The 2010 Chilli growing thread - it's scorching!

I haved planted my seeds as they germinated, should they go back onto the skybox or leave them on the window seal. How long does it take before they break the surface?

The first thing that the seed does is push out a root.. then it'll push the seed casing (which contains the seedling leaves) upwards towards the surface of the soil. The casing either gets separated by the soil or after it breaks the surface.

As long as you've not planted it 2 inches below the surface it should be ok - seeds have a finite amount of energy to create a root and develop the seed leaves before they need additional energy from the sun or die.

If you've germinated the seeds they only need about 0.5-1.0cm of soil above them.

Don't forget later, when they're ready to be repotted, you'll bury up to the seed leaves in soil anyway. The area under the seed leaves will grow roots (even if they're above the soil quite often).
 
Took my Nagas away from the window sill last night as the leaves touch the windows. I'll give them a dunk and feed before replacing them this morning. Looks like it's going to be a great sunny day.

i got some seeds in little packets that come with little compost pots and them 'discs' that expand when you stick water with them, then apparently just place the seeds on top of the soil. I only seeded them on Sunday night and they're currently on my windowsill to get some sunlight and i'm putting a bit of water each night in the bowl that the pot is in. Apparently it takes 12 weeks for them to germinate too. I take it at that point they need moving into seperate pots?

Welcome :)

Ok, to germinate sees you'll need to keep them warm and moist - germinating seeds doesn't require light at this stage, just warmth and moisture. Most people will attempt to germinate prior to putting them in soil as it's easier to get a tupperware box, add sheets of kitchen paper and dampen them. Lay the seeds on top and cover with another damp lay of kitchen paper. Seal the box and then place in a warm location.
Check every few days, don't let the seeds or paper dry out and then transplant the germinated seeds into soil/pellets into a warm and sunny location.

I used pellets originally too when germinating but it can mean if the seeds don't germinate then you can waste a pellet.

Just remember to keep the pellet moist but not soaked/water logged once the plant is growing.

If you read through this thread you should get a good feel for germinating seeds.


Lastly when repotting - they will sulk for a day or so and them pep up again. I'd wait until they have their initial leaves but that's just my preference. The roots won't have fill out the pot yet anyway.
 
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Some flower buds on mine are falling off, is this normal? They flower, then turn yellow and fall off.

Yup. A plant will produce buds and when it's got enough light/heat/nutrients/water/leaves/maturity then the plant will keep hold of them.. until then it will drop them and very annoying it is too.

It's still probably a little too cold at nights.
 
quick question. my chilli plants seem to be growing wider, rather than taller, is there anyway i can get them to grow a bit more height? i was thinking of cutting off a few leaves so its puts some more energy into growing up rather than out. i think ive been giving them a bit too much sun on the earlier stages of growth and they've spread out. im not sure what to do, any help? cheers

You could tie them so that they grow upward and trim the branches that don't want to to behave.
 
When can I expect to harvest? I grew a single plant last year, got some big chilli's off it (green) but they weren't even slightly hot. A few that I left on the plant then started to turn red, so I thought whoops I'd harvested too early...

Also, should I be snipping some of the smaller leaves off from lower down the plant? Or just leave it alone and carry on as I'm going, watering and feeding with a special chilli food ('Chilli Focus')?

I'd leave them to ripen first, then once you know the heat, you can work backwards for green chillies. Just means you don't harvest too early and have the chilli sap taste with no heat rather than the fruity taste.

Personally I'd leave them be with the leaves and just continue watering/feeding as needed. Only if they don't set flower/fruit would I be tempted to change the watering/feeding habits.
 
My Naga's, I call the one on the left Brutus! :p

:cool: Brutus reminds me of Brutus Gold and the Soul Train (a 70's night at uni). :D

I may have to crop mine back like last year. They've grown ok but due to the cold weather they've just dropped flowers like nobody's business. :mad:
I'll sort it all out at the weekend.
 
Slow growth, according to thechileman.org, "likely to be caused by inadequate light, poor soil, low temperatures. Note some Chile species particularly the Chinese are notoriously slow growing".

