Chillies - growing and overwintering 2018

[Mitzi]

That was cruel Mitzi.
I'm interested in you pop bottle method. I remember seeing a picture somewhere in the depths of this thread but can't find it now.
Is it just cut the bottle top off and use the rest with drain holes? Doesn't it being transparent affect the roots? I think i'd try it next year.
Rob

Not exactly. Cut the bottles in half (approximately). Turn the top half upside down. You need a wick - I use strips of capillary matting fabric but you can use some strands of wool, natural string (not nylon; you need something that absorbs water.) The wick should reach to the bottom of the pop bottle base and the top should be well up into the top half of the bottle.

Then you need something to stop the compost falling through the hole - last year I used a bit of cotton fabric, this year I just used kitchen roll - it lasts long enough until the root ball is enough to hold the compost in place, the roots can grow through it, and it eventually rots down. Cut a hole or slit in the fabric / kitchen roll just wide enough for your wick to fit and thread the wick through it. Thread the wick through the bottle neck and slide the fabric/paper down into the neck. Fill with compost. Plant.

When the seedlings are small it's best not to keep water in the "reservoir" as there's a danger of overwatering / oedema (my plants suffered this year.) But as they grow, you can put water / feed in the base and the plant will soak up what it needs through the wick. The roots will eventually grow down into the reservoir. As long as you don't let them grow too much, you should be able to tip the plant out and the roots come through the neck of the bottle so you can pot up into larger pots without much damage.



Some of my babies last year. I still have most, if not all, of these plants but I potted them up into a chilligrow.

The light doesn't seem to cause the roots much of a problem but it does encourage mould / algal growth in the reservoir. You can cover the bottle (I know someone who uses cut-down carpet tubes and slides the bottles into them, and someone who uses wrapping paper to make pretty patterned bottle covers) but I just live with it. Probably a reason why my plants aren't quite as productive as some people's.

[Mitzi]

If your looking for quirkyness look at Spaghetti. https://www.seaspringseeds.co.uk/sho...li-seed-detail

Not particularly hot at all but beautiful Chillis.

Mine is laden with green pods (spaghetti!) which I’m leaving to ripen.

Looks a lot like Thunder Mountain Longhorn.

[robbra]

Thank you Mitzi, that is ingenious and doesn't take up a lot of room.
I'll be saving some dandelion and burdock pop bottles now.
Rob

[Small pumpkin]

If your looking for quirkyness look at Spaghetti. https://www.seaspringseeds.co.uk/sho...li-seed-detail

Not particularly hot at all but beautiful Chillis.

Mine is laden with green pods (spaghetti!) which I’m leaving to ripen.

Looks a lot like Thunder Mountain Longhorn.

It is very similar. I grow it a couple of years ago. It not at productive as Thunder mountain longhorn.

[the big lebowski]

hi all its that time of year where the nights are getting colder so i thought id ask for some overwintering tips ,i have about 10 plants that i grew on my window sills this year and kept in 6 inch pots so im just going to trim those down and about 15 up the plot ,i was going to take maybe 3-4 out of the 25 liter pots they are in trim them down ,repot them into 9 inch pots (washing all the old soil off the rootball to try not to bring bugs back home ) i have unused potting compost at home to use, the prob i think i might have is that i get v little sunlight on my windowsills in winter ,should i put them under my 125 clf lamps ? (if so an what scheduale 6 on /18 off ? ) ,any tips or thought welcome

i have an orange hab that got decapitated when the window blew shut and thats looking good to be overwintered altho i am still picking flowers off it

also i started drying out my chillis in the oven to make into chilli powder,your not wrong sp 2 days seems about right ,started at 9 am yesterday just turned the oven off ,half are dry half arnt lol

hope this isnt to longer post just getting nervy and hope i can overwinter some this year ,cheers

[monkeyboy]

Since moving the jalapeno and padron plants outside (greenfly), there's been little in the way of development. I guess they really liked the warmth.

If I tried to grow them outdoors next year, would some sort of mini polytunnel work? I've got a few empty recycling tubs lying around. I could fill with compost and cover with polythene sheeting. The plants would have the entire soil rather than be limited to small pots.

Any thoughts?

[Scarlet]

When did you start your seeds off this year Monkeyboy?

Those little plastic grow houses can cause lots of condensation on really hot days, but are great early on so long as they are brought back in at night to avoid cold nights. Then on duper sunny days they can get burnt....so you can use them but there are times when you need to be doing the Hokey Cokey!

The bigger the tub, the bigger the plant - this can often mean that you get a huge crop but late in the season, so not a great option if you haven't got a GH or. Something similar.
Choose a variety that will crop earlier than super hots, and perhaps get yourself yo a local morrissons and get some flower buckets. They are plenty big enough. Limit yourself to a few plants that they will all have enough window space for growing on indoors early.

