So who's growing chillies this year?

[foxbat]

I planted some random seeds in late April given to me by my brother-in-law from a plant he grew from seeds saved back from supermarket-bought fruit. All eleven seeds that I planted germinated and after giving away six small plants I've got five left to occupy a corner of the greenhouse:

Haven't a clue what variety they are except I'm told they're "quite mild". Anybody else got chillies on the go? Show us your plants!

 

[Horners]

Just a couple of Apaches for me this year bought as plug plants. Also, top tip bought a plant from the herbs and spice bit of veg aisle in Waitrose* for about £1.50 which potted out and fed is going great guns.

*For our Northern viewers Waitrose is like Booths but doesn't sell trays of Jennings Cumberland Ale.

 

[Horners]

I planted some random seeds in late April given to me by my brother-in-law from a plant he grew from seeds saved back from supermarket-bought fruit. All eleven seeds that I planted germinated and after giving away six small plants I've got five left to occupy a corner of the greenhouse:

Haven't a clue what variety they are except I'm told they're "quite mild". Anybody else got chillies on the go? Show us your plants!

I'm