The 2010 Chilli growing thread - it's scorching!

[NickK]

Building on experience from last year's chilli growing thread - I thought we'd start a fresh with a new thread.

Last year's thread can be found here.

I shall be growing Dorset Nagas. I have a couple of plants over wintered and seeds from last year. I'll be starting in March to bring them out of hibernation.

I have seeds from last year's superstar Naga. If you have space for a Naga (check out the size in the last thread) then my email is trust as I have a load of seeds (unverified how effective they'll be to germinate).

The Naga fruit is hot. You'll be able to smell it throughout the house on cutting it. Your eyes will water and in food it seriously good heat level (I can eat Vindaloo to give you a reference level and it's hotter). The fresh cut flavour is a beautiful pineapple taste compared to the Dorsets you get in Tesco.

 

[NickK]

Whats a decent beginners chili to grow? One that doesn't require lots of sun preferably.

Would like to have a go at this this year.

Virtually any Jalapeno will grow given some light and will tolerate serious watering abuse! They also aren't too large and fruit continuously.

 

[NickK]

Good thread!
Can you grow the naga outside or does it need to be inside/greenhouse?

If it's warm it can be grown outside. The problem is that the Naga is a large plant it can take longer to get to fruiting.

 

[NickK]

It depends on 'direct' as some plants will die in direct sun in summer (even here!). They do well on a kitchen window for example. In the end chillies are simple beasts: sun+water+food = chilli peppers! So you may find they're slower to grow. Worth trying

 

[NickK]

Well the offer still stands - if you can cope with the size of plant (do not underestimate) and the heat of fruit then shoot me a trust.

The key with Nagas really comes down to warmer than normal germination and then a good amount of sunlight with regular water/feed so it doesn't get stressed.

 

[NickK]

They're looking good - I think they need a little more sun light but as you've moved them see how it goes. I'd still rotate them but they may need staking and tying.

The best to go with is to ensure that they're not water logged. If that happens they can succumb to rotting. Moist but not wet. Then as they grow they'll start using more water. So each plant develops it's own watering needs.

Those have their initial seedling leaves, next they'll pop out another pair. When they've got a set of full leaves (ie two normal leaves) then it's usually time to repot them.

Leggy is usually down to not enough light so they attempt to find it. The only problem is then that the stems can't support themselves properly so they need to be supported. Once they've got used to a bend then that becomes the shape of the stem of the adult plant (my old Jalapenos had a 90 deg bend in because of their early days!).

 

[NickK]

What kind of chillies are the 'red and green' chillies you can buy from Tesco? I'm after something similar but maybe a bit hotter that i can put in curries and bolognaise etc.

Jalapeños are quite mild aren't they?

It depends on the species and the growing conditions. There are literally tens of thousands of species of chilli but it's probably better thinking in terms of heat levels and taste (ie what's the target dish).

Jalepenos will do well in most things although I would point to Cayenne for chilli due to the distinctive taste and for curry I would look at Cayenne or Pusa Jwala.

Seems like a stupid question but can you use seeds that have come from dried out chillies? If not then, I'll only be trying to germinate some more apache chillies then.

If you've just dried out some chilli fruits yourself without heating them then they should germinate. If they've been force dried (ie supermarket) then the seeds may have been damaged/killed by the processing.

Also - I agree with the breeze comment. It will strengthen the stems and will stop the canopy from trapping moisture causing rotting.

 

[NickK]

You don't really need lights etc etc if you work with nature, as others have said all you need for chillis are:

1. Warm place for germination - a steady 20degC (you don't need light for the initial germination period)
2. a sunny(ish) location to put them when they've started to sprout leaves that's not subject to frost or frosty draughts with a steady temperature
3. Just keep them watered with a bit of liquid chilli food every so often.
4. Re-pot when they outgrow their current one (assuming you want them to grow bigger).

Most window sills are perfect, just careful of point 2 when they're young. Only time when you need things like lamps are if you're trying to give them a head start (useful if you have plant that takes longer to grow).

If you find they're lacking in heat - it may be because they're too immature.

 

[NickK]

Good stuff AH

Just checked my overwinter Nagas from last year. I know the sill has got very cold over winter so it's amazing they've survived.

The old leaves over winter have died off - mainly due to lack of water (oops!) but the plants are alive and have small leaves appearing. So I've given them a good watering, next watering I'll start to give them some Chilli Focus as I didn't cut back the root mass (thus not repotting to refresh the soil). I have noted that two have some stem browning at the top (probably froze!)

I have had two enquiries about Naga seeds and so I'll sort those out asap (although I have a date on saturday so I may only have a chance to post them sunday).

 

[NickK]

Lol router heated!
They can take several weeks and a couple last year took two months!

 

[NickK]

Question for Nick, I know you're a good source of Naga knowledge. The above and the below stump, anything I should do with them to ensure they resprout new growth?

