When do you start your chilli & toms in an unheated GH?

[Naga]

I wanna grow more chillis and toms this year so I thought I'd buy a plastic GH from Wilko's probably next month, maybe this month but not sure if I should sow them in pots outside yet or sow in doors and let them grow inside for a few weeks first?

[selfraising]

I too have an unheated plastice gh but started my chillis and toms off indoors. They won't got outdoors in the gh for a while yet.

[Naga]

I reckon I'll wait and sow next month and plant outside late April/early May, hopefully it'll be warmer.

[Alison]

You'd be much better sowing inside and getting the plants up to a reasonable size and if you leave it until late next month then they won't be mature enough to fruit this year before autumn comes.

[King Carrot]

Mine are about 2 weeks old and stay inside at night and go outside in a lidl tent greenhouse during the day at the mo.

Last year I think I kept them inside too much and mollycoddled them over their first few weeks and they grew soft - I had problems with leaf scorch once they moved outside and then the damaged bits developed boytritus - bit of a disaster really.

No more Mr nice guy this year - out they go unless we get gales and I can't get them to the tent in one piece

[Two_Sheds]

I had some Razzmatazz germinate on a cool windowsill (max of 16C, night time temps much cooler)

They are only an inch high, so they'll slowly be potted on indoors until May. Then out they go.

[danmon_81]

dont mean to sound rude but looking at your blog and guessing from your username your pretty knowledgeable about chillis (did you not plant back in Jan?) Not sure why your asking this? There's also lots of threads about this topic?

If your genuine then no...its too cold outside yet chilli's especially need 20*c + to germinate and tom's less but thats a constant temp...night time temps still drop into single figures...small pots, heated prop or over radiator indoors to start then move outside in a couple of months at least.

Dan

[nerdgas]

I went round a mate of mines at the weekend.

He has one of those plastic greenhouse things.

He proceeded to tell me that he had sown his chillis about two weeks ago in two 12" terracotta pots in the greenhouse.

I tried to tell him that he was gonna need to start again with pots in the house but he insisted he was gonna wait for a few more weeks in case the ones in the greenhouse came up.........

I guess he'll be putting this one down to experience.....

[tamsin]

Chilis need a long season so you're betting starting those inside, by the time it's warm enough outside you'll be pushing it to get a crop.

[taff]

I discovered that last year i sowed 2 days before I did this year, in an unheated greenhouse, but It was warmer last year.
I'll see how stuff fares over the next week, but not intending to sow anything I want to lose until the end of the month.

[Two_Sheds]

Chilis need a long season

Not all of them ... but as long as you can manage, yes. I usually start mine in March and they're planted out on the lotty, cropping right into October.

This year I've been organised and sown indoors in Jan/Feb.

[sarraceniac]

My chillies were started in the house in late January then the tomatoes beginning of March and the cucs last week. One experimental cuc, a Red Hmong went in on the 8th of March and was transferred to the cold greenhouse on the 16th. It was getting far to leggy and I've seed left so I am starting some more. As of this morning it is looking fine in the greenhouse so I am moving some Crystal lemons out today then I'll try a couple of different tomatoes at Easter. The chillies are fine where they are and will stay in the house for 3 or 4 more weeks, much to the disgruntlement of Lady S. (She's grunted a lot about the kitchen triffids anyway. It's her fault, she wanted a south-west facing kitchen ).

[coreopsis]

I started my chillies early January.Sweet peppers-poor germination so I'm still considering sowing second batch.Tomatoes will be sown probably this week-last year I started them early April and-they caught up later in the year but because of my location I still have to watch the night temperature at the end of May.I won't bother sowing anything outside till April/May.