Chilli's 2023

Supercell

Sowed my first seeds of the year today.

Dragons breath and lemon drop seeds saved from last years crop.

Saved one of my lemon drop plants last summer and am keeping at the back of the kitchen behind the sliding glass doors as an experiment. Seems to be doing ok. Will be interesting to see how it crops assuming it makes it until summer.

In other news my peach tree is starting to blossom, hoping we dont get a very cold spell later this winter as its early.

Ms2011

Got some week old seedlings in the propagator, no idea the variety. I'll give them another 2 weeks and I'll transplant them into bigger pots.

Supercell

First few starting to show, will divide them up when bigger.

Ms2011

Transplanted these this morning, 2 really good ones, 2 weaker ones but they might be ok

Supercell

Mum and her babies. Thinned out and repotted yesterday. The bigger ones are lemon drop (as is the parent plant). The ones that didnt make it are in the garden as my kids said it wasnt fair to not give them a chance :)

Ms2011

20230522_121522.jpg

Chilli plants flowering, not long now for some fruit!!

Supercell

Wow thats a beaut!

Funny enough, I just planted out most of my chillies and some tomatoes after work today. They have been hardening off the last couple of weeks and the forecast is good for the next week or so, so i took the plunge. My overwintered chilli has a few green chillies growing already, my ones from seed are not as far on as yours though some flowers are starting to appear.

Stephen_Maturin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120631682#Comment_120631682

What variety of chilli?

Ms2011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120633578#Comment_120633578

Basket of Fire

Wolftown

16849587987923038677308863638717.jpg

Jalapenos starting to show fruit

16849589264227307619686340605107.jpg

And overwintered cayenne also motoring

Stephen_Maturin

Jaysus I’m well behind after the cold killed off my first batch of seedlings 😞

I’d say my best specimen is about 20cm tall but still well off any flowers never mind fruit!

Hope it’ll have long enough…would be v disappointed if I get nothing out of them

Supercell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120636862#Comment_120636862

Great stuff @Wolftown , first time i've overwintered a chilli and have to say it's been a big success, really gets a head start. I don't have a greenhouse or conservatory so this has been a revelation.

I'm also growing some Capsicum flexuosum (Hardy Chili ) and Capsicum pubescens (Rocoto) as a trial as they can supposedly tolerate light frosts so hopefully will not have to overwinter indoors. I'm about a km from the sea here so get very little frost, I'm hoping these might survive the winter as a result. Plan is to plant them close to a SW facing wall at the back of the house where they will get some radiated heat during the colder months, one and only benefit of an 80's built house with poor insulation!

Wolftown

I'm also without a greenhouse or conservatory, they live on a south facing windowsill and get put outside when the weather is good.

I've had mixed results with overwintering...I had some Chenzo chilli's that lasted 4 years and were very productive.

The cayennes from last year have started quite well, but I've a jalapeno that I overwintered that looks healthy but hasn't produced any flowers yet. Also, the leaves are way smaller this year which I thought was strange...maybe jalapenos don't overwinter well 🤔

Below are some better pics:

This seasons jalapenos

Overwintered jalapeno

Overwintered cayennes

Will be interested to see how your new varieties progress, I'd like to try some more cold tolerant types next season!

Supercell

They look great. Looking at the pictures here i'm amazed at how big others are already! Think i'll sow in January next year .

Next time when i overwinter i'll be a bit less brutal cutting back too,

Will update the thread on the hardy varieties, i started them much later and they are still very small. Might not get much off them this year but if they survive the winter i've high hopes!

I've kept some seeds in reserve if they dont.

Ms2011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120637128#Comment_120637128

I'm finding Spring is starting later & it's still warm up to October so you should be fine.

Stephen_Maturin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120639815#Comment_120639815

Fingers crossed!

Flew too close to the sun this year - tried to do like 50 plants of 15 different varieties. Was much too much in my Dublin apartment 😂

Only have about ten left - my girlfriend also unknowingly mixed them all up when she temporarily moved them to a different room to do a tidy in the former. So they’re all mystery chilles now! Makes it kind of fun I suppose

Will stick to 5 varieties max next year, learned my lesson (until I can afford to buy a house with some land)

Ms2011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120639867#Comment_120639867

I'm lucky enough to have a big back garden & am in the process of putting a greenhouse together, this year was ridiculous with every windowsill full with plant, next year will hopefully be more organised!

Ms2011

Moved my Chilli's out to my new greenhouse & got my first fruit 😊🌶

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120637764#Comment_120637764

How did you overwinter them. First time growing them .

Supercell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120659882#Comment_120659882

Just watched some videos on youtube, these two are pretty good, but would recommend watching a few and seeing what suits you best:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuA59WzTJAQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_C-60hC_d4

Wolftown

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Jalapenos enjoying the sun 😎

Wolftown

Still getting to grips with adding pics!

Stephen_Maturin

How tall do ye all let your plants get before allowing them to set flowers?

last year I only grew dwarf varieties with small chillis so it was fine having a short plants, still got hundreds of chillis.

However I’ve a mystery plant that maybe 40cm tall or so. It’s beginning to flower but I’ve been pinching them out. Might give it another month of growth and then let it all explode into flower.

Wolftown

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120712435#Comment_120712435

I have always let mine grow how they want. I've never tried to manipulate them to grow or flower in a certain way, maybe it's something I need to look in to.

In my limited experience I've only grown Chenzo, Cayenne and Jalapeno. This years jalapenos are the tallest I've had so far at around 60cm.

They are nowhere near as bushy/dense as the other strains though, and with the size of each jalapeno being relatively large the yield won't be as high as the smaller chilli plants.

Krusty_Clown

Here's a pic of my Buena Mulata. Loving the colours of the fruit/flowers. I'm also growing some Hungarian Hot wax (yielded a few already - very mild but tasty), Patio fire, Jalapenos, and I think a chocolate bell pepper plant.

BuenaMulata.jpeg

I also have an infestation on one of my plants (which unfortunately is potted with two other plants, otherwise I'd just chuck it. Anyone help me identify it and know if it can be dealt with? Plants are all indoors.

Infestation.jpeg

Wolftown

The infestation looks like aphids to me. You can get a spray from any garden centre, just make sure it's suitable for edibles.

Apparently there are alternatives to treat them, such as soapy water. I've never tried this myself though so don't know how effective it is.

Krusty_Clown

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120756559#Comment_120756559

Thanks Wolftown! Did a bit of searching, and they appear to be spider mites. Same thing killed off my previous Jalapeno plants, and bug spray didn't do very much, so keen to get them sorted. Have ordered some neem oil, so fingers crossed.

Stephen_Maturin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120753558#Comment_120753558

Well done on the buena mulata, that’s a beautiful plant

Stephen_Maturin

Should I top this plant?

It’s about 90cm tall from the base, plenty of flower buds on it now (counted over 70 the other day) It just keeps getting bigger!

Strangely though at the “V” split one of the arms is growing way more than the other

Supercell

First ripe chili of the year, mine are growing outside in the garden. Its from the overwintered plant which hasn't really grown much, in fact her babies which i grew from seed are now much bigger! Not going to bother overwintering in future.

Supercell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120753558#Comment_120753558

Love your Buena Mulata, gorgeous fruit!, definitely going to give that a try next year.