw, I always cook with my superhots. Sauces, chutnies, spicy dishes.
Ten germinations so far, 3 x Chocolate Morouga Scorpion, 3 x Trinidad Douglah, 2 x Carolina Reaper, and 2 x Trinidad Scorpion Morouga. Here are some pics:
In the last one the little runt on the far right has three seed leaves ! Here's a close-up:
Too much sun making the colours go weird
No sign of the Early Jalapenos, so I'll have a second go at them... they have a short season anyway.Fwiw, I always cook with my superhots. Sauces, chutnies, spicy dishes.
Right, I need some assistance now. I've managed to get shoots from 15 of my 16 seeds, which I'm taking as an achievement! They are in a 24-pot germination bed at the moment (no heating element, just a plastic box with a see-through lid).
They don't seem strong enough to move just yet, though I may be wrong. They've got the secondary leaves through on almost all of them. What do I need to buy now, and where is best for them to go?
They don't seem strong enough to move just yet, though I may be wrong. They've got the secondary leaves through on almost all of them. What do I need to buy now, and where is best for them to go?
Germination -> 3" pots then move to larger pots. Say 3" -> 9" -> 12" etc.
Each time make a mix of fertiliser, pearlite and vermiculite. This makes the mix light and allows water to drain easier. You can get all that at the local garden centre - they're very common. Just mix, put some in the pot, put the old pot contents into the centre of the new pot+mix, then pat down a little, add more on top so that the old pot top is at the same level, then give a new soaking with water. The plants may sulk a little for a day or so then perk up. When todo this? is when the roots start appearing out the bottom of the old pot usually.
The wisdom of going to 3" then something larger in steps is that it forces the chill roots to become denser in the soil at each stage. They will continue to attempt to grow into new pots rather than flower/fruit so you get them into large enough pots (for the species) and then you stop repotting them .. at that point they should have enough resources and roots to both be stable and produce good fruit.
If you do cut the roots down for over wintering, the staged potting helps ensure that the plant footprint is reduced a little at a time rather than chopping off large roots with nothing closer in. Personally I leave the plant but I understand the idea that reducing the roots and then potting afresh into new soil the next season gives more nutrients again without needing so much fertiliser such as chilli focus.
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Using fibre pots this time for the first time.. it seems they're a haven for fungus and damping down if used in a propagator.
I will certainly avoid fibre pots in future. I may repot but it may be too late for some of them (had two sunflower casualties today).
I will certainly avoid fibre pots in future. I may repot but it may be too late for some of them (had two sunflower casualties today).
Soldato
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pleased with the progress of my overwintered scotch bonnet
from dead stick like thing:
to
Growing nicely
from dead stick like thing:
to
Growing nicely
Update time, and a bit of advice required.
Jalapenos and apaches are rocketing along. They're in 4 inch pots and I'm just starting to see 3 or 4 white roots poking through the bottom. Will they be all right for another week or two while I work out what I'm doing about the pot size to move them on to?
Hotter chillies are getting there, slowly but surely.
I'm currently watering them once every other day, unless its warm and sunny and then they get watered every day.
Now I'm in a bit of a mess in terms of what to do next. When potting these on, what is the best size to move up to? Do I go to something like an 8 inch pot? Also I'm currently using John Innes no2 compost. Do I stick with that for now or move onto something different. Additionally I've seen a lot of people using vermiculite and perlite in their soil. I haven't used any thus far and they seem to be growing fine. Is it recommended to use this stuff or just keep going how I am?
Pics of the plants as they are:
Jalapenos and apaches are rocketing along. They're in 4 inch pots and I'm just starting to see 3 or 4 white roots poking through the bottom. Will they be all right for another week or two while I work out what I'm doing about the pot size to move them on to?
Hotter chillies are getting there, slowly but surely.
I'm currently watering them once every other day, unless its warm and sunny and then they get watered every day.
Now I'm in a bit of a mess in terms of what to do next. When potting these on, what is the best size to move up to? Do I go to something like an 8 inch pot? Also I'm currently using John Innes no2 compost. Do I stick with that for now or move onto something different. Additionally I've seen a lot of people using vermiculite and perlite in their soil. I haven't used any thus far and they seem to be growing fine. Is it recommended to use this stuff or just keep going how I am?
Pics of the plants as they are:
Its worth getting a bag of perlite and vermiculite from Wilko imo as its not too expensive. Helps with drainage and keeps the soil aerated and stops it getting too compacted once the rootball starts filling the pot. They will grow fine with or without, but it'll help the water soak through the soil straight away so its not just sitting on top or draining down the sides of the rootball.
I used bonemeal one year as a slow release fertiliser, which seemed to work very well. Its also handy if you plan to over winter them a few times as the slow release means it'll keep releasing nutrients for years from what I have read.
I used bonemeal one year as a slow release fertiliser, which seemed to work very well. Its also handy if you plan to over winter them a few times as the slow release means it'll keep releasing nutrients for years from what I have read.
How much should young plants be getting watered? Everything I have read has said that over watering is a big problem.
I am aiming at about once a week for water...is this too little?
Is anyone using an electric propagator? I had problems with seeds not taking last year which I think is because I have the heating off all day while I am at work so they were cold a lot of the time. Tempted to take a trip to B&Q to see if they have one.
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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.
The seeds were CAP 253c, and the colour of these fruits is the same as you photo of the mystery plant. The shape of the fruit may not be a match though, as the CAP 253c is usually longer cone shaped fruit, but there will always be variation in nature. Try and keep them going as these are rare plants/seeds (apart from my stock of seeds, which lose vitality over time).