Growing Chillies

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Awesome where did you buy it from?

RS - not sure if they're a competitor but other than stating RandomSite.. not cheap but is ideally suited to the purpose of light but needs careful handling (electrical power and heat of some components on it get hot and it should be powered down via USB to allow the fan to cool the heatsink after the light has shutdown as well as you need to protect the array from prods/fingers etc).
 
Your not wrong £99 for blue and going upto
£220 for others.

You could get some superbright LEDs that match the wavelengths too. Then create an array of standard 5mm LEDs (add a few resistors) and power that. Not as intense light but would still do the job.
You'd need to put them close to the plant.

A guy on the chilli forum has four 130,000mcd blue set in an old espresso bean can to make a solarium for a signal chilli.. that chilli is now really doing well and fruiting once out of the blue (needs some red to trigger flowering/fruiting).
 
The mcd and lumen scales are a bit subjective. If possible find the light power output in watts.

You'd need quite a few LEDs to provide the light requirements of a full sized plant. What's not clear perhaps is that I think he moved away from the LED for the latter stages of growth to more normal methods once the plant grew too big for the tin.
Quite a few people make a 'box' which consists of a highly reflective (white paint or silver tin foil) lined box and use of lights inside. At that size an LED's output isn't as good although you can place them closer to the leaves as they have very little thermal output.

I've seen people use old christmas decorations but (a) the wavelengths are unknown and (b) the power output isn't known either.

Yup - blue is the ~450 range, ~650 is red.
 
What variety of chilli would your bog standard, not too hot, supermarket pack be?

There's a whole spectrum of Chillies and most sites give a relative scale of heat.

http://www.chillisgalore.co.uk/pages/varietys.html

This has an easier heat scale. For supermarket have a look at the mid heat such as the Kenyan, Anaheim or Jalapeño.

For pot ones:
Ring Of Fire - About 9cm long, turning from green to red. Can be grown in pots on a windowsill as the plant will grow to about 90cm high. Plenty of thin tapered chillis developing early in the season.

You have the added bonus of the name to entertain..
 
Yes I have even more now :D I have that start just about to start pulling their baby leaves out of the seed case. The one in the photos above has just sprouted it's next leaf.

The important thing is to keep them warm and moist (but not water logged). They may take a while if they've been dried for storage. It can take 6-8 weeks to germinate.

I also have a replacement to the light that blew up.
 
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Excellent - the Naga and Bhut will need some careful looking after initially to germinate.

Mine have taken a while to germinate but they're getting there. I've just moved the beer from the FV tonight so it'll be out of the way from the blue light (light+beer is not a good idea).
 
UPDATE!!! :D :D :D
I thought I'd add the post I have done on Chillisgalore forums here..

I'm a novice, and thought I'd grow some Chillis for a laugh.. keeps me out of mischief.
The purpose of this post is to provide some feed back and learnt experiences as a complete novice..

My knowledge about chillis (and plants) was very small - they need light, water and some needed to be kept warm..

Varieties
* Caldero Jalapenos
* Dorset Naga
* Scotch Bonnets (tescos chilli seeds!)

Equipment
1. Sutton Jiffy pellet things
2. Steward Propagator (heated, no thermo, semi damaged stock from B&Q - no handles but works well because they provide a space to allow the air to circulate which is perfect).
3.Enfis 465nm Light Engine - complete mis-use for this but it works!
4. Generic Desktop Halogen light
5.Tin foil with a good shiny side.

Baby Bio food
13cm pots
Levens House Plant compost
Levens Pearlite
Levens Vermiculite
Just today - Eurogrow 400W combo-grow. Metal Halide & High Pressure Sodium.

Back deep in the mists of time.. a Naga germinated. My first chilli.

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It seems that the way a chilli starts it's growth is to do this 'loop' with the root going down and the leaves still packed tightly in the seed. There's a temptation to help the plant along - from experience - leave it to get itself sorted. It will pull the leaves out itself.
Only if it's been trying and the seed is dried and hardened you may need to get the tweezers out and a magnifying glass out.. but they're easily damaged - managed to kill one by decapitating it.

Then you'll end up with something like this..
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This is the same seedling under the light engine (hence the blue). They don't need masses of burning hot light at this stage but will need a good amount if they're not to too thin stems. You get a feeling when they don't look 'happy' and a small rotation can help revive them.
You could get away with a couple of desk lights.. but it may be better to run with some LEDs or just admit that you'll really be looking at a grow light later anyway..
I use the light for a good 12 hours a day - but I've noticed they like their dark time.. often they've grown a bit during the night and straightened up. If you can - from experience - get a light so it's coming straight down otherwise they'll grow at angles or slightly bent.