The Naga my seeds came from was a quick grower, which didn't exhibit this pattern. So it may be that it has issues from the seed (pathogen or mutation) that has caused it. This was parent of all the seedlings I sent out, as a seedling (from the previous thread):
IMG_0967.jpg

(actually these may be Jalapenos but both Naga and the jalapenos were the same in terms of colouring)

Later after it had started wooding the stem, then it had some purple to it:
IMG_1152.jpg


In my limited experience I wouldn't say that's a Naga (which doesn't have a dark stem) but googling "dark stem slow growing" returns a few varieties such as Riot, Thai Hot, Tri-colour Varigata, Vietnamese along with one slightly worrying - Marijuana! (To ease people's minds - I don't do drugs nor have I been growing or sending out illegal plant seeds).

Although it could be all down to the slow growth making the stem purple streaks appear close together but it just seems too different.
 
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Anyone else with chillis on the plant aready? :D

Mine aren't playing ball - think it's my watering/food regime. I can never get it right immediately.
 
My thought is that the flower has 'resources' generated by the leaves and roots. The plant finds itself with an excess of resources initially and creates flowers early. The early flowers take the resources but soon the demands go beyond the young plant's maximum resources at which point the plant aborts the flower and it drops.

Only once the plant is producing enough resources does the production of flowers/fruit fit into those resources.

It would also explain why after the flowers are dropped when there's not enough sun etc.
 
Should I be feeding the plants now? I re-potted them last week so they now have an extra 2 litres of fresh compost in there so not sure if they will need feeding yet?

They should be ok if you've just added additional fresh compost.

The water usage will increase (especially with fruit) so keep an eye on that.

I have fruit set on the Joe's Long, Fuego and Royal Black. Some of the Chinese varieties are starting to bud.

Awesome. Last year the Jalapenos had flowered and set fruit completely (no new flowers!) before the nagas (a Chinese variety) had even started holding on to it's flowers!
 
So are you saying that you shouldnt start plucking flower bud off as the plant will drop the flower if it deems it nessessary?

I dont know If i can bring myself to start plucking off flower buds, just incase it doesnt produce any more and I end up with no chillies :eek:.

I just left them to it in the past - however given my stunning degree of not-success may prove I'm not an expert in such matters!

From my experience - the problem is that chilli plants only sprout flower buds from specific locations, when those flowers drop, it doesn't reflower from those locations again.
 
Got my first flower with actual pollen today.. so I got the peg out :D

@quicklink - yup they'll change but they may remain green for a while and then suddenly hour-by-hour they change colour..
 
I would wait until they are flowering/fruiting. Seedlings can't cope with the strength, nor should they need additional feed if they have been placed in fresh compost.
I'd wait until flowering.
 
bud = flowers, however only when they mature enough to be fertilised do flowers=chillis.

Often cold weather, lack of nutrients, water and light etc may cause the plant to drop the flower.
 
So I'm supposed to be growing peppers, but they look suspiciously like chillies, they're long thin, curled up at the ends and green.

Do peppers grow obviously like peppers or do they look like chillies first?

They could be a number of species unfortunately. Will be interesting to seem them later once they've ripened and you've tasted them.
 
Seems odd that both your seedlings aren't growing leaves. Do you have a photo of them now?

Mine have been going balmy, they've been suffering as they've been using all their water in one day!
 
I've moved my biggest plant outside now, hoping to attract some bees / insects etc to help pollinate. Or should I pollinate myself? Majority of my plants are sitting there flowering away, but no chilli's at the end?? Any thoughts?

Careful of slugs as they love a bit of chilli. :eek:


The flowers are ok now and there have been a few with pollen however I've not had any fruit as of yet :/ Certainly more difficult on the window using natural light only!
 
Would you suggest leaving outdoors, or bring it back inside?

They'll get more light outside. The downside is that they're more open to attack by wee beasties.

Oddly, for an organism that makes it's food from light, a hot/bright day can kill them if you just take a plant outside. You'll need to acclimatise the plant by giving progressively longer time in direct sunlight.
 
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