The 2010 Chilli growing thread - it's scorching!

Awesome, I'm slightly ahead of the game, being in the Southern hemisphere and all, but have about 20 plants scattered around the garden from a random selection of seeds. Plants are flowering, with small chillies starting to show.
 
mm i think i might try to grow some jalepenos actually, have i missed the boat with them or what?

P.S. OP theres so much hotter than vindaloo out there - its not THAT hot :)

You will be fine with Jalepenos as Annums are fast growing, I started my Annums at the beginning of April last year and got a good crop in the greenhouse.
 
Last two years I`ve grown Dorset Nagas. This year, for a change, I am trying Naga Jolokia. The seeds were potted on Monday and are on a south facing window sill.

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The Dorsets grew well in my north facing conservatory, got very tall and straggly reaching for the light, but gave a lot of fruit. I tried leaving some plants out side all summer but they did n't grow or fruit.

Last year I got a couple of plastic greenhouses and grew nagas in them.

I wish I had the space for a proper greenhouse.


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Just over two weeks in:

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The larger ones are becoming a bit leggy, so I have just put them onto a different window that gets much more sun. I don't think they were getting enough.

Also, stupid question, but how often should I be watering them at this stage? So many different places recommend different things.. At the moment I'm watering daily with a spray bottle.

NickK - I've archived the old thread. :)
 
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!).
 
yuno when i grew chillis inside to germinate them and get them going in a uni house under some flourescent light (no really they were chillis :P) i used a computer fan with a looooooooong wire from inside my pc case which was connected to a fan controller, Ie you give them an ever so gentle breeze, helps them thicken up the stalks no end.

So if they look a bit "leggy" consider a light breeze applying technique to strengthen em up ! :D
 
Virtually any Jalapeno will grow given some light and will tolerate serious watering abuse! They also aren't too large and fruit continuously.

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?
 
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.
 
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Sorry to sound like a right simpleton, but can you not get seeds where you just pop them in a pot inside and let them grow on their own?

All this talk of rigging up lights and airflow etc is a bit baffling. My mum grows peppers indoor just by planting the seeds and leaving them to it!
Can the same be done for chilli's?
 
Sorry to sound like a right simpleton, but can you not get seeds where you just pop them in a pot inside and let them grow on their own?

All this talk of rigging up lights and airflow etc is a bit baffling. My mum grows peppers indoor just by planting the seeds and leaving them to it!
Can the same be done for chilli's?

[FONT=&quot][/FONT] [FONT=&quot]You will be able to grow some of the Annums such as Cayenne and Jalapeno sowing straight into soil. Chinese species such as the Nagas, Bhut Jolokia and Habs can be more difficult to geminate and will benefit from starting in a heated propagator or germination in an airing cupboard. Lights can be necessary if you are starting early and pushing for fast growth, but I just use a south facing window ledge for my plants[/FONT]
 
My plants from last year are still going strong. Have had a few good chillies but not a bumper haul. Growing conditions aren't ideal!

I planted a few scotch bonnet seeds from some supermarket chillies and they are doing quite well, probably need re-potting. I think I'll offload some of them on to my parents as they have a nice greenhouse.
 
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?

If you like the ones you got from the super market just use the seeds out of one, thats waht I did last year and I've not purchased a chilli since.

I over wintered my three plants from last year, one has died but the other two are going strong and just starting to get going again now there is some sun about.

To those asking about growing outside, once the frosts have passed you should be able to successfully grow most normal chillie plants outside in a British summer, the Nagas and stuff tend to be a bit sensetive though.

Following my success with Chillies last year I'm going to diversify a bit this year and go with some Garlic and Ginger as well.
 
Well moving house by 24th of march. so will have a garden. will get myself one of those plastic greenhouse things and hope it goes better than last year.
 
Sorry to sound like a right simpleton, but can you not get seeds where you just pop them in a pot inside and let them grow on their own?

All this talk of rigging up lights and airflow etc is a bit baffling. My mum grows peppers indoor just by planting the seeds and leaving them to it!
Can the same be done for chilli's?

You dont need all the fancy equipment to grow them,aslong as they have plenty of warmth,sunlight and water they'll grow just fine.
 
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