The little leaves are the 'baby' leaves that first come out of the seed case. What is odd and caught me out is that if the germination is just under the soil or on the top, a couple of things to note: a) the seedling may not get enough purchase to free it's leaves, and, b) you may note that once the seedling gets bigger some little bits appear on the stem - these, in my case, turned out to be roots.. so the seedling was expecting to be a bit deeper! I solved this in the repotting..

I watered mine enough to so that the soil in the jiffy is moist but never keep over watering so they're water logged every day.

Mine were a little slim initially - the second light helped but they only really started accelerating growth and standing by themselves when I repotted them. Something caused them to wake up - perhaps the roots were confined? Anyway I've repotted both seedlings with a just a pair of initial leaves - seems to work fine.

When I repotted I took the decision to remove the outter casing of the jiffy. This lead to a few of the roots being broken but they sulked for a day or so then pepped up again and don't seem to be worse for wear.
The soil formula I used was simple to allow for moisture retention but also allows draining (based on the thread which died in the database crash):
1/4 Pearlite
1/4 Vermiculite
1/2 Houseplant Compost
Small sprinkle of moisture retention gel pellets

Once planted I stand the pot in water and also water from the top. This also causes the mixture to expand - so plan that in with your potting! Then from now on I just keep the soil moist to touch but not water logged.

At this point (today) I have seedlings just about touching the top of the propagator :mrgreen: and one Dorset Naga has a mean set of big leaves (which look out of place!) I've noted that some have heads at the based of the leaves - these I assume will become flowers later.

Tonight I shall set up my Chilli den. I don't use the airing cupboard so I'll rig up a chain support for the Eurogrow light. Initial impressions - good light output. The reflector is a little flimsy and the power block that comes with it weighs a ton! I was expecting, as the light is 'combo' that the light would hold two bulbs at the same time but instead the light holds one bulb and you get two bulbs (one Metal Halide and one High Pressure Sodium) and each is 400W.
The MH bulb gives a bluer colder light than the HPS. So initially I'll be using the MH bulb.
...
 
Well it was an easy job :)
These photos are from last night - they've straighten up and will be watching them like a hawk for temp and signs of stress today (working from home!).

The cupboard during 'daylight' is basically self heating thanks to the light as 400W in that space results in a warming effect. I have a thermostat controllable fan/re-circulator.

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The timer controls the light by using the 10A switch (the grey box on the cables). The black block is the really heavy power supply for the light. The light itself only requires a single socket. You can see the light engine (the thing with the fan) still suspended from it's makeshift holder (duct tape is the mutts nuts!).

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The 400W Metal Halide bulb in action.. this picture does not do the light justice. Think UK bright sunlight during our really brightest hottest summer day!

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The ones on the left have hit the roof this morning.. may need to make a draught guard (cardboard box with open top and bottom that the light came in!) and take the propagator lid off.

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A little temp drop initially but that increased later. I'm using the prop heating during the night although I think I'll need to come up with a different solution tonight as the plants are hitting the top of the prop..

The plants are still slightly bent this morning but are straightening (I don't expect them to straighten completely now).
 
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My place doesn't really have a good sunny location unfortunately. Mixed with the chilli's requirement for a good amount of sunlight means some lighting is a must for me.
My basil plant and corriander plants on the kitchen window have basically died.. Mixing basil with chilli plants in the same location is good - the basil wards off some of the problem bugs etc supposedly.

You know chilli are just like tomatoes to grow - the only difference is the temperature requirement. ;)
 
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Update - after a couple of days under the MH lamp (3rd March these photos were taken..).

I've raised the lamp slightly (about 1/2 foot) as the plants were showing signs of stress from too much light (slight scorching). In addition I've set the heater to ensure it keeps them warm (ideal temp seems 27-30 degC).
At night I have the old light cardboard box that provides a protective cocoon over the propagator base. I've giving them a good 7-8 hours kip and that seems to suit them.

They seem to be growing like rockets - this is their current state (3 days on).

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This weekend's tasks are to repot the seedlings still in their jiffy pellets and put a larger mat down. They still seem too young for taking out the prop as they start drooping a little if the temps drop to 25 or below but at some point they'll need to jump from the heated prop during the night to being standalone with just the air heater to keep them warm.
 
After getting the MH light on the 3rd, today I thought would be a good day to show the current state of the plants.

