Sowing chillies - with or without extra heat and light

[the big lebowski]

ive been using these https://www.hydroculture.co.uk/125w-cfl-systems and a heated propergator for a few years now and i find they work very well for what i need , you must be warned tho that everyone will think your growing that jamacian parsley tho it took my alot of talking to convince my landlady i just liked growing chillis lol , in the end i had to show her the freezer draw full of them ,good luck

[dave_100]

What is the earliest I can sow my chilli seeds without then using grow lights?

I plan to grow Prairie fire and Ring of fire chillies next year, starting in a heated propagator, then moving to a windowsill. I'm in the south east of England.

I know the heated propagator lets me germinate earlier than with a non heated one, but I'm worried then if it is a cold/ cloudy February for example, so not getting sun, will the chillies then be okay?

Bearing in mind I will be working with natural light only, when should I get germinating?

[Small pumpkin]

January will be fine

[dave_100]

January will be fine

Thanks, so bearing in mind it can be snowy and cloudy in the UK at this time of year, is it a case that just general daylight (ie quite possibly no sun) will be enough to ensure they do okay?

[Small pumpkin]

Bearing in mind that I started mine mid Dec in the Scottish highlands. You will be fine start January

[nickdub]

going to be a bit of "how long is a piece of string ? " discussion on this - the main reason being that everyone's circs are a bit different and also the usual imponderable of the future weather.

You can get away with a lot less than ideal conditions for growing in February and March provided a) you have somewhere which gets good sunlight levels will be frost free in the day time b) you are around and have time available around daybreak and dusk every day for about 6 weeks.

The plan of campaign is to bring your little plans on with as much heat as reasonably possible in a windowsill until they get to their first true leaves - then you get to a point wher you put them out for maximum light in daylight hours and bring them back in for warmth at night.

What you get at the end of this depends a bit on luck with the weather and also on the exact location you have available - I have a glass lean-to conservatory.

Generally I'd say, assuming you don't think this is too time consuming for you to give it a go, try germinating in January but only do a proportion of your seeds to see how it works out - keep some other seeds back to germinate a lot later - so you have a fallback in case of disasters.

[veggiechicken]

Mod Note - I've merged 2 threads as they're more or less the same and given them a new title.

Hope you're not too confused.

[Scarlet]

Thanks, so bearing in mind it can be snowy and cloudy in the UK at this time of year, is it a case that just general daylight (ie quite possibly no sun) will be enough to ensure they do okay?

I'm in the south west. I use a heated prop at the end of Jan. They don't grow as fast as tomatoes so they don't go leggy if you take them out of the prop as soon as they have germinated.

If you follow our chilli thread - not all of us have lights- you will see when everyone else starts theirs. I have never sown a chilli in March, always much earlier than that.

[Scarlet]

I've never been able to germinate Jolokia, just doesn't get hot enough.

I think my propagator is similar to yours. I've managed to germinate Jolokias and several scorpion /butch T. There is a very hot spot in the middle of mine and the super hots always go in that spot!
I always think fresh seed is often the issue. You never know what you're getting. I find saved seeds come up in days. I've never had the patience to wait weeks.

[4Shoes]

I plan to grow Prairie fire and Ring of fire chillies next year, starting in a heated propagator, then moving to a windowsill. I'm in the south east of England.

I know the heated propagator lets me germinate earlier than with a non heated one, but I'm worried then if it is a cold/ cloudy February for example, so not getting sun, will the chillies then be okay?

Bearing in mind I will be working with natural light only, when should I get germinating?

I put Bristol into Gardenfocused planner and came up with a Mid Feb Date for peppers. You should be fine with all the advice given.

[Mitzi]

I started mine off in the airing cupboard last year and did reasonably well with germination. Someone I know puts his on the Sky box as it's consistently warm. Anywhere that's warm with not too great a temperature fluctuation is fine.

I'd say, if you haven't got lights, hold off sowing until early February. With the varieties you're intending to grow, there should be plenty of time for them to grow and crop. I most likely won't be sowing my annuums until Feb.

[Philthy]

you must be warned tho that everyone will think your growing that jamacian parsley

Yes. Indeed they do. And usually assumptions are made and acted upon before facts are established.

If you get a grow light, my advice would be to put it somewhere where it can't be seen by your neighbours.

Natural light for me too maximised with my purpose built windowsill nursery. I start early February usually.

[Mitzi]

Bearing in mind that I started mine mid Dec in the Scottish highlands. You will be fine start January

But you have grow lights though, SP.

[Baldy]

Jamaican parsley sounds interesting - probably needs lights and heat
https://www.voxnature.com/wild-parsl...jamaican-herb/

might give it a go... anyone got any seeds?I'll pay postage.

[Small pumpkin]

But you have grow lights though, SP.

Started in late January before lights. Just didn't pack them is so tight.