Chillies - what are you growing/overwintering?

[Scarlet]

My Lemon Drop still has a load of fruit on it so I haven't been able to trim it back yet.

Such prolific plants

Mine slowed down so I chopped it off and now have a load more tiny chillies. If I was to only grow one chilli plant Lemon drop would be the one.

[the big lebowski]

sorry i havent got a camara at the mo but i over wintered it last year so fingers crossed it will be fine

[the big lebowski]

speaking of camaras i am going to get one for my hydro diary but i have also seen a video for £15 in argos and was thinking of getting one as it would make a better diary than just photos but i havent seen any video clips on here are we allowed to post videos on this website ? cheers

[Ms-T]

I'm going for this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MarsHydro-L...ars+hydro+300w

nice one are you getting a grow tent too..

[Small pumpkin]

nice one are you getting a grow tent too..

No space unfortunately. The dining room window is going to be lit up like a house of ill repute

[Ms-T]

No space unfortunately. The dining room window is going to be lit up like a house of ill repute

oh my ..ha ha

[Scarlet]

speaking of camaras i am going to get one for my hydro diary but i have also seen a video for £15 in argos and was thinking of getting one as it would make a better diary than just photos but i havent seen any video clips on here are we allowed to post videos on this website ? cheers

You can post links to videos.

[maverick451]

My brother loves chillis and has given me the challenge to grow some carolina reapers next year

Any tips?

[Scarlet]

Yes, start end Jan in a propagator...and join us on this thread we are looking forward to comparing results of our super hot seedlings

[Small pumpkin]

Dorset Naga seedling is up now
So just my ghost & ghost scorpion to put in an appearance

[Mitzi]

I have germination 1 fatalii jigsaw & 1 black naga
That's only been 10 days! I better get my grow light ordered quick

Dorset Naga seedling is up now
So just my ghost & ghost scorpion to put in an appearance

That’s fantastic! How have you done it? I.e. what method have you used for germination: kitchen roll, seed compost, rockwool cubes etc? Did you soak or otherwise treat the seeds before sowing? How are you keeping them warm? Please share your secrets.

My Peter Pepper seeds are in damp kitchen roll and look very plump and healthy but don’t seem to want to sprout at all.

My brother loves chillis and has given me the challenge to grow some carolina reapers next year

Any tips?

2017 will be my first attempt at growing superhots too, possibly including the Carolina Reaper (my husband wants me to try them; I’m not so keen.) From all the advice I’ve gleaned, it seems Reapers are particularly fussy; specifically they need high temperatures and high humidity to do well, as well as lots of light. Germinate best at around 30 deg C, and like to be grown on quite warm too.

They need a long growing season, hence advice to sow early e.g. January, but if you do, you’ll need grow lights to bring them on until we get decent amounts of daylight. If you don’t have lights then it’s recommended not to sow until March, but then it would be difficult to get fruit to set and ripen within the season. But they’re perennials, so you can always overwinter them next winter and hope for a good crop in 2018. Alternatively you could buy plants (lots of the seed companies sell seedlings / plants of various sizes, obviously priced accordingly) in Spring, that way the nursery has dealt with the tricky germination and growing-on issues, and it’s far more economical than buying propagators, lights, heaters etc. if you don’t already have them and don’t anticipate this being an ongoing project (but be warned, chilli growing is very addictive!)

Hopefully the more experienced growers will share their tips on here for us; I’ve found everyone incredibly helpful so far.

[Small pumpkin]

That’s fantastic! How have you done it? I.e. what method have you used for germination: kitchen roll, seed compost, rockwool cubes etc? Did you soak or otherwise treat the seeds before sowing? How are you keeping them warm? Please share your secrets.

No secret, seeds are sown in multi cell trays, in MPC, in a heated propagator. No per soaking of seeds ( sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, just depends on my mood ).

[maverick451]

2017 will be my first attempt at growing superhots too, possibly including the Carolina Reaper (my husband wants me to try them; I’m not so keen.) From all the advice I’ve gleaned, it seems Reapers are particularly fussy; specifically they need high temperatures and high humidity to do well, as well as lots of light. Germinate best at around 30 deg C, and like to be grown on quite warm too.

They need a long growing season, hence advice to sow early e.g. January, but if you do, you’ll need grow lights to bring them on until we get decent amounts of daylight. If you don’t have lights then it’s recommended not to sow until March, but then it would be difficult to get fruit to set and ripen within the season. But they’re perennials, so you can always overwinter them next winter and hope for a good crop in 2018. Alternatively you could buy plants (lots of the seed companies sell seedlings / plants of various sizes, obviously priced accordingly) in Spring, that way the nursery has dealt with the tricky germination and growing-on issues, and it’s far more economical than buying propagators, lights, heaters etc. if you don’t already have them and don’t anticipate this being an ongoing project (but be warned, chilli growing is very addictive!)

Hopefully the more experienced growers will share their tips on here for us; I’ve found everyone incredibly helpful so far.

Thanks for the advice, i do have growlights and a propogator that I use for my tomatoes.

If Carolina reaper are hard to grow can you recommend another variety of super hot that may be easier to try alongside?

[Philthy]

..If you don’t have lights then it’s recommended not to sow until March,

Early February is a good time to start without the aid of growlights. March would be pushing it for most strains of chilli, not just supers, if you were growing under purely natural conditions and hoping for a few samples at the end of the season. The milder ones do tend to be faster growing so something like a cayenne should still crop from an April sowing if the weather was decent. But you'd definitely better your success rate starting that bit earlier. The germination period of some supers can be anything up to 4 weeks, and you want young plants to be established ready to coincide with the warming spring weather. Light isn't essential until they're up, just heat (and monitoring so the compost doesn't dry out or become saturated).

Location shouldn't be overlooked though. I can start early Feb as I'm about as far South as one can get! More Northerly growers would probably tack on a week or so to their starting point for that reason alone.

Once the seedlings are through and removed from the propagator, if there isn't sufficient natural light available due to time of year in your particular region, there is a risk of slow growth to no growth at all; the plants effectively go dormant until conditions improve which can put them weeks behind, that or they become weak and spindly. It's about finding that balance between starting early enough but being able to keep the young plants growing steadily post propagator while you wait for conditions outside to improve.
Growlight users of course do not have these concerns

If Carolina reaper are hard to grow can you recommend another variety of super hot that may be easier to try alongside?

I found Trinidad Scorpion to be a good specimen. I forget whether it's the original or the Butch T strain that I grew, but it was consistent and maintained good health right through it's first winter, needing the least care of any plants from that year.
The Moruga Scorpion cropped very well once it was established, but was less hardy. A good summer is crucial to getting a decent crop from these plants though.
I've always found the Bhut Jolokia strains to be a pain to grow.

[maverick451]

Ok ive goe a bit mad and ordered

Dorset naga and Trinidad scorpion to go alongside Carolina reaper.

I dont even like chillis But I like a challenge