After the initial scorching the plants have recovered - the scorched leaves have neither yellowed, curled or dropped but do show a little 'battle scars' by have continued to grow without a problem. The light is about a foot above where it was initially when installed which gives a good four to five feet between the plant tops and the bulb.

I took these photos this morning after removing the cardboard box and the light has just been switched on (steps up power and slowly builds in brightness). This weekend will see a few more bits bought including a larger tray for the big plants to have some room.

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The Jalapenos (the taller) are all showing signs of developing flowers. Here you can see in the centre (slightly blurred even with macro - blame the user ;)):
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So going well so far - fingers crossed.

I'd thought I'd also comment on the growing conditions. It seems that the plants like 22degC during the night and 25-27degC during the day. They will cope with 32degC but do wilt slightly. Light is provided ~7am thought to ~11pm which is about their limit they seem happy with (they start looking like they need a rest). They like a good 8 hours darkness and then they seem to be completely refreshed in the morning.
Liquid wise these have been watered every day, although I'm about to step that back and simulate some dry periods. The soil is moist (perhaps a little too moist) so a dry period will help to reduce the soil moisture.
If there's a draught of <20degC they show quickly by drooping leaves and general posture change.

Today I'm going to recirculate the air through the plants themselves (without heating) and see what happens.
 
I've heard that if you stimulate more dry periods then the chili's will be hotter, is this true?

Not sure - I'd probably suggest the fruit is drier and smaller so concentrates the compounds.

On the other side, chillis are prone to drop flowers and so there's a big chance of less chilli (or none at all) if the plant is stressed. The drop in the number of fruits would also play a role too in how much nutrients the fruit gets.

Nothing bad about smaller chilli - it's better than if the chilli is blown up by water that many supermarkets do. Also the mass produced supermarket chilli are usually pumped full of chemicals to preserve the appearance of freshness during shipping and on the shelves.

The problem if the soil is waterlogged is that the standing water causes the roots to rot and organisms that don't normally thrive due to the oxygen then thrive compounding the problem and usually killing the plant.
The soil mix I use is free draining so it will last with enough moisture for the dry period but helps prevent over watering as the water flows out the bottom.
 
I'm interested in trying this, but a few questions first.
Are there any species that do not grow too much? ie: I don't think I have room for a 90cm plant in my flat.
Any advice on a not too hot species?
I'm definately going to try this, shall I simply use some seeds from a supermarket bought chili?

Yes there are chillis that can be grown in small window pots. There are also chillis that will grow in cooler conditions with less light.

Yes you can grow from supermarket chillis - my scotch bonnets are just that! If they're fresh rather than dried you'll have a very good chance of germinating the seed. The only down side is that it will not have a 'pedigree' but to be honest it's the chilli experience that counts ;)

You can get chillis that have been bred for flavour with only 800 Scoville Heat Units (SHU) heat which is perfect for your requirements. Nu Mex variety has some specifically bred for non-heat but full flavour - just read and make sure you select the cooler NuMex (there's a few hotter sub-varieties).
The SHU scale is pretty useful. For example:
Code:
Variety	Scoville Units
Pure Capsaicin	        15,000,000 - 16, 000,000
US Police Pepper Spray	5,000,000

Bhut Jolokia            1,001,304 (Guinness world record holder)
Dorset Naga Pepper	923,000
Red Savina Pepper	350,000 - 580,000
Scotch Bonnet	        100,000 - 325,000
Jamaican Hot Pepper	100,000 - 200,000
Rocoto Pepper	        50,000 - 100,000
Pequin Pepper	        75.000
Super Chilli Pepper	40,000 - 50,000
Cayenne Pepper	        30,000 - 50,000
Tabasco Pepper	        30,000 - 50,000
de Arbol Pepper	        15,000 - 30,000
Aji Pepper	        12,000 - 30,000
Serrano pepper	        5,000 - 23,000
Hot Wax Pepper	        5,000 - 10,000
Chipotle	        5,000 - 10,000
Jalapeno Pepper	        2,500 - 8,000
Guajilla Pepper	        2,500 - 5,000
Tabasco Sauce	        2,500
Pasilla Pepper	        1,000 - 2,000
Ancho Pepper	        1,000 - 2,000
Anaheim Pepper	        500 - 2,500
Nu Mex Pepper	        500 - 1,000
Santa Fe Grande Pepper	500 - 700
Pimento Pepper	        100 - 500
Bell Pepper	        0

The key is - where does the chilli originate from? If, like the Naga, it's hot areas of Assam etc then it will need to be kept warm. If it originates from a cooler climate then it will work in england in summer or inside with the normal household temperatures.
Second point is that chillis need sun to get to the point they will fruit - more sun the better chance of fruiting.