[Scarlet]

hi all its that time of year where the nights are getting colder so i thought id ask for some overwintering tips ,i have about 10 plants that i grew on my window sills this year and kept in 6 inch pots so im just going to trim those down and about 15 up the plot ,i was going to take maybe 3-4 out of the 25 liter pots they are in trim them down ,repot them into 9 inch pots (washing all the old soil off the rootball to try not to bring bugs back home ) i have unused potting compost at home to use, the prob i think i might have is that i get v little sunlight on my windowsills in winter ,should i put them under my 125 clf lamps ? (if so an what scheduale 6 on /18 off ? ) ,any tips or thought welcome

i have an orange hab that got decapitated when the window blew shut and thats looking good to be overwintered altho i am still picking flowers off it

also i started drying out my chillis in the oven to make into chilli powder,your not wrong sp 2 days seems about right ,started at 9 am yesterday just turned the oven off ,half are dry half arnt lol

hope this isnt to longer post just getting nervy and hope i can overwinter some this year ,cheers

I have a big bay window and several deep window ledges do may chillies have plenty of light and rarely go dormant - on of two maybe, so I can't reAlly answer your question.

Philthy, has lights - he may come along soon.

[darraghb]

All this talk of overwintering has me planning next year when I haven't even harvested yet.
First Habanero started to colour yesterday. The Peach and Orange have loads of chillis and the Red and Chocolate have a decent amount.
My Bhut Jalokia has a few chillies that have changed colour. Surprise to find out they are yellow and not red. I must have mixed up the seeds somewhere along the way. Once there is a bunch ripened I'll think about what to use them for. A hot sauce is the most likely use.
The Cayenne and long thin Cayenne's have plenty of chillis ripening every day. A few get put in dinner most evenings.
A bunch of plants have nothing ripening yet but I am not too worried. I have decided not to overwinter much this winter as they are mostly too big extcept maybe one of each of the habs. They can stay outdoors until they die. Only a couple of plants survived overwintering last year and to be honest they did no better that the ones I grew from seed in January. My worst performing Jalepeno was the one I overwintered while the others were much healthier and much more fruit.
Anyway its been a great year for chillis and I hope I am not too overconfident and suffer for it next year.

[Scarlet]

I wouldn't over winter a Jalepeono, cayenne etc as these grow well and give fabulous crops in year one. Plants that I would over winter are generally slower growing /super hots. These can often give just a small crop in their first year but in the second year give a fabulous crop. I'll be over wintering a Dorset naga, chocolate hab, peach hab, Trinidad scorpion and probably a manzano and a lemon drop.

[Mitzi]

I overwintered a couple of annuums last year and the Aleppo has done brilliantly this year having had three crops already and is podding up again. I'm definitely glad I overwintered it. Peter Pepper not so much.

[IainM]

I'm in the same boat as Lebowski, without much decent window space available. I think I might convert some of the brew shed shelving into a sort of grow cabinate with a thermostat controlled heat mat, some lights and reflective material. I'm looking to overwinter the reapers, peach scorption, chocolate and orange habs, 7 pot primos, moruga brainstrain, chocolate doughlah, bhut jolokia and fatalli, some of which haven't even got as far as making pods. They are all in small pots (3L max), so if trim back I should be able to fit them in. I'll probably try to keep an amarillo, aji peruvian, lemon drop and rocoto alive too, as these should have a bit more cold tolerance. I'll just bring them inside if it looks like a frost is coming.

[monkeyboy]

When did you start your seeds off this year Monkeyboy?

Off the top of my head, around Feb/March time. I sowed the toms and peppers and grew them in a propagator indoors up until a couple of inches tall. I then potted them up into 6" pots and left them there. Because I had more plants, I had less space on the kitchen window sill, so I deliberately kept them small. They would have been fine indoors but I ended up with greenfly on them (which were then on the walls and cupboards - not ideal in a kitchen!) so I shoved them outside. But then the weather cooled quickly.

I don't mind a mini-polytunnel for the initial months and then open it up once it gets warm enough. I hate faffing around with bringing them in and out of the house and we don't have space for a proper greenhouse.

We grew jalapenos because I like them, and padron peppers because the wife likes them.

[Scarlet]

I'm surprised that those varieties haven't given you huge crops. Both grow relatively quickly. ( but you are further north than me) padron usually produce masses of pods so I assumed you had started late. I would sow less and concentrate on getting a good crop from a smaller amount of plants. Early growth indoors should give you a great start if you don't cram them close together and pot them on when required.
You won't be able to put chillies out in a poly tunnel until mid May at the earliest...perhaps others should comment because I think you mean those small plastic grow houses? They aren't the best for growing in during the hotter months....so I think you will struggle with those if you want to put them in and leave them?

[Scarlet]

I'll probably try to keep an amarillo, aji peruvian, lemon drop and rocoto alive too, as these should have a bit more cold tolerance. I'll just bring them inside if it looks like a frost is coming

They may be "cold tolerant" but thy are unlikely to survive a British winter outside or in the green house.
I've left many in the GH for years...and not one has ever survived. I'm not sure where you are but I'm in the South West.