2019 Chilli Growing thread

[Gaijin]

so figured I'd try and restrain myself this year and stick to a few plants.

Same here. Just going for variants that i'll eat, having learned some lessons from last time. Also have opted for just 4 plants in total as my wife wasn't happy with them taking over the house last time.

Just planted Thai Hot, Ring of Fire and Apache Hybrid F1's on Monday. Opted to plant straight into coir plugs in a heated propagator this time so hopefully they'll take ok.

Will definitely top the plants this time as they got very leggy last time (over 80cm in height). Was nervous that the plants would fail last time so I didnt want to cut them.

 

[Street]

Also have opted for just 4 plants in total as my wife wasn't happy with them taking over the house last time.

That's been my main battle for the last few years too! Last year I cut down to 6 plants but I let a few of them get too tall and they completely took over the porch. This year I'm aiming for 3 or 4 plants total and I'm going to try and keep them smaller. Ideally I need to get a green house sorted as I've got the perfect place for one..

 

[LewisRaz]

I still havnt cleared up my plants from last year. I just went out to have a tidy and the main stems are still green on a few. Anyone think they can be saved? I thought they would be long dead by now.

 

[Squid Vicious]

I still havnt cleared up my plants from last year. I just went out to have a tidy and the main stems are still green on a few. Anyone think they can be saved? I thought they would be long dead by now.

We've had some pretty hard frosts already this winter and I'd be surprised if they've survived, but you don't have much to lose by trying! Give it a go and see what happens

 

[Mark A]

I'm going to grow a few of the birdseye demon plants that I had good success with last year. Currently got them germinating next to my VM superhub, not sure why but it kicks out a fair bit of heat, so may as well put it to use lol.

 

[Street]

I've put my seeds in this morning and I have about 12 each of Habaneros and Reaper seeds left over. If anyone wants them trust me your address and I'll post them out in the week!

 

[LewisRaz]

I've put my seeds in this morning and I have about 12 each of Habaneros and Reaper seeds left over. If anyone wants them trust me your address and I'll post them out in the week!

If you would be so kind as to send me a few reaper seeds that would be very nice of you mate. Just 6 would be fine. Someone else could try the others

 

[LewisRaz]

I've put my seeds in this morning and I have about 12 each of Habaneros and Reaper seeds left over. If anyone wants them trust me your address and I'll post them out in the week!

Arrived today many thanks!

Will get them in this weekend see if a few can germinate

 

[Street]

Arrived today many thanks!

Will get them in this weekend see if a few can germinate

No worries. I found them hard to germinate last year, but the plants that did grow had a really decent crop!

 

[Gaijin]

Perhaps impatience and lack of memory but I didn't think my seeds were taking after sowing reasonably early but a couple have sprouted over the last 24 hours - so hope all goes well from here!

 

[azibux1]

Chilli growing newbie here - first year

Got myself a heat mat, propagator and a basic grow light.

Question - just put (well, just about to after I type this out) the seeds in to germinate.

Once I see something start showing through, should I leave the heat mat on still? And at what point do I put the light on? I remember reading somewhere about not using one of the two items too much (can't remember which ) as it will result in leggy and weak plants.

Any tips are appreciated

Will be growing reaper, jalapeno, aji limon, scotch bonnet and ring of fire

EDIT: It's one of those self watering props with the capillary mat that hangs into the water - I can't really tell this is effective enough to be making all the seed compost moist though? Before adding the seeds, I compacted most of the compost down a bit so it is in contact with the mat (through the holes in the seed tray) but I'm a bit dubious... I might check the soil from the top every day and spray them a bit just to keep it moist?

2nd EDIT: Read some bad things about watering from below, so gonna scrap the self watering part and just spray water twice a day (should be enough?) from above. Also means the seed trays (and compost) is a good 2 inches or more closer to the heat mat.

 

[NickK]

Chilli growing newbie here - first year

Got myself a heat mat, propagator and a basic grow light.

Question - just put (well, just about to after I type this out) the seeds in to germinate.

Once I see something start showing through, should I leave the heat mat on still? And at what point do I put the light on? I remember reading somewhere about not using one of the two items too much (can't remember which ) as it will result in leggy and weak plants.

Any tips are appreciated

Will be growing reaper, jalapeno, aji limon, scotch bonnet and ring of fire

EDIT: It's one of those self watering props with the capillary mat that hangs into the water - I can't really tell this is effective enough to be making all the seed compost moist though? Before adding the seeds, I compacted most of the compost down a bit so it is in contact with the mat (through the holes in the seed tray) but I'm a bit dubious... I might check the soil from the top every day and spray them a bit just to keep it moist?

2nd EDIT: Read some bad things about watering from below, so gonna scrap the self watering part and just spray water twice a day (should be enough?) from above. Also means the seed trays (and compost) is a good 2 inches or more closer to the heat mat.

Initially the seed only requires warmth and some water. Seeds don’t need light.
The issue is that some compost can have mould spores in, so you end up loosing the plant to damping off.

You can use the paper towel in a box trick to germinate the seeds.

 

[azibux1]

Initially the seed only requires warmth and some water. Seeds don’t need light.
The issue is that some compost can have mould spores in, so you end up loosing the plant to damping off.

You can use the paper towel in a box trick to germinate the seeds.

Ahh man I already put them in ha

Will stick to a small water spray then and keeping an eye on them. Also covered the prop so there's no light.

Cheers!

 

[Street]

Two of my Reapers and Basket of Fires have come up already! No sign of the Habaneros yet. I'm sure the Reapers were harder to germinate last year.

 

[rhysduck]

What's best to germinate my seeds? I have a propagator but no coir pellets / plugs...

Is the box / paper towel trick best and then put them in the propagator when they've started?

 

[Mark A]

What's best to germinate my seeds? I have a propagator but no coir pellets / plugs...

Is the box / paper towel trick best and then put them in the propagator when they've started?

Yep, thats what I always do and have never had an issue. I fold some damp kitchen towel up and put the seeds inside, then wrap it in cling film and put it somewhere warm. My Virgin media super hub is always warm for some reason, so I wedged the seed package between that and my speaker and they all germinated in a few days.

Current progress. Only growing 4 this year as I still have a bag of chillis in the freezer from last year.

 

[azibux1]

At what point do I switch from heat mat and prop to grow light and prop?

I think I read the heat mat could maybe still be used for a bit even after they germinate??

I'm hoping heat mat and prop should be sufficient for germination, only been two days so far

 

[Street]

I've got my chillies in the porch where it is fairly cold. At the moment I've got a heat mat on under the propagator which I'll probably leave on 24/7 for a few weeks until it warms up a bit. Then I'll switch it off in the day and leave it on over night until I pot the chillies up into their first pots.

 

[azibux1]

I've got my chillies in the porch where it is fairly cold. At the moment I've got a heat mat on under the propagator which I'll probably leave on 24/7 for a few weeks until it warms up a bit. Then I'll switch it off in the day and leave it on over night until I pot the chillies up into their first pots.

Awesome thanks!! I'm strangely excited lol it's quite fun

 

[mikedigitales]

Well that's my first batch of seeds planted for the year - that's why I love growing chillis, it gives me a good excuse to start pottering about with a cuppa. I've just been using up all the old seeds from the back of the cupboard - so will be interesting to see how much age actually affects the germination rate for chillis (I suspect not as much as people bang on about). Nothing too exciting for me this year as it's leftovers - cayenne, Nigel's outdoor green, marconi red pepper, and some saved seeds from an orange hab that I grew a few years back. All sown, and into the heated propagator in the kitchen window, grow light on standby for when they pop up