If you are starting out I'd advise using jiffy pellets that you can get from places like B&Q that come with a plastic propagator tray thing. Then work from there.
 
I'm growing chillies this year. I do think the less spicy the chilly the easier it is to grow.

I don't think it's related to spiciness - rather the climate the plant comes from.

If it's cooler - you don't need the majority of stuff. I use a cardboard box over the chillis at night (and switch the proporgator heater on) to keep the chillies warm (22degC and above). Other chilli plants may accept being colder during the night.
It all depends on the plant - watch the plant.. if it looks droopy then it could be temps are too cold etc.

You'll still need to learn a little about the plant and read a few pages on growing them - a good place to start reading is here.
The jiffy pellets will have all the food the plant requires for the first month or so as it's getting it's root system sorted. Then put into bigger pots with a mixture of potting compost, pearlite and vermiculite and the plant will continue growing.. if you want you can repot again into a larger pot.. etc etc.
Just keep the soil moist but not wet. Then when it's repotted for the first time - just add liquid feed once every two weeks (although the new compost will have food).
Give it sun light whilst keeping it in the temperature range (a cooler climate chilli helps with this) and in summer bob's your uncle. Simple!

The Naga is a hard chilli to grow. It's a pain to germinate, a pain to grow as it requires good light and grows large. Then to top it all off it stresses easily so is very prone to dropping it's flowers (hence no chillies!).. opening a door with a cold draught (ie 15degC) will cause them to stress..
 
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The nagas can grow to 4-5 ft, a small fan on the seedlings will help strengthen the storks to support the weight as they grow taller as well as helping air circulation :)

Yup my rationale for the fan is two fold - firstly to strengthen the plant structure through the movement of air and secondly to ensure that the air in the canopy and at the soil surface does not become too humid resulting in a mold breeding ground.
 
Hehe 5ingh - I've not seen the cotton wool germination trick but I've seen the kitchen paper towel trick.

This morning - as the light is building up after switching on.

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With a CD for size.

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So at the moment going ok!

I have a big tray thing just behind me but it's too big for the area - I'm thinking a bit of hot plastic work will make it fit.
 
An update!
I bought a larger tray which allows them to be spread out. Even still they're going to be big.. The Naga little'ns have leaves the size of CDs now. In addition the Jalapenos have started flowering.

Earlier this week the first flower started whitening as expected (I think this was wednesday/thursday):
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Then by today I have four flowers- three of them on this plant:
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Time for Nick to act the insect with a cotton wool ear bud..

The tray has helped spread them out a little but there's still too many for the space. Especially as the Naga's haven't even got to their 4-6 foot.. they're about a foot at the moment. So here's the motley crew..
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The grow light has been moved up yet again. This is about as high as it will go. Compare this with the previous location (back un the thread) and you can see that it's a lot higher than it was initially.
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I have some friends visiting today. She's a bit of a wiz with plants - she's the only person I know that's managed to get Avocados to grow in soil - they're about two to three foot high on her kitchen windowsill! The plan is she'll take one of the Jalapenos off my hands as he likes good spicy food. Sad to see one leave.. and I hope it survives the change in climate from it's pampered existence at the moment!
 
Wow, good job Nick :cool: The plants have grown really fast! Are you manually pollenating due to the unpredictable weather? Do you plan on putting them outside when it gets warmer?

They've only been under the growlight for a month! I think I'll keep with the MH bulb for the time being as they're still young and my thought is if the plants are creating lots of flowers then it's their way of demonstrating they're happy.
I'll use a cotton bud. The flowers already have a lot of pollen.

Unfortunately I don't have a good location - my old place used to have a perfect back garden whereas this place is a stop gap till I get my own place. So these will probably remain indoors. The Naga doesn't like cold so the 4degC nights we've been having would certainly kill it. I'd say they like temps down to 18degC at night and will survive 32degC during the 'day' although they wilt they spring back over night. Perfect temp seems to be 20-27degC.

I have to take a photo of my chilli plant that survived the winter (kinda hibernated it as it didn't grow). It looks nothing like yours though I must admit :P

I'm guessing it looks like a stick of wood at the moment? Given some warm weather it'll sprout green shoots.

I have some large pots I'm considering moving the naga's too (they grow larger so they should develop a larger root system) and I'll use the pots for the next set of seedlings.
 
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