Chilli thread 2022 🌶

I went to a plant and seed swap about 2 weeks ago and picked up some 'purple pepper' seedlings. I've no idea whether they are sweet or chilli peppers but they are growing rapidly since I transplanted them into individual pots and are loving the heat from my South facing window sill.

I sowed jalapeno seeds in February. Left them in the spare room, south facing window, over the rad until April. Moved them out to the greenhouse the end of April. They have been potted up twice so far and will be potted up to their final home tomorrow, 12L buckets.

So far I have 1 fully set fruit and a few more almost there. Plenty of flowers. I also have some bell peppers, a small bit further behind but going good as well.

I've been feeding once a week with tomato feed about 3 weeks.

Sure is! I was well surprised when i saw the first flower back in April, it was probably early April too as it was on the plant a week or two before I moved them out. I didn't use a propagator at all! The combination of daytime sun and heat through the window and the radiators at night seemed to do the trick. One thing I didn't have was the plants suffering shock when I moved them out. I've seen a good few youtubers who say their tomatoes and peppers get shock when they move them to polytunnels/greenhouses at their allotments.

I'm not sure if I should have taken the flower off the plant or not to let it get bigger. But I'm not after a huge harvest so I said I'd leave it be and see how we get on.

Very difficult to get results if you plant seed after late February, even more so if you try in March, though I have succeeded. Peppers need a really long growing season, particularly for early growth.

I often take a short cut with germination, putting the seeds in damp tissue paper and plastic bag and leaving in the hot press for a few weeks. Speeds up germination. I lose quite a few but the majority can be easily potted and they will thrive.

I am not growing this year , but i would say i used the Chilli grow planters from greenhouse sensation for a good few years and the yields were excellent.

Best success i had was in a conservatory / greenhouse, huge yields from each plant and a chilli grow planter.

A small greenhouse of any basic type is highly recommended for this country for a good yield.

They are purple peppers, I'm not sure of the variety as I got them at a seed and plant swap.

They are on a south facing windowsill so Ladybirds aren't really an option 😋

Wow, they are very impressive !! And they say that March is too late to plant !!

I planted too early - mid February, their growth got stunted, and they are really only starting to come back now, still only a few inches tall. I did a few varieties and of those only the haberneros might do any good. Had a great crop of Cayenne last year, but they have struggled for me this year.

Nice healthy plants. Most chili varieties will grow to about 70-90cm tall and need only a cane or two to support them.... may need a bit more when fruits are in full growth.

I still have a coffee jar of dried chilis from last year and they are super when grated into dishes.

Sounds like you're a bit late in the year for results. I think they need consistent heat from a relatively early stage. They have a long germinating and growing season. Sowed seeds in mid January and the first full size (green) pepper fleshed out in mid July in good poly tunnel conditions.

Keep feeding weekly and hoping.....

Jumping on this thread, didn't know it was here, great reading everyone's experiences 🙂

Have a few different varieties of chili and bell pepper coming on in the tunnel now. Most either in flower, or just finished.

I was probably a little late to the game, had the seeds in a heated propogator from early March, and it was a good 3-4 weeks before i saw anything. About 75% of the seeds germinated. Kept them in the propogator till around may, before moving to small pots in the tunnel, i did not get them into the actual ground in the tunnel until late June sometime.

Things were pretty sketchy after that for a while, they we're pretty limp and needed support. I had early potatoes in that spot in the tunnel so mixed in lots of decayed horse manure to the soil before planting, thought i had maybe over egged it with the manure and that the chilis didn't like it, so laid off feeding for a while, but watered every day.

Last few days of July they begán to look really healthy and flowers appeared. Some of the bell peppers have fruit already.

Hopefully this weather gives the rest the shot in the arm to continue fruiting. It's my first attempt at this so excited to see what happens!

Have any of you picked and of the peppers, or tried making a hot sauce?

Getting big and purple 😁

No, they're not quite sweet either, they have an unusual taste but lovely on a sandwich.

Has been a very late year for ripe chillis for me. Have only taken a handful of ripe Dente de Coyote, Scotch Bonnets & Purple UFO's (overwintered from last year) so far.

Has anyone ever overwintered plants in the ground in a tunnel/glasshouse before ? I don't want to go to the hassle of transplanting and storing inside if I could avoid it this year. Only had 2 survivors from 15 last year's indoor attempt.

Anyone ever overwinter their chilli plants and have them come back in the spring? Any advice please?