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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: newspud9 on March 26, 2020, 14:24:20
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Never grown chillies before but trying this year. Just seen a youtube video by a bloke in Yorkshire who has fabulous results and he kept saying to grow them in "poor compost" and that they dont seem to like rich, JI compost. I've only got bags of the good stuff...how would I go about getting poor compost. His advice was to "treat them mean". Seemed to work well for him.
Thanks for all the advice.
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You could dilute it with say sharp sand this will reduce the compost/fertiliser ratio.
This article might help:
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/C/Compost/Compost.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/C/Compost/Compost.htm)
Having said that I can't say I have heard of growing Chillies in "poor compost" although I have heard of similar treatment with some varieties of Dahlias
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Many thanks.
Here's his video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-J4QqBEmrw
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Hi Spud
Thanks for the video I quite enjoyed it, but what struck me more than the quality of the compost was the size of the pots they were in!
I have noticed I get better results in pots rather than in the greenhouse bed is it would seem they like to be somewhat "Pot Bound"
Now he did mention he likes to 'stress' his plants by holding back on water which is something I don't think I would do!
My view is rather than the compost being the stressing factor I think it is more likely that being pot bound is more the reason for his success.
Another factor in my opinion is the variety!
I have noticed that varieties where the fruit points upwards are more prolific than those that point downwards.
I agreed with him about his Habanero they do need a long season I often thought that letting the growth tick over winter might help, but I never ever got round to trying it!
In term of your own growing; You don't mention how far on your plants are. If you are just about to sow them now I would say it is getting a bit late I would consider Mid February to Early March.
I am not a chilli fan but my son & son-in-law have asbestos lined mouths, so I used to grow some for them and give them their plants in 5"pots and yes the plants used to work quite well for them so that is another reason I think Chillies might be better suited to pot growing.
This is how I grew them in the greenhouse, some years were OK and other not so good so once again I think variety plays a large part in their success!
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/C/Chilli/Chilli.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/C/Chilli/Chilli.htm)
Best of luck....let us know later in the year how you got on...Tg
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Further to above, I have found that they do well in a 5" pot* ,plunged into a 10 litre flower tub (Ex Morrisons-99p for 8, sometimes 10), need addition of drainage). The outer pots were filled with 3year old FYM/sharp sand ratio 2:1. Placed in 18" deep coldframe as 4" plants in June. Watered by trickle hose weekly.
Fruited from September till killed by frost c Nov 10th
* Richmoor compost,3x 70 litres £8, some would call it 'poor'!, 'lean' is more honest.
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All most helpful. I’ve only just sown..I know I’m late but they’re in a propagator and when ready I will give them as much heat and light that is out there. Good points about the source of the stressing. Thanks
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I've manged to keep three of four chilli plants through the winter on a north facing windowsill (though as it's our sitting room they take a lot of water as it tends to be warm, and the central heating doesn't half make them drop leaves!).
I think it's time I give up on the Trinidad Perfume non-hot habanero I sowed, and try another few seeds. Bit miffed by that - love the flavour, but the real thing is effing hot!
Adrian
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This winter is the first time i've ever tried to over-winter a pepper, too! It was my husband's idea, as the one on the veg patch was so healthy-looking, and full of little rounded pointed peppers. I don't know the variety as I bought the plant. Potted up, in a not-big pot, it's been brilliant, we've harvested as we needed all the months it's been in the kitchen. Now it's flowering and sw=eems to be setting. We've had it out on the patio for a few days, but brought it in last night as frost is expected, even snow in a couple of nights.
i'd been going to ask A4A whether it will grow on well if planted out again. And should I cut it back or prune it in any way?
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Looks to be a jalapeno, dont know the variety. If you can see axial buds, then if needed, shorten straggling branches back to just above that point.I seem to recall that you need to steralise the wound with alcohol, meths,vodka,whatever.
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We certainly pruned ours back last year, and they seemed to thrive - though we kept them in pots in the greenhouse rather than planting out.
The only thing I sterilised with alcohol was my taste buds.
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I've manged to keep three of four chilli plants through the winter on a north facing windowsill (though as it's our sitting room they take a lot of water as it tends to be warm, and the central heating doesn't half make them drop leaves!).
I think it's time I give up on the Trinidad Perfume non-hot habanero I sowed, and try another few seeds. Bit miffed by that - love the flavour, but the real thing is effing hot!
Adrian
Overwintered chillies sound like a good idea, but in reality they tend to sulk in spring and nearly always get overtaken by the seedlings from my Jan/Feb sowing (in heat and LED light - I don't have the larger setup I'd need to boost overwintered plants in the same way).
Some species are better at overwintering - C.baccatum are noticeably better but C.pubescens are in a different league (Rocoto/Locoto/Manzano) and never get caught by seedlings - not even close. My overwintered plants go from 60cm tall to 2m in their 2nd year and last a few years at that size - it's worth sowing a few replacements in May and giving up on their first year crop - it's so much less hassle (any green fruit are excellent in stews anyway).
The only C.annuum I ever had that overwintered better than a baccatum was the orange snack/mini pepper (most delicious of the sweets) - which is handy since they come true from the ones they sell in the supermarket.
Trinidad perfume is the best flavour of the "seasoning" (no heat) peppers but it's even later than the hot habaneros - my theory is that earliness got lost in the hunt for flavour -you never know what other advantages get left out when you breed for one thing only.
The only answer is to start them early Jan in light and heat and hope you get good weather when they get too big for your setup. BTW be sure of the name - there are some similar strains that aren't as good - there is a particularly disappointing waxy one that looks identical.
Tobago Seasoning is worth a try - a good but different flavour it's definitely earlier and only low to medium heat.
Cheers.
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I enjoyed to Youtube video, as TeeGee says it’s always interesting to see what works for different folk in different areas! I’m about 40 plus miles south of Yorkshire, and inadvertently follow some of his advice. I find a mix of JI and multi purpose compost gives good results, and I also use smaller pots, 1L size maximum. I do water mostly daily, but because I work 12-13 hr shifts twice a week there are at least a couple of days a week they get none, which mimics the periods of ‘ stress’ he suggests, and I get good crops which keep going until Nov/Dec in my greenhouse.