The 2010 Chilli growing thread - it's scorching!

[garylouden]

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

It works very well, im not sure how hot the soil is meant to be but on top of my switch it keeps the soil warmish.

 

[lotus7]

wahoo just put agencies fees down on a house with a mahossive garden, which also has some weed filled flower beds in. Also has conservatory as well.
Move in 8th of march..
So hopefully no chilli deaths from lack of light this year.

Sounds good. Is the conservatory North or South facing ?

 

[a1ex2001]

One of mine seems to have died for some reason, good job I planted two of each seed though

Always worth planting more than you need with any type of plant even if you just bin some a the first repot some always die.

 

[randomshenans]

Right, did a little gardening in trimming back my Naga's as one I forgot to water while I was away and the other just dropped like a mother with no light etc. Hopefully I can save them!!

Looks a bit sorry for itself! But...

So let's hope!!
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?

Worried it'll dry up and die... tips appreciated!

I do have a selection to go in though

Fun weekend jobs ahead

 

[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!

 

[Stanman67]

A couple of years ago I bought some dragons blood that is made with dorset naga's, SERIOUSLY HOT STUFF
Never had anything that hot before & I like hot.

Try Insanity sauce, I think you can get it from Asda. Even a pin size drop burns like hell, no idea why any one eat it

 

[randomshenans]

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!

Priceless mate, thanks once again.

As I've got a fair few sorts of seeds I'd be happy to share when I've sown some if people would like.

 

[matt d938]

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?

i found super chilli last year to be very easy to care for and produced quite hot fruit lol

Just sown some today in my heated prop in the spare room, this year i will be trying to grow -

Super chilli
Dorset naga
Purple tiger
Thai dragon
Birkino yellow Habanero
Cayenne thick
7 pot

Plus

4 x california wonder bell pepper
3 x sweet spanish bell pepper
1 x dolce lino sweet pepper

Plus some potatoes and strawberrys too lol

i try to be self sufficient for certain things in the summer months and peppers and chillis are pretty much fool proof to grow lol

Thanks...............Matt

 

[Slime]

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

 

[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.

 

[eStu]

I grew lots of jalapenos last year with limited success. I got lots of fruit but they tasted vile! I'm not sure why as they got plenty of sunlight and heat all the time, the taste was like rot but they definitely weren't off.

I didn't really trim the leaves as you can see in the pic - should I have done some serious trimming? Are there any pros/cons to lots of leaves?

 

[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.

 

[eStu]

They tasted rank at all stages right up until they were dark red and starting to die off. I forgot to mention I used a common liquid plant food every couple of weeks to feed them up a bit, I wonder if this interferred with the taste.

 

[Daveyboy]

I've got some chilli seeds here it says to start growing feb to march, but there's so much frost and snow still.... should I just keep 'em inside for a month?

 

[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.

 

[Jas1975]

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.

 

[garylouden]

My first shoot.

 

[Mark A]

My 15 cayenne seeds for 99p from ebay have arrived \o/. Got a feeling they wont even grow but I'll give it a go.

Think I'll also order some naga seeds but for some reason they're much dearer than the milder chillis.

 

[randomshenans]

Gary it's always nice to get your first shoot showing (oo-er!) I'm still waiting for mine but only planted on Saturday. Just need to make sure they grow now, as there are 4 types of seeds planted, 6 of each. Hate to waste!!