Potting on Chilli Plants?

[Trix]

Hi, I've done a search and read through some old threads but I'm still not sure about potting on chilli plants. Can I ask what size pots do you put them into, and when?

Mine were potted on fairly haphazardly when they were small: some moved up to a slightly larger pots and some into much bigger ones. This was due to me not having enough pots to go around - I had no idea it wasn't the done thing Now some of the ones in medium pots are showing roots at the bottom and I think they might be ready to pot on again (or do I leave them a bit longer?). If I do re-pot them should I stick straight into the Morrisons flower buckets, or are these too big?

Apologies for all the questions but I'm really excited about growing chillies myself and don't want to mess it up! I have two Apache plants which are starting to show flowers and the rest are Pyramid Rainbow chillies, if the variety makes a difference?

[Canny Grower]

I find that chillies are growing fast just now. If yours have roots showing at the bottom of the pot I'd say it's certainly time to pot them on. It's generally best not to jump from a small pot to a huge one but I wouldn't worry too much if your choice of pot is limited. I've transferred some of mine directly into the greenhouse border and they're doing fine.

I've had good luck with Apache the last couple of years. They've produced LOTS of fruit. I don't know Pyramid Rainbow though. You'll have to let us know how they do.

[Trix]

Thank you so much for this - it's my first time at pretty much everything garden so I'm at a loss if then answer isn't in one of my library books! Glad to hear that about Apache - I didn't really know what to expect from them (they were a swap). I have a feeling chilli growing can become addictive...

Do you save your own seed? I'd like to try that too but not usre I'll be able to do it properly with two varieties growing.

[chilli_grower]

Mine have been in flower buckets for the last month or so.

Flower buckets in my opinion are perfect.

[sparrow100]

Apache is F1 isn't it? These don't breed true, so even if you did save your own seed, it's a bit of a gamble as the next generation might not be anything other than disappointing, or it might be great. I don't know pyramid rainbow.

Saving seed from chillies is quite easy, even if you have a few kinds - you just need to bag the flowers till the fruit has set, and maybe give pollination a bit of a nudge with a paintbrush/finger.

[Scarlet]

Yes Apache is an F1 but rainbow chilli isn't.(I don't think!) they had them on realseeds this year. If you are just going to save from the pyramid you could just isolate the one plant from any other chilli or pepper. I grew one in the house last year to keep it separate, you can bag a branch or the whole plant. Let it ripen fully before taking off plant.

[Trix]

Thanks chilli_grower I'll pot up my largest plants into the flower buckets today

Yes, the Rainbow Chillis are from Realseeds - they did send me instructions on seedsaving but I was wondering if anyone here had tried it. I'll isolate/bag one of the plants before they flower. I didn't know the Apache was F1 as they were given to me so that's useful to know.

On a related subject I have some Kashmiri Chilli seeds left over from a recipe - my OH suggested planting a couple next year. Are these likely to be F1 too?

Thanks!

[Trix]

Actually, scrap that - I just Googled it. Looks like some people have successfully grown Kashmiri Chillis from dried chilli packs so I might give them a try next year. No guarantees but it might be a bit of fun.

[chris]

You can grow any chilli from seed (as long as the seed is viable!), hybrid (f1, 2, 3, etc) or not.

Growing from open pollentated/seed that is true to type will result in the next set of fruit being (mostly) the same as the parent. Hybrid seed, if viable will most likely produce random results. Some might be hot, some sweet, etc etc. It could be that it's just a waste of time, if the germinate. The taste could be foul too

[Alison]

Growing from open pollentated/seed that is true to type will result in the next set of fruit being (mostly) the same as the parent.

Although as said above you do need to isolate as they'll all cross with each other.

[Philthy]

Hi Trix.

As suggested already, flower buckets are an ideal final pot size. Only transfer your biggest specimens into them. Anything less than say 200mm high, I'd put in a smaller pot for now.
When you pot on, don't worry too much about maintaining the planting depth of the previous pot; in fact, it's beneficial to plant young plants deeply, so that the stem is buried, usually up to the first set of leaves.

Apache is a good allrounder. It has potential to be a heavy cropper, is fairly compact, not to hot, atrractive, and fairly hardy it go outside. Be aware though that small pots dry out very quickly on a hot day.

[chilli_grower]

heres mine

Here's mine all potted into flower buckets.

As you can see, they are already quite big, and they still have 3 months of growing to do!

[Philthy]

Impressive collection there, chilli_grower (indeed you are)

[Trix]

Those look amazing chilli_grower - much bigger than mine

[chilli_grower]

thanks all.

Although upon closer inspection, some of mine do have some yellow leaves and black spots on them.

I had the same problems last year, but this never seems to affect the overall crop......