The 2010 Chilli growing thread - it's scorching!
- Thread starter NickK
- Start date
Could be nutrients, water, temps, light or disease. I'm not an expert but it may be worth asking on the chilligalore forums. They should be able to give you a pointer.
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Yup, my three are overwintered from last year.
All I did is let them drop their leaves, allowing the sap to draw back by giving it a while and the cutting the stems back.
I gave them one soak and then just left them. I checked the soil just to make sure they weren't rock hard dry. I only gave them about three waters totalling less than a litre for the entire winter..
I did keep them on the window sill and they survived the outside temps being down to -15 and the sill temps of almost freezing. I'd recommend keeping them in a place that's over about 5 degC and certainly not in a draught or frosty location.
You'll know if they're alive as they're green stemmed still. Then in spring (March time) all you do is give them a little water and wait for them to wake up. They'll spout shoots and at that point ensure they have a good supply of water and possibly a little nutrients to help them build their foliage.
Other experts have suggested cutting down the root mass so that when you start them in spring they are transplanted into fresh compost and it gives the roots space to grow a little again. I didn't do that and I did find that I needed to give the nutrients over this summer.
At the end of the original thread there's a photo of them on the window sill.
I have a load of ripening fruits now. I'm going to deseed them and keep the seeds but then freeze the flesh of some in a bag and then make some into chilli flakes.
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Hi Nick. Btw them seeds u sent me before didn't germinateThanks anyhow tho for them. Didnt use em all so some might still be ok. I think i'll use them next year in feb.
About the over wintering of the plants. Didn't feed them just watered but as most of the other stuff is flowered and fruiting i decided to use some of my Bio-Grow on all the plants. But mums been watering while i been ill so i duno if its helped and i only added it few weeks ago.
Chillis are odd with feeding - they don't need a massive strength feed, just one that has the right blend. They're also sensitive to overfeeding as some (such as the naga) have evolved for low nutrient soils.
Hmm it's a shame that your naga seeds didn't germinate. I have a far larger crop this year. I'll also leave the fruit on the plant longer (not much point in attempting a second harvest now). This should ensure that the seeds are packed with energy and increase the germination rate.
The idea of having a seed swap is good, although the way that Chilli Galore do it is they compile a list of people on a thread, then those on the list send forward on a tupperware box via recorded mail after reordering the list to minimise the travel distances involved. You provide the mail address to the person in front of you in the list.
This means if someone decides to take the seeds and leave then they have direct proof.
When you receive the box you contribute X seeds in clearly labeled species bag(s) with you as the contributor. Usually a limit of 10-15 seeds max. You then take X number of seeds that you're interested in. Reseal and send on via recorded mail to the next person.
To keep track you state on the thread when you receive it.
Mwahaha.. I've just dropped off two Nagas to a friend and his girlfriend that "love hot food" although I did warn them that they should not leave them near small children or pets (they have neither)..
I shall now wait for the tales of tears and heat
I shall now wait for the tales of tears and heat
No.. you'll need to cut/snip them off
@Spammeh - mine have a few leaves that it's dropped with yellowing but plants do that if there's little sunlight hitting them.
Not sure about the seeds, however the heat can depend on the environment. Usually a plant doesn't bother with fruit if the seeds have not been germinated.
My Jalapenos last year weren't that hot but I left them on longer and they did heat up a bit more.
My Jalapenos last year weren't that hot but I left them on longer and they did heat up a bit more.
I want lots of seeds
If the winter was anything like last year they'll need it!Besides.. 2011 thread may see some of those go to new homes.
This weekend is going to see a large amount of chilli preparation as I didn't get to it last weekend.
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Ahh... ze link did not work but 'Chilli_Tour_and_Tasting_for_Two' I see
I assume they started at the low end before getting to the Moriach!
It should be. The Dorset is a late fruiting chilli, so with a head start next year you should be laughing.
You'll need to increase the pH to make the chillis acidic using vinegar. That helps prevent botchulism. It's also a but hard core to make too so make it in a ventilated space away from kids and pets!
Cook Chillis in vinegar (white rather than malt). Heat veg oil to very high temp. Place chillis in sterilised heat-proof bottle and then pour in the very hot oil. Then seal the bottle.
If the bottle at room temp goes cloudy or shows any form of growth then discard it.
Well I've just harvested the ripe nagas (37!) from grace the grandma. There are still about four chillis ripening still but:
Seeds for next year ... the other two plants I'll harvest tomorrow and they have about the same number each!
Seeds for next year ... the other two plants I'll harvest tomorrow and they have about the same number each!
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You can over-winter them and they'll have a head start next year.
The expert advise is to keep them out of the frost (ie above 5 degC). Although having said that my windows had ice on the inside on the sill they were sat and they survived at least a few degrees above zero. However they did have some dead stalk at the top because of it! The plants sprang back from the living section of stalk.
I've heard of chilli plants surviving snow outside but I wouldn't want to try it!
Overwintering is straight forward.
The usual behaviour is that about 7 degC they'll drop their leaves and go into hibernation. Then just leave them to draw the sap back into the stem and cut off the branches. I'd give them a last water soak with nutrients as they're dropping their leaves but once they don't have their leaves they get watered very infrequently (maybe a pint every month). You'll notice that the water doesn't disappear from the soil as quick and you don't want to soak them as they'll rot the roots before the plant has had chance to use the water.
Then just leave in a location where they can sit without a cold draft and above about 5 degC. They'll just remain in a dormant state.
Experts often cut the root ball down with fresh compost to make up for the space. The rationale is that when the plant has food and that when it start growing next season it has more food available otherwise it will require feeding (the soil will have no nutrients left).
I thought last winter that would be a bit too shocking for the plant and so I left it with all it's roots intact. I did need feeding but that didn't cause it a problem.
Plants aren't guaranteed to make it through the winter but it's worth a try.
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I've also decided to make the seeds available just like earlier this year. However I've decided to harvest the seeds and send them before winter to prevent the cold getting to them in transport.. just store them in a dry cool place (no heat at this stage but above freezing/frost!) and plant them next year.
Send me a trust if you're interested. I'll also up the number of seeds inline with number I have from the harvest!
Send me a trust if you're interested. I'll also up the number of seeds inline with number I have from the harvest!