Chillies - Growing and Over wintering 2020

[Jungle Jane]

So my plan this year was to buy plug plants rather then growing from seed as I’m expecting our first child to arrive around 11th April. However my propagator is now on and warming my soil for sowing complete with thirty cells.
(I haven’t yet decided what I’m sowing)
My reasoning for this is that if I buy plugs they are a) more expensive and b) will come in jiffy sized root balls and will need potting on just as baby’s about to put in an appearance. So my plan is to sow into large cells so to stop the need for repotting so soon and if they aren’t successful or they get abandoned at least I’ve not wasted money buying them yes I realise I’ll be paying for electric but some how that doesn’t count as it’s just a general bill
Am I crackers for trying?

Congratulations that’s lovely news & the weather will be warming up to spend some time in the garden with baby,sowing seeds is nice & it’s worth a try,enjoy it

[Scarlet]

Congratulations Chrissy!! You will have plenty of time for your seedlings!! Babies sleep all the time Can I guess?? Baby boy April 12th!!

[Small pumpkin]

Chrissy you could put your chillies in to bigger pots as soon as they germinate. Than you won’t have to do worry about them for a while. As you’ll be busy getting used to never sleeping again

[stigs]

Yes!! It's fab for chillies

Mine was great for drying them, it's gone now replaced with a stove that has no oven

[Scarlet]

Mine was great for drying them, it's gone now replaced with a stove that has no oven

I have been toying with getting rid of it but thr thought of losing it is upsetting!! They bake good cakes too.


Did you miss it? I love coming down in the morning to a hot kitchen.

[Chrissyteacup]

Thanks! All predictions welcome so of course you can guess!!
I’m glad your not all poo pooing me I prob will buy some plugs but just not chillies! Unless they get neglected as I get more tired!!

[annie8]

Hi guys. Haven’t been on much this year but got loads of seed catalogues through the post and Santa brought me a propagator so starting to plan for the year. Always enjoy that bit. Really liked the mystery chilli growing last year but this year am going to pick a few types. I’m more interested in the growing than the eating of the chillis, my husband is the one that really likes the heat. So he would like a habanero type, a scotch bonnet one and maybe something more medium heat that is productive
Any suggestions. Was looking at chocolate habanero which looked interesting.

[Small pumpkin]

Hi annie8
Chocolate habanero are lovely. I really like them. One of the other half’s favourites.
I’d go for a good old cayenne for a productive with less heat then your habs & scotch bonnet. To be honest I’ve always had good production from habs & bonnets

[annie8]

Great. Have just ordered some chocolate habaneros, yellow scotch bonnet and red cayennes.

[dave_100]

After hours of deliberation and whittling down to just 8, my kit list for 2020 is as below

2x Lemon drop
1x Fatalii
2x Sugar rush peach
1x Orange habanero
1x Thai dragon
1x CGN 21500 x 7 Pot Barrackpore

I plan to start on Feb 1, that is 19 days earlier than last year.

I also set a few going on Christmas eve, just as an early experimental batch. I'm interested to see if I can get them to develop really early and get a massive headstart, with a view to pruning them early to make them really stock and bushy, as detailed in this video

It will be interesitng to see how they get on without grow lights so early on in the year. If they just get too leggy then I'll scrap them and go with the Feb batch.

Here they are so far:

https://pasteboard.co/IQKabWQ.jpg

[benb89]

After hours of deliberation and whittling down to just 8, my kit list for 2020 is as below

2x Lemon drop
1x Fatalii
2x Sugar rush peach
1x Orange habanero
1x Thai dragon
1x CGN 21500 x 7 Pot Barrackpore

I plan to start on Feb 1, that is 19 days earlier than last year.

I also set a few going on Christmas eve, just as an early experimental batch. I'm interested to see if I can get them to develop really early and get a massive headstart, with a view to pruning them early to make them really stock and bushy, as detailed in this video

It will be interesitng to see how they get on without grow lights so early on in the year. If they just get too leggy then I'll scrap them and go with the Feb batch.

Here they are so far:

https://pasteboard.co/IQKabWQ.jpg

Have you had a noticeable difference through pruning? I didn't do this last year and I see a lot of places saying to do it, others saying not. I may cut back half and leave half and see if there is much of a difference.

[Small pumpkin]

Have you had a noticeable difference through pruning? I didn't do this last year and I see a lot of places saying to do it, others saying not. I may cut back half and leave half and see if there is much of a difference.

It depends what you want from yours plant. Yes you can prune, yes it will make it bushier. But What is the point cutting bits off it for it to grow again in another spot. All it does ( in my experience) is Take longer for pods to ripen. I’ve not noticed any increase yield from a pruned plant either. So I don’t both. I let the plant do what it wants. It’s all just personal preference.

[FromYorkshiretoBucks]

Congrats Chrissy I just had my first born in early Dec. The sleeplessness is tough but totally worth it!!

It hasn’t stopped me getting my chillis going though, you can’t cop out with that one!

Just repotted my first seedlings this weekend into individual modules and have the grow lights in full flow.

I’ve put some red Habs and jalapeño into the terminator to get started!

[Scarlet]

Have you had a noticeable difference through pruning? I didn't do this last year and I see a lot of places saying to do it, others saying not. I may cut back half and leave half and see if there is much of a difference.

My experience was the same as SP - I did put photos up one year of side by side plants, several pruned and others left. Yes the pruned ones were a lovely shape but they cropped much later in the season, less of a harvest, so unless you have the room to grow on the following year it may not be any benefit.

[dave_100]

Have you had a noticeable difference through pruning? I didn't do this last year and I see a lot of places saying to do it, others saying not. I may cut back half and leave half and see if there is much of a difference.

Last year I topped around May time, and it did delay things like the others have said- I wouldn't do it that late again.

This year I've started 2 months earlier and plan to prune when they are still small seedlings (as in video) so will be interesting. If it does set them back I doubt it will be by 8 weeks worth, and they should be stockier/sturdier/bushier/nicer shape etc. But yeah it is an experiment for sure!