Chillies - growing and overwintering 2017

[Mitzi]

Heres a photo of the AeroGarden ,i have moved the light up ,it this half way up

and heres one of the roots

Ye gods, that is amazing!

[Mitzi]

Wow how many pots or varieties have u got?

Not that many, compared to some people (e.g. SP!)

In the pic there are:
1 x Peter
2 x Reaper
2 x Scotch Bonnet MoA
2 x Chocolate Habanero
2 x Bahamian Goat
2 x Elysium Oxide
1 x Burkina Yellow
4 x Aji Omnicolor
3 x Aji Pineapple
2 x Aji Melocoton
3 x Sugar Rush

So by my reckoning, that is 22 plants of 11 varieties. The daily migration to the windowsills and back is starting to get a bit much!

Still in the propagator, under the little IKEA light, I have seedlings of:
Chenzo
Aleppo
Etna
Filius Blue
Golden Cayenne

If I pot up two of each of those, that will make 32 plants of 16 varieties.

I have room for 14 plants once they get to their final pot sizes.

[Small pumpkin]

Mitzi I'm sure there's other grapes growing more varieties than me ( there must be )

Here is my plan as it stands at the moment, must always allow wiggle room


lemon drop 2
cayenne 3
pretty in purple 1
ring of fire 1
vampire 1
joe's long 3
jays peach ghost scorpion 1
Thai dragon 2
Hungarian black 1
Hungarian hot wax 1
scotch bonnet 1
scotch bonnet yellow 1
black naga. 1
Kashmiri mirch 1
Krishna jolokia 1
spike 1
Dorset naga 1 (Norman )
rooster spur 1
fatalii jigsaw 1
numex twilight 2
chiang rai (big Thai ) 1
basket of fire 2
cherry bomb 2

Did not germinate

facing heaven
Delhi hot
Vietnamese tear jerker
habanero

Still waiting for

holy mole 2
hot jalapeño 2
early jalapeño 8

Over wintered

Ghost
Chocolate habanero
Fillus blue ( but looking very unhealthy, I see a compost heap in the future )

So that's 25 varieties ( with a possible 29 if things germinate & survive )
And 35 plants ( with a possible 48 if as above)

I will be buying jalapeño plug plants if I don't get any germination.

Anyone else's plans changed much?

[burnie]

I've trawled through this post, but sadly all the pictures are lost, so I'll need to ask some pretty basic questions, sorry. I have some Jalepenos about 2 inch tall in modules in the heated propagator that are now shooting extra leaves after the first pair. I'm guessing it's time to pot them on into old yoghurt pots with some potting on compost(John Innes). First question, when you pot them do plant at the same level or do you bury them deeper like tomatoes to encourage more root growth?

[Ms-T]

bury them deeper like tomatoes to encourage more root growth...yup just like that

[Chris11]

First question, when you pot them do plant at the same level or do you bury them deeper like tomatoes to encourage more root growth?

Tomatoes can form new roots anywhere up the stem. Chillies and peppers can only do so up to the level of the seed leaves.
I agree with planting deeper, but only up to the level of just below seed leaves. Any deeper and you're risking the stems rotting.

[Mitzi]

I've trawled through this post, but sadly all the pictures are lost, so I'll need to ask some pretty basic questions, sorry. I have some Jalepenos about 2 inch tall in modules in the heated propagator that are now shooting extra leaves after the first pair. I'm guessing it's time to pot them on into old yoghurt pots with some potting on compost(John Innes). First question, when you pot them do plant at the same level or do you bury them deeper like tomatoes to encourage more root growth?

Chillies really like light and airy compost so multipurpose compost is better than John Innes, I believe. The latter can be a bit too dense for them. Ideally mix in some perlite to allow more air to the roots.

[JusPotterinTim]

Chillies really like light and airy compost so multipurpose compost is better than John Innes, I believe. The latter can be a bit too dense for them. Ideally mix in some perlite to allow more air to the roots.

Yes, I'm using John Innes no. 3 (Homebase) and it seems very dense. It also seems to hold moisture a bit too well and the plants have sulked occasionally when I've watered them heavily, especially smaller plants which can't transpire off the moisture so well.

