Chillies - growing and overwintering 2021

[FromYorkshiretoBucks]

Cut down my types of chilli this year and binned off scotch bonnets as they just didn’t fruit, when everything else apart from Naga Viper did.

Sowed my Red Habs a few weeks ago, sowed about 20, most germinated, but I forgot about them for a few days and lost 3/4’s. I’ve reported the rest into larger pots now.

Planning on getting Thai chillies and lemon drops stared this week

[Snadger]

I have Trinidad Perfume and Jalapenos growing. I am a bit of a wimp with chilli heat.

[nick the grief]

I have Trinidad Perfume and Jalapenos growing. I am a bit of a wimp with chilli heat.

I'm with you snadger

I grow a couple of sorts but have never understood the fascination with burning you mouth and stomach out to try an look macho ... that said I enjoy a good curry and most of the ones I like Mrs G can't eat. I've only got one to grow this year so I may get some others for next year.

[smallblueplanet]

I'm with you snadger

I grow a couple of sorts but have never understood the fascination with burning you mouth and stomach out to try an look macho ... that said I enjoy a good curry and most of the ones I like Mrs G can't eat. I've only got one to grow this year so I may get some others for next year.

Plenty of good flavoured chillies that aren't superhot. Try any chillies that aren't Capsicum annuum variety - I always think they are a bit dull. Most habaneros (Capsicum chinense) are great. But if they are too hot just use half of one. Freeze them whole and use as wanted.

[nick the grief]

Plenty of good flavoured chillies that aren't superhot. Try any chillies that aren't Capsicum annuum variety - I always think they are a bit dull. Most habaneros (Capsicum chinense) are great. But if they are too hot just use half of one. Freeze them whole and use as wanted.

I don't mind some heat SBP, Mrs T doesn't she was caught out by some "little french beans" at our local indian once ... its the extreme ones I don't get and as for these folks who try and eat them in competitions ... well

[ameno]

Potted up a lot of my sprouted pepper seeds today.
Marconi Yellow, Boneta, King of the North, Mild Jalapeno and Sweet Heat had all sprouted well (several of the Sweet Heat and Marconi Yellow had centimetre long roots already), so all were potted into 1 inch pots.

Laylak and Tangerine Dream just had one seed each starting to sprout, so I'll leave those a day or two until they all sprout.
No signs of life yet from Hungarian Yellow Wax.

[Garethobornechef]

I thought I’d have a punt at some chilli this year so stayed safe to start I used the seeds from a supermarket purchased chilli.

I planted 20 in total just as a trial as didn’t expect to take, I now have 17 repotted and looking healthy. Any tips on garnering a good crop?

[ameno]

Potted up more of my sprouted pepper seeds today.
3 Tangerine Dream seeds
2 Hungarian Yellow Wax seeds
1 Laylak seed.

The remaining seeds I put to sprout don't really look as though they're going to sprout, so I've put a few more seeds of those three on damp tissue.

[Shortie]

Gosh I am quite behind the trend, I have only started off onion seeds so far this year, whoops. I cleared out the greenhouse at the weekend and made space for some chillies to grow along one glass wall

Those of you that have already started - are you prouting them on paper (and for what reason?) or are they in soil and have started to show now above the soil?

[stigs]

Plenty of good flavoured chillies that aren't superhot. Try any chillies that aren't Capsicum annuum variety - I always think they are a bit dull. Most habaneros (Capsicum chinense) are great. But if they are too hot just use half of one. Freeze them whole and use as wanted.

I made chilli con carne served in half a bell pepper last night with about 1/6th of the cold end of a carolina reaper, the heat was perfect and you can actually taste the chilli.

[ameno]

My first pepper seedling has just broken the surface of the compost (another day or so until the leaves actually unfurl, I think). That's 7 days from first sowing them on damp paper.

Gosh I am quite behind the trend, I have only started off onion seeds so far this year, whoops. I cleared out the greenhouse at the weekend and made space for some chillies to grow along one glass wall

Those of you that have already started - are you prouting them on paper (and for what reason?) or are they in soil and have started to show now above the soil?

I've been sprouting mine on paper, but I think most people just sow them in small pots or seed trays.

I do mine on paper because it allows me to keep a close eye on them, and see which are sprouting and which are doing nothing, and I can then pot up only the good seeds. This means I don't have to wait blind for pots of seeds to maybe come up after a couple of weeks. They also sprout pretty quickly on paper as long as you keep it nice and warm (mine is at about 28C), usually in 2-5 days, so you can quickly tell whether the seeds are actually any good or not.
I feel it's probably quicker, too, as it's easier to keep the seeds nice and warm (and thus maximise germination speed) when they are just on damp paper in a tub, rather than in pots of compost. Plus it's this initial sprouting stage where they require the most heat, and after that somewhat cooler temperatures are acceptable, so it's more space efficient (as seeds on a piece of damp tissue take up less space than potted seeds).
The only down side is that you have to be very careful when potting them up not to damage the root.

Over the last year or two I've started pre-germinating most of my seeds, actually. As well as peppers, I do peas, beans, squash, cucumbers, melon, sweetcorn, and all brassicas (except radish) this way.

[SimpleSimon]

My hot ones are doing well. They were sown early jan but I've been a good boy and not sown the rest until Feb. So they are just on their first true leaves and still in cell trays.

2 bahmanian goats looking great.

[Ms-T]

looking very nice Simon...
I got a flower coming on the Tangerine Dream .
No over winter ones this year.

[SimpleSimon]

looking very nice Simon...
I got a flower coming on the Tangerine Dream .
No over winter ones this year.

My sole over wintered plant died.... Again! Not gonna bother again. My seeds from Finland still haven't arrived after 7 weeks. But the fish are now British so that's something to be cheerful about I guess. We can't have everything.

[Shortie]

Thanks Ameno - that's really helpful - and yes that makes a lot of ense thinking about it in terms of space saving as you know your pot of compost have something growing in it rather than waiting for wht sometimes ends up to be nothing

Thank you!