Sowing Chillies

[quinny]

I've just bought a pack of red chilli peppers to grow in my mini greenhouse.  Does anyone have any hints and tips on sowing?  I thought about growing them under my cloche's also?

Any help, greatly appreciated.

Cheers ;D

p.s. current temps up here are 6c - 11c ish

[quinny]

[Multiveg]

Wear gloves? If not, then after handling the seed wash hands thoroughly before rubbing eyes....

[northener]

Did mine in propogator on windowsill took 4-5 days to germinate got 7 from 8 sown so more then happy. Will put into 3" pots this week and keep on windowsill for another 2-3 weeks then greenhouse.

[quinny]

Thanks for that - I will duly copy your approach on propagation. 

Has anyone grown them before?  What's the harvest like?  Do the planst grow up the way of is it like a bush?  Could I grow them bush like under my cloches?

Cheers for now... ;D 

[Mrs Ava]

I sowed mine back in Feb in my conservatory and although they were slow starters, they are now putting on plenty of growth. They are staying in my conservatory for the time being...room permitting!  Will end up in the greenhouse in a couple of weeks time.  I believe you can pinch the tip out if you want to encourage branching, but I don't bother and the plants are weighed down with fruits.  Some can grow very tall, something you may want to consider if you are thinking of growing them in cloches.  I treat mine more or less the same as my toms, as they are in the same house, they are fed and watered at the same time.

[philcooper]

I sow peppers, and everything else for that matter on fine compost that has been watered and well cover with vermiculite, then very gently damp the vermiculite.

Pre-watering the compost stops the seeds being washed about by watering after sowing and the vermiculite forms a moist layer above the seeds which they have no diffciulty getting through

Phil

[Sarah-b]

Hi Quinny,
If time allows, I am going to construct a sort of poly-box type thing on the plot. In it, I'll grow peppers and chillis - it will be a bit like a cloche but higher and possibly with a removable top (which will be removed when summer starts to stop it getting too hot. But will probably leave poly sides in place. This is going to be an experiment...
sb

[northener]

Different types, i'm no expert if you look at simpsons seed site theres a load to choose from some as tall as 1.5 m some more bushy at 24" some are hotter then others. I've grown a bush type before forgot which one but we were mowed out with chillis .

[quinny]

Thanks guys - If I get chilli's outa this seed packet, and there's a successful harvest - I may be the happiest geezer on the planet.  The ones I've picked are cayenne peppers (HOT!!! :-[ :-*).   I think I'll start them off in the windowsill, transfer them to my mini g'house and then out to the veggie plot.

You have all been a wealth of information - thank a bunch! ;D

[ajb]

Hi,
Hope your chillies turn out well for you! They should sprout in 7-14 days in a warm room. Make sure the seedlings get plenty of light so they don't get leggy on you. I wouldn't recommend planting them outside until June (but then it's cold up 'ere) as the fruit won't set if temperatures fall below 17C for too long during the day.
happy growing,
A.

[real food]

For the best crops, chillies should be sown in the house at the beginning of February and transferred to a cold greenhouse by end of April. I grow mine in a growbag [6 or 8 plants] on the staging for extra warmth. Look out for red spider mite, but otherwise there are few problems.

[philcooper]

Quinny,

Chilis do like it hot, if you can keep them in the mingreenhouse they'll do much better than in the open where the crop is very dependant on the weather (very much like tomatoes only more so)

The higher the growing temp, the hotter the resulting chili

Phil

[quinny]

Excellent info guys.  I've transplanted them all to mini 2" pots.  They were getting leggy so I covered them up to the first two leaves like I read on the other thread.  I think I'll keep them indoors for a couple of week then put them in the mini greenhouse.  It's usually a month or two behind in Scotland - constantly poor weather and all that, you know...

[philcooper]

Quinny,

I didn't realise that you were close to the Arctic Circle!  ;)

You have set yourself a serious challenge - you need to replicate the conditions found in Mexico for a good crop - how about using the airing cupboard with a flourescent light fitted!

Good luck

Phil

[ruudbarb]

how about using the airing cupboard with a flourescent light fitted!

'Flourescent light' Phil?  You don't say whether it should be plain or self-raising........... ;D ;D ;D 

[philcooper]

It's obviously self-raising  ;)

[tim]

Sharp as a knife!

[Sprout]

I had a chilli plant a year or two ago which I bought from Homwbase and which I kept on my kitchen window sill. Only managed to get one or two chillies from it although it did produce lots of flowers but these tended to drop off after a while. :(

[bananagirl]

I Keep all mine on the windowsill coz it's usually too cold for the poor things outside, and they get plenty of heat in the kitchen. With the flowers dropping off, it's because they're not being fertilised. You need to help them, or let loads og bugs in to do it for you. Just run your finger gently over the middle of the flower to get some pollen off, and transfer it to the others. Keep going like that till they've all been got. YOu could be fancy and use a paint brush, but I've found fingering (ooer) works fine. You should end up with loads then. ;D