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This may seem like a stupid question, but is it possible/recommended to grow chillis from shop bought fresh ones? It seems a pity to waste the seeds, which I usually discard before cooking.

Regards.

Martyn.

The simple answer is yes, but you may not get the same success as you would with chosen varieties. This applies to any saved seed though. I would be interested to know what type of chillies you try with and if you get fruit.

It won't do any harm to experiment with a few maybe along side a packet of seed so you know for next year.

I have does this successfully in the past. The only problem is that you don't know whether your boughten chilli is F1.

and i realise this is a terrible question to ask, but does it matter ?  or rather .. why does it matter ?

???

MrsKP here's a quote from a page that I found which explained it to me:

If you've read any gardening literature at all you have no doubt run across a reference to hybrids not being suitable subjects for seed saving, and you've probably wondered why this is so. Well, hybrid varieties are the result of a plant breeding technique that comes down eventually to a set of often (but not always) highly inbred parent varieties that are crossed to produce a new variety, one that has special characteristics derived from those parent plants. Because of a poorly understood phenomenon called hybrid vigor, these hybrids (or F1 plants as the progeny are often labeled) are more vigorous than the parents used, and combine that vigor with the desired traits (disease resistance, early ripening, or whatever) of their parents. The combination of genes that occurs when two inbred plant lines were crossed is unique to that F1 generation. Any seeds produced by those F1 (hybrid) plants will have a different reshuffling of genes, and cannot be counted on to reproduce the characteristics you found so pleasing in your garden. They might grow into great plants, but they might not, and isn't gardening enough of a gamble already? The weather can't really be predicted, and neither can the severity of pests and diseases from season to season. You should at least be able to count on your seeds to be consistent, and so seed-saving should not be applied to hybrid varieties.

ah!!!!!!!!!!!   ???  :-\


but thanks anyway   ;D

Thanks all for your responses.

I will give the shop bought chilli seeds a go, but also sow some bought seeds as well. It will be interesting to see the results.

Martyn.

Jesse, what a wonderful extract explaining the F1 problem, thank you. I never think of chilli peppers as being contenders for F1 strains, but we live and learn eh?

I grew quite a few chilli plants from supermarket bought birds-eye chillis and they all did quite well even through frost. Stick them in the sunshine or greenhouse if you want hot ones though.

Jon

Chilli peppers are complete strumpets and cross pollinate like mad.  I know a chilli farmer in Essex who has a greenhouse per variety to ensure that he can maintain consistency and authenticity when he sells.

If they are in proximity to one another, the chances are that you will get a new, unpredictable hybrid with little knowledge on disease resistance or heat levels.

(Cor... all these new phrases I'm picking up!! :))

I think a lot of shop bought veg are F1 varieties simply because it's easier for them to produce consistently what the customer is looking for.

Uninhibited cross-pollination? The dirty little stop outs... that's why they're so hot then  ;)