Chillies

[andrewo]

No, you grew them with tomatoes, I was told some years back that they affect each other badly - they are not companion plants. Don't know if there's any truth to this but I had this problem too and when I grew them well apart e.g. different greenhouses, they did really well.

[Nicos]

strangely enough,we grew golden cherry toms and mixed chilli (aswell as cucumbers and peach tree) in our greenhouse-which we used for the first time this year! Had we known a bit more about companion planting,we would not have chosen to mix the toms and chilli. However ....we had a bumper crop of both! Strange isn't it?

[sewer rat]

Given my northern situation, I don't really have any option but to grow the free chilli pepper seeds in my greenhouse, along with my toms and cukes.
Does anyone know what sort of size the mature plants will reach ?
I'm already eyeing up my neighbours new greenhouse as a possibility for outhousing some of my crops, and as he's from Texas, he would probably be happy with some sort of share arrangement, whereby I get to grow my chilli plants and he gets chillis
Rat

[Nicos]

Ours were a selection of varieties, but achieved about 3 ft. (maybe they should be taller and therefore underachieved as mentioned!!)

[nick the grief]

Andrew,
I'll see if I can get the scanner to work and scan in the picture of Geoff Hamiltons Auricular theatre. It's basicaly a set of shelves and as chillies like it backing hot you could mod it to have some plastic covering it (maybe the corrugated stuff would be OK) then if needed this could double as a hi-reise cold frame in the winter? Any use?

[andrewo]

Nick,
Think I need to see this, description sounds good though.

[nick the grief]

Might take a while to figure out how to fire the thing up after all this time. I'll let you know how it goes.

[andrewo]

Look forward to it!

[grannieannie]

More advice needed, I'm going to grow some varieties of Chillies in pots about six foot from the ground on a south facing wall. I'm thinking about 5"-10" pots are there any varieties that would tolerate this? I'm on the Pennines, so need a variety that grows fast, fruits well and will dry easily (wow, don't we all!). But I'm new to chillies and each year I've had terrible green fly problems with them - so I'm looking for advice on good varieties and also how to get rid of the beggars without having to resort to pesticides.

I garden organic (well almost, if only there was an organic killer for slugs!)

Andrewo

There is - salt!

[Jaxom]

Salt Warning

I would be very careful where applying salt as it could end up killing off plants in the garden. Ancient civilizations used to sow enemies land with salt to kill everything off and destroy the land for ever more.
Jax

[andrewo]

Never use salt in the garden, I remember my myths.

[GardenFan]

I am growing chili peppers for the first time this year. In the past I have grown sweet pepper's and toms in the same greenhouse with no effect on growth. My chilli seedlings and tom seedlings share the same windowsill and are not bothering each other, so unless you stick them in the same growbag\pot\border I think your ok.

Chilli's do very well indoors but a greenhouse will function just as well, if your like me and start them off indoors then you should really move to the greenhouse when its hot\light enough (this far North that means May) but keep them under glass. Even in the summer you will get better flavour\growth\ripeness under glass.

[Nicos]

I am growing a tepin chilli which claims to be the hottest chilli available. Has anyone heard of this variety?...can't find it's SHU value anywhere.

[voodoo veg]

Try this link for advice on growing chiles in this country... http://www.chilefarm.co.uk/growing.html ...this is where I bought my seeds. They sell all the amazingley hot sauces too

[SueA]

Anrewo, I would also recommend Nemaslug as it seems to help keep the slug population down & I'm trying a new spray from Vitax- Organic 2-in-1 Pest & Disease control- which is based on plant & fish oils & claims to deal with aphids,whitefly etc. & also powdery mildew, blackspot & other fungal diseases.The only problem is I wanted to spray my climbing roses to prevent blackspot but don't want to deprive the blue tits of the insects which they pick off everyday(guess I'll just have to put up with leafless roses again!)