They'll be fine - just give them light, warmth along with water/food and they'll spring back. Your pictured plants look about the same as mine at the moment with really small little sprouts of leaves.

Last year I cut mine back to the stem as you have yours, the plants regrew and produced fruit.

You may see a little browning around the cut but it will regrow from those sprouting points.

As they're older plants they'll take more abuse. If you did that to a seedling then it would be very dead!

 

[NickK]

Hi guys, without reading all of the 2009 thread, how tall does a naga have to get for it to produce decent size fruit ?

ive got one ive just potted up today and its about 6 inches tall but has started putting its top side branches out already, does this mean it isnt going to get any taller now?

It will quite happily splay out to a good meter+ in diameter but if you keep the branches together then it'll not need as much space. The tape measure shows from the top of the pot (not the ground).

That was the size before I cut the naga back last year, it then reached about the same size. It depends on the pot size I think (although stopping it's growth by not repotting may end up stopping it fruiting).

 

[NickK]

Mine failed miserably last year. I planted too late I think and didn't look after them well. Anyone got a good beginners guide or tips? I have some seeds, but I got them for free so I'm not sure what they are or how successful they will be. Also, can you buy small bags of compost or do they only come in massive bags? Cheers

Firstly it's easy to germinate chilli seeds with moist cotton wool or two sheets of tissue paper in a sealed box or plastic food bag. Keep in the warm (naga is about 27 degC others less).

Next you have an option:

1. Go for seedling compost with vermiculite+pearlite (say 3:1:1) just to break up the compost. Chillis hate being waterlogged. Put all into a small pot and gently move the germinated seed to the pot. Place the seed about 0.5cm under the surface (cover lightly). The danger is if you damage the germinating seed it will die.

2. Use a seed pod (sutton do these) where the pod is a peat substitute that is dehydrated. You'll need to soak with water to get it back to normal. Then place seed in and then cover in a bag to keep it moist. Place it in a warm spot. Once the see germinates the young seedling has all the nutrients of the pod without the danger of being moved. Only when the roots are massing at the site then strip off the webbing and repot.

 

[NickK]

Interesting that the fruit tasted odd - did they taste like the at different stages of maturity? Some breeds of chilli pepper are ornamental (usually the weird looking multi-colour ones) which don't taste as nice. Another option is to start a new fresh set of seedlings from a different species.

I'd leave the leaves - the more leaves the more energy and food the plant can make. Usually the plant will limit the number of fruits it makes itself and those plants look healthy.

 

[NickK]

Yes you'll need to keep them in the warm (especially for germination). Any frost or cold draught is likely to kill them, or at least cause them to drop all their leaves.

@eStu - I've only used Chilli Focus but it's a good possibility.

 

[NickK]

Just mailed two Dorset naga fruits out so careful when extracting the seeds

 

[NickK]

Ok - reading this has spurred me into action, going to have a go at this myself this year. Mother-in-law has given me a Aerogarden still sat in the box from last year (anyone else got one?) so will have a go with that. Reading up on them it seems I can get a chilli seed kit for it too.

You should get a good crop - it's basically hydroponics made easy - ChilliGalore forums have a hydroponics specific sub forum. A mate grew kitchen herbs in his but I was tempted to use it last year but I knew the naga needed the height.

As the aero isn't massively tall I think you just steer clear of the larger chilli species. Most normal sized plants should be ok.

 

[NickK]

Some of my planted seeds are starting to sprout now, but not all varieties so keeping them tucked up for a few more days and see how they come up before they come out from their hidey hole out the back of my computer

It varies between seed to seed, species to species and environment.

Are there any varieties that are hardier to coldness? My flat is freezing and I rarely put the heating on. I'm very keen to grow, but don't want to just waste my time and money. Couldn't tell you the temperature, but it's not uncommon to see my breath when breathing... Is it hopeless?

You'd probably best wait until it warms up then try a quick growing species otherwise you'll not see any growth and they'll die.

 

[NickK]

Are they seed leaves or it's first set of proper leaves? If they're seed leaves wait..

Ok, when you repot you want to get a decent soil mixture so that they have adequate drainage. To do that you can add pearlite and vermiculite which both hold water but also break the soil up so it doesn't compact and suffocate the roots.

Mix as 3:1:1 soilearlite:vermiculite.

Get a pot (with hole(s) in the base) and fill to the point the young plant sits with it's seed leaves just above the rim of the new pot then carefully add soil around it. Compact down slightly but not too much. For show/keeping mold off the topsoil you could add pearlite on the surface.
Give it a watering but don't forget to place a pot saucer under the pot!

You may notice they 'sulk' due to the move but will perk up after a day or so.

 

[NickK]

First proper leaves

Thanks for the advice. Is it important to use the pearlite/vermiculite/soil mix, or will just soil on it's own be OK?

Most growers seem to recommend a mix to prevent compaction as chilli plants don't like water logged roots.