Chilli Crop
Have opted for cayenne, bells and also Jalepenos. I must admit, that I did not grow the Jalepenos from seed. I bought a seedling type thing and it actually did well!
There are also some mini red peppers, that I have tried to grow twice now with no success what soever. They just fail to germinate.
Baby Bell peppers
There is a lot to remember when it comes to growing chillies and peppers. One would think that they are fairly easy to grow.
Trust me. They are not.
Chillies and peppers, don't so much like heat, as love it. The magic number when trying to get them to germinate was 16 degrees celsius. Be that on a nice warm window sill, or sat on top of the radiator. So keep them warm when starting them off, and keep them warm. So much as a draught, and the things will turn up their noses and just cease to exist.
Things I have learned:
- Plant one seed per pot to germinate. Fill a small pot with compost, water and liquid drain through the dirt. Place your seed in the middle of the pot.
- Cover with cling film, make a small hole for aeration.
- Place on a warm window sill-might need to be between 23-25-hence the radiator! Seeds will raise their faces between 7-21 days. This is apparently dependent on what type you have.
- You can plant them out when the temperature is above 10 degrees celsius and the final frost has passed.
- When the seedlings are are two inches tall, plant them on.
- When the roots are exiting the base of pot, this is the signal to plant on. else the plants get 'pot bound'.
- Need 16 degrees for a normal day to day temp.
- Chillies and peppers need to be well watered, rather than water logged. To see if your plants are thirsty, press your finger to the dirt. If it is dry, water. Pot should just be moist generally. Water too much, your roots will rot. Have had that happen, the plant just ceased to exist.
- To feed, use tomato food.
Last years Jalepens pickled
2011 cohort
On the left, are jalepenos that cropped last year. There were quite a few, and two batches were pickled in some vinegar. On the right are this years cayenne chillies that have since been planted on to large containers. They are already flowering, so we shall see how they continue.
This is the 2011 cohort of chillies. It has taken three years of practice, but finally, there is a red chilli! It makes no difference that it is tiny!
There are valuable lessons to be learned here. It would appear, that chillies do best under cover of some description. These were let out to breathe today, but are ordinarily under those semi transparent gardening bags used for garden rubbish. So cover is important. There is a school of thought, that believes in peppers like aubergine being pot bound. I can safely say, that when I had two or more chillie to a pot, they seemed to produce a bigger and better crop. So this is something to keep in mind for next years crop, I think. They do seem to respond to be treated meanly. Feeding is important, and you have to strike a balance in feeding enough, but not drowing them or giving them too little. Needless to say, next time, I will definitely start them off early. As early as january, and some type sof chilli can take up to a month to actually germinate.
Finally!
Finally! Some very potent, very fiery chillies! I bit into one, and was soon running for the milk. Was a small one, and really quite potent. Keeping them inside, really has paid off and was a valuable lesson to learn.