Mine have all been overwintered so they're still in the John Innes for now, but next time I grow a new one I will try the Westland compost with 'added' John Innes. Hopefully this will still give some of the nutrient retaining ability that the loam and clay in John Innes provides, but it is a much lighter compost, very springy in pots.

While you mention aeration, I'm experimenting with water retaining gel in some pots in the garden. Despite soaking up moisture this can apparently prevent overwatering as it sucks up excess moisture, and releases it gradually, and maintains the compost in a dryer state than if it had received a complete soaking but with no water gel in it. Apparently the gel helps aerate the soil too as the gel particles expand and contract as they soak up and then release moisture. They expand a lot, 10 times their initial size in all directions (and shrink again as they dry out), so I can well believe this helps with aeration by keeping some voids in the compost.

My chillies are in relatively small pots due to lack of space, and my rampant Cherry Bomb needs watering every day in summer, so once I use the gel on a new chilli, I am hoping the gel will help provide a more stable substrate for the plants to grow in and give better growth.

[Mitzi]

I'm experimenting with water retaining gel in some pots in the garden...
My chillies are in relatively small pots due to lack of space, and my rampant Cherry Bomb needs watering every day in summer, so once I use the gel on a new chilli, I am hoping the gel will help provide a more stable substrate for the plants to grow in and give better growth.

I've used the gel for flower tubs and hanging baskets previously and I did actually use gel mats in my tomato pots last year but I'm not sure whether they helped or not. I'm sure I've read somewhere that it's not recommended for chillies but have no personal experience.

I've just bought some Stewart balconniere self-watering pots at £3.99 each from my local garden centre. They are the 30cm size which has a capacity of 12 litres. I hope they'll be OK for my outdoor chillies.

Balconniere Square Planter - Stewart Garden

Each pot's reservoir is only small so they wouldn't last for a fortnight's holiday but maybe a weekend away would be OK. And they have an overflow so the plants shouldn't get waterlogged.

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

Well here is where I am at!



Had a few "Misfires" but got a few days off, so will gather my thoughts!

[jackarmy]

Im at about the same stage with mine Deano, a few bigger Jalapenos but about the same dap which brings me nicely to the question i was going to ask anyway .

Been pondering investing in a set of lights and i can see by the phots (earlier) that they get a head start but.............., is it enough of a head start to justify the expense ?
I mean the main use is for the "scary" hots which will need to be overwintered anyway , is there really
any point ?.

Interested to see how much bigger non light and light bred babies differ at the end of the season.

Having said that lol, on an east facing widowsill, mine dont appear to be as leggy though i know its hard to tell from a phot , maybe lower the lights ?

[Minimag]

I've not gone through the whole thread, but I'd thought I'd share my chilli growing experiences. I have been a bit of a chilli head in my youth, but nowadays my stomach balks at anything more than a Jalepeno.

I used to try grow early (December sown) to get try get better, and earlier.Grew hydroponically to give ideal conditions, but in my experience Chillies like to be stressed. Hydroponic Chillies grown under lights were bland, however this worked quite well in growing Dorset Nagas that while retaining that fruity Naga taste, were quite acceptable for people who otherwise wouldn't touch a Naga.

I now have reverted to February/March sown, expecting to pick in July/August, growing the standard types, you can overtry to get it right, but stressing them (to the point of wilting) is the way to get hotter chillies in my experience - if thats what you want

[maverick451]

Looking for a bit of advise

My chillis and peppers under grow lights are flowering prematurely, I had the same problem last year as well

Ive made sure they havent dried out this year but its still starting to happen, maybe its too hot under the lights or something?

[Ms-T]

pick the flowers out so the plant can get stronger ..i pinch out the top when they try to keep flowering to early,gives it something else to think about.

[Mitzi]

Looking for a bit of advise

My chillis and peppers under grow lights are flowering prematurely, I had the same problem last year as well

Ive made sure they havent dried out this year but its still starting to happen, maybe its too hot under the lights or something?

You're not feeding high potash fertiliser like tomato feed, by any chance?