Sowing chillies anyone?

[unconcerned]

On the, to sow or not to sow question, it depends what kind of pepper. Cayenne is Annuum type - I wouldn't plant these yet as they grow fast and will get too leggy with so little light at this time of year. Get your longer season varieties (chinenses, pubescens) in now, but definitely hold off on annuums until late Feb. Sure they will still grow, but you'll not do yourself any favours. I could set off a Cayenne in April and I bet I'd get pods just as quickly as your January sown seeds.

[smallblueplanet]

When you sowing your jalapenos unconcerned?

[SarzWix]

'Albertos Locoto' (C. pubescens)

I've just got some of these from The Real Seed Co., I think they'll be my first sowing this year
But first, I have to clear out & organise my porch (my potting 'shed'!), scrub pots & seed trays, clean the windows... Guessing it won't be this week?!

[veg4681]

On the, to sow or not to sow question, it depends what kind of pepper. Cayenne is Annuum type - I wouldn't plant these yet as they grow fast and will get too leggy with so little light at this time of year. Get your longer season varieties (chinenses, pubescens) in now, but definitely hold off on annuums until late Feb. Sure they will still grow, but you'll not do yourself any favours. I could set off a Cayenne in April and I bet I'd get pods just as quickly as your January sown seeds.

Unfamiliar with the pepper category, I had to check out Annuum, Chinenses and Pubescens and found the following website with details. Is it possible that the majority of us would be growing the variety that falls under Annuum which means we shouldn't try to sow too early.

Peppers

Capsicum annuum is the most extensively cultivated pepper species in the world and subsumes most of the varieties known to the home gardener. It includes, for example, the Ancho, Bell, Jalapeno, Paprika, Pimiento, Serrano, New Mexican, and Thai peppers.

Capsicum baccatum is termed Aji throughout South America. The pods have a distinctive fruity flavor, and can be used fresh in salsas or dried and ground into powders.

Capsicum chinensis includes the fiery Habanero. The small pods are a flattened bell shape with a fruity aroma, and can be used fresh in salsas.

Capsicum frutescens includes the Tabasco plant, which is famously used in hot sauces and salsas.

Capsicum pubescens originated in Bolivia; the common name in South America is rocoto. It is grown in the high-mountain areas of tropical countries and can be stuffed or eaten fresh in salsas.

[BarleySugar]

I planted some tomatoes, peppers and chillies yesterday, same timing as last year. I sow on the kitchen window sill to germinate, then they go upstairs to my bedroom window sill to grow on (I prefer a cool bedroom, despite complaints from the OH). I kept them in until end of March last year, and they were fine, although the mild spring helped me out and i didn't need to heat the greenhouse, or even cover with fleece. I haven't got much space, so 5 of each plant is the most I can accomodate.
With the tomatoes, I only grow 2 types, tigrella and golden sunrise. The flavour of the tigrella last year was excellent, and my husband prefers the golden ones. They both outdid themsleves, and 'fell down' because of the weight of fruit while I was on holiday. Peppers and chillies were a dead loss, the greenhouse floor was waterlogged most of the time and the peppers went moldy, so I brought them outside, where an insect laid eggs which produced caterpillars inside the fruit! The chillies just did not do anything much, unlike the previous year when I was overwhelmed with fruit. I suppose the cold and wet was just too much for them.

[veg4681]

I planted some tomatoes, peppers and chillies yesterday, same timing as last year. I sow on the kitchen window sill to germinate, then they go upstairs to my bedroom window sill to grow on (I prefer a cool bedroom, despite complaints from the OH). I kept them in until end of March last year, and they were fine, although the mild spring helped me out and i didn't need to heat the greenhouse, or even cover with fleece.

Sorry to hear about your losses due to wet weather and caterpillars (last year was atrocious for us all). How big/tall were your plants by the end of March? I presume they grow very slowly in a cooler bedroom yet still receiving light so they couldn't have been quite thin, leggy plants. I guess there's always a possibility of catching a mild spring which helps to get an early start and or even early Summer we had in April last year.

[unconcerned]

Unfamiliar with the pepper category, I had to check out Annuum, Chinenses and Pubescens and found the following website with details. Is it possible that the majority of us would be growing the variety that falls under Annuum which means we shouldn't try to sow too early.

There is a guide here for the domesticated species:
capsicum genus annuum chinense baccatum frutescens pubescens plus wild capsicum species

And if you know the name of the pepper you are growing, but aren't sure what species it is then you can use this search to find out:
about thechileman chile pepper database project

smallblueplanet - I shall be sowing my Jaloro in Feb, maybe March. It isn't a long variety so I won't be winning. My wife has adopted my overwintered Jalapeno Ole

[silverfork]

I'm really impressed with Alice's crop in the pictures. I've had loads of chillies, but my sweet peppers have all been a bit rubbish. One or two thin-walled fruit if I'm lucky, mostly with black streaks, on ropey looking plants. Not very good taste. Grown next to, and treated the same as, very heavily cropping healthy looking chilli plants. Do they really need the same conditions?
I'm growing in a v. small (6'x4') greenhouse. Most of the summer, the door is wide open in the day as it's the only ventilation. All in pots and fed with organic tomato/veg feed when fruiting and sprayed with seaweed now and again. This year I thought I might give up on sweet peppers... space is precious. Help anyone?

[veg4681]

I've had loads of chillies, but my sweet peppers have all been a bit rubbish. One or two thin-walled fruit if I'm lucky, mostly with black streaks, on ropey looking plants. Not very good taste. Grown next to, and treated the same as, very heavily cropping healthy looking chilli plants. Do they really need the same conditions?
All in pots and fed with organic tomato/veg feed when fruiting and sprayed with seaweed now and again. This year I thought I might give up on sweet peppers... space is precious. Help anyone?

Maybe it doesn't surprise me that your sweet peppers didn't do as well as your chillies. I've been told (by the more experienced pepper growing Grapes) that it's quite difficult to get the sort of perfect looking peppers that you get from supermarket and that even if you do achieve that fruit quality, you're talking about only 4-5 fruits per plant which to me isn't worth the effort or resource as it's so much cheaper to buy the big pack.

What variety was your sweet pepper? I already have seeds for California Wonder but have decided to ditch it in favour of other uglier, smaller, odd shaped sweet peppers which at least have a better chance of a decent harvest. Also I heard that sweet peppers don't need the soil to be too rich that would only contribute to foliage growth at the expense of the fruit. If it's any use, there a useful guide on growing sweet pepper from the beans and herbs website - see link below. By all means, feel free to open a new thread on sweet peppers.

Beans and Herbs

[shirlthegirl43]

My wife has adopted my overwintered Jalapeno Ole

I have been trying to get seeds of Jalapeno Ole - with no success. Any chance of begging a few from you?

[bramble]

I have been trying to get seeds of Jalapeno Ole - with no success. Any chance of begging a few from you?

Can anyone tellme where i can buy seeds of Jalapeno Ole please?

[momol]

Here is the Jalapeno ole vendor/ e bay :
** JALAPENO OLE ** 20+ Chilli / Chile Seeds - eBay Vegetables, Fruit, Plants, Seeds, Bulbs, Gardening, Lawn Care, Home. (end time 23-Jan-08 09:16:53 AEDST)

Cheers,
Momol

[Wylde Thyme]

I'm new to this forum (about ten mins ago!!)...But with such a wealth of knowledge among members I wonder if you can answer this?? I'm after the balloon shaped chilli that you sometimes get on pizza, mild enough that they can be cooked and eaten whole. I've been told they were called 'PepperDew' but can't find seeds available to buy under that name. Sorry I'm not giving much info to go on, I know...

[Hazel at the Hill]

Welcome to the Vine, Wylde Thyme!

Pepperdews are not readily available as they are grown under licence (plants and seeds) - there's a discussion about it here however, I'm sure that there are alternative peppers that are similar - someone here is bound to be able to advise further.

[shirlthegirl43]

Hello and welcome to the vine Wylde Thyme. Where in South Wales are you?

A common chlli to find on pizza is Jalapeno - there are lots of different ones ranging from no heat at all to quite spicy. Try this site for more info:

growing chilli peppers thechileman.org

If you decide to try Jalapenos, join many other grapes in the 2008 Chilli growing contest (details on the above site) where we are all trying to grow the longest Jalapeno.