Chillis and Peppers for NE England

[Ian_5]

I've been growing peppers under glass for the last few years with reasonable success (gypsy, tasty grill and king of the north) and plan on having a go at chillis in earnest this year (after previous failures!); i'd appreciate any thoughts on chillis that might tick some or all of the following boxes:

- fast growing or tolerant of cooler conditions
- compact
- forgiving of general gardening incompetence

Also, always interested to hear about peppers that can handle the cooler northern summers and that might be worth a try...

thanks!

[Spunky]

Apparently rocoto peppers are the hardiest and are good up to a mild frost I'm not sure of the yield or the size etc

[Tomatoe]

I cant remember what type I grew last year but they were quite happy in Darlington

[sparrow100]

Apparently rocoto peppers are the hardiest and are good up to a mild frost I'm not sure of the yield or the size etc

Mine are the slowest growing things on the planet, and I think I have managed to kill 'em off with benign neglect. The chillies are HOT and very tasty though. I stuck some seeds in the VSP if you're interested in having a go.

[Scarlet]

Rocotos can withstand cooler temps but are slow to harvest especially in their first year, don't really give much fruit, grows quite big but overwinters well if you can give it a spot indoors during the winter.
For a faster growing variety I would try a cayenne type chilli, that matures much earlier than the super hots.
Real seeds have I think "Nigel's chilli" that's supposed to be good outdoors. So up North in a GH should do really well. Though to be honest, if you've had success with peppers there's little difference so should get a good crop.
Chilli Pepper Seed
Lemon drop is possibly one of my favourite chillies, overwinters well so in it's 2nd year you will get a much earlier crop and it carries a lot of fruit.
Chilli grower grows a cayenne type that's really prolific. But I can't find what it's called...

[More basil]

You could go for the early varieties so the fruit has time to mature before the cold nights set in. Ring of fire and Hungarian Hot wax are both tasty and quite early, one hot, one quite mild. And stay away from the slower varieties such as the habaneroes. You could also buy plants instead of sowing from seeds, this could give you a head start if you don't have space/light to start plants very early (my own plan this year). Small specialised suppliers such as seaspringplants and simpsons seeds will often give great advice about suitable varieties if you drop them an email or check their website.

Chillies seem relatively forgiving in my limited experience, as longs as you keep on top of pests such as slugs and whiteflies. Relatives in Denmark grow them with great success (under cover)

[Philthy]

A cayenne type ought to be a safe bet. They're usually among the quickest and easiest to grow. My recommendation would be for Fuego F1 - it has some cold tolerance, crops well, the chillies are 5" length, red, fleshy and not too hot. The plant shouldn't get too big either.
Apache is a good all rounder. It is more tolerant of a lousy summer than most, stays fairly compact, and crops prolifically once it gets going. It is recommended for a windowsill location.
Another windowsill candidate would be Prairie Fire, which is smaller than Apache and has smaller chillies. It also crops fairly well and looks pretty. Not sure about it's cold credentials.
Any chilli variety with "Aji" in it's name should do well in cooler weather. Hot Lemon particulary, as noted by Scarlet, is one of the best choices for overwintering. They are hardy, but can get quite big especially in their 2nd and 3rd years, and support is needed. The chillies themselves are very good; hints of citrus, hot but far from outrageously so, and versatile.
Chilli plants will always perform better under glass of some sort than those grown outside. Growing in the NE I'd say definately provide that environment if you can. Even in the SE, an outside location is only really viable if it is sheltered.
They are generally forgiving plants, and may even benefit from a bit of neglect. Compost should be on the dry side, but if it dries out too much to the point of plant wilting now and again it is said to improve the heat intensity of developing fruits.
Feed regularly during cropping season. Aphids seem to be the biggest pest problem.
Even a light frost will kill chilli plants exposed to it (though Aji can cope with a few temperature drops provided the plants are undercover first eg cold greebhouse).

[Ian_5]

Cheers guys, the help is much appreciated... i've gone for Aji Hot Lemon, Apache, Cayenne Fuego, Prarie Fire and Purple Princess (cos i liked the look of it!)... here's hoping one of them comes good!!

[jacob]

I find chilis easier to grow than peppers, so you should be fine.

[Philthy]

I find chilis easier to grow than peppers, so you should be fine

I'd agree with that. I rarely bother with sweet peppers these days. Be lucky to get two decent sized specimens off a whole plant, so not worth the time and space. That's just my experience.

[Jonnyt]

I've tried growing peppers three times. All I get is a few peppers with grubs holed into them. They don't seem to bother Chilli's so I also won't bother with Peppers this yesr

[Ian_5]

Once I found a decent cold tolerant variety sweet peppers were fine (speaking too soon...) - 'gypsy' is prolific, 'king of the north' and 'tasty grill' did well last year too..

[TrysHard]

I grew a sweet banana peeper last year and Apache chilli both in the greenhouse and they did fine. Ordinary sweet bell pepper was OK but not so prolific small fruit slow to ripen.

Good Luck