Sowing chillies anyone?

[veg4681]

I'm planning on sowing some chilli seeds by this weekend (seed packet show Jan for earliest sowing). Haven't got a heated propagator yet but I reckon my boiler room will be adequate. Roughly how many chillies (or by weight) can you get from 1 plant? May sow some saved supermarket orange & yellow peppers' seeds too .

[Cutecumber]

Has your boiler room got a window?

If not, what are you going to do with them once they have germinated?

[Hazel at the Hill]

Roughly how many chillies (or by weight) can you get from 1 plant?

Looking through the seed catalogues, I think that the number of chilis you get on each plant depends on the variety, amongst other things.

[Cutecumber]

Yes, Hazel, I agree.

I've grown Apache and had around 100 on each plant.

Another variety De Bresse produced half as many, but they were bigger.

Grow them in smaller pots and you get smaller plants and fewer fruit.

[veg4681]

Yes I have a small window in the boiler room.

My chilli (Fuego F1) is a Cayenne type of hot pepper with 15cm long tapering fruit. That's a bit long, isn't it and I just wanted a standard, hot enough chilli, nothing too fanciful. Hmmmm....I reckon I'll be fine with 2 plants. Any thoughts on sweet peppers ?

[Protea]

Yes I have a small window in the boiler room.

My chilli (Fuego F1) is a Cayenne type of hot pepper with 15cm long tapering fruit. That's a bit long, isn't it and I just wanted a standard, hot enough chilli, nothing too fanciful. Hmmmm....I reckon I'll be fine with 2 plants. Any thoughts on sweet peppers ?

Fuego is an excellent variety, i grew it 2 years ago and got tons of fruit per plant, 2 plants will be plenty. The bonus with Fuego is that it crops well even in cooler conditions so if we have a rubbish summer again you should still get a reasonable yield

[shirlthegirl43]

I am hoping to plant some chillies tonight and some tomatoes too. Will just leave them on the breakfast bar to do their stuff. Warm and bright enough for them there in the past anyway. They will then get hardened off and moved to the greenhouse when they get big enough to repot.

[rustylady]

Bit early yet for me to start sowing chillies and tomatoes. Reckon I will wait a bit as I don't have heated facilities for growing on - only the kitchen windowsill.

[veg4681]

Fuego is an excellent variety, i grew it 2 years ago and got tons of fruit per plant, 2 plants will be plenty. The bonus with Fuego is that it crops well even in cooler conditions so if we have a rubbish summer again you should still get a reasonable yield

Yippeee....thanks Protea, I picked my chilli variety as a total novice.

I am hoping to plant some chillies tonight and some tomatoes too. Will just leave them on the breakfast bar to do their stuff. Warm and bright enough for them there in the past anyway. They will then get hardened off and moved to the greenhouse when they get big enough to repot.

Wow tomatoes eh? You don't think it's too early now? Are they specifically early starter variety...I too have few supposedly early starter tomatoes.

[shirlthegirl43]

I am sure I remember one of them being a January planting. Might be wrong and will dig out the gardening diary to check when I planted last year. The summer was so rubbish they took forever to ripen and since I have a semi-heated greenhouse I thought I would try for an early start this year. It might work, might not - the seeds are here anyway so not a lot to lose.

[sewer rat]

I'm the same as Rustylady. I'll start sowing mine in the kitchen above the boiler in two or three weeks time. Won't sow quite as many as last year as I have 100 odd 1 year old plants (mixture of Apache, Cheyenne and Jalapeno) overwintering under fleece in my tunnel - checked them today and most but not all look okay. Will be sowing Jalapeno and Scotch Bonnet this year.

[shirlthegirl43]

Ooh, Rat, you have a headstart for the chilli contest this year with a one year old jalapeno plant - you signed up yet?

[sewer rat]

Nah
My Jalapeno chillies, although prolific and of great girth, never got any longer than 6 or 7cm. I'm sure that there are longer varieties of Jalapeno out there, but don't know of any.

[shirlthegirl43]

Oh well. Good luck with the new year of business Rat, I expect you learned a heck a lot from 2007

[shirlthegirl43]

Wow tomatoes eh? You don't think it's too early now? Are they specifically early starter variety...I too have few supposedly early starter tomatoes.

Have just gone and got the seed box out of the shed and can't find the tomato which I thought was a Jan planter. Sure it was Robin F1 but just can't find it now. I grew it a couple years back and it is a cute miniature tom plant. However, I now just cannot find the bit of seed I kept. Rest of the tomatoes are Feb earliest planting so it will just be peppers that get planted. Maybe not tonight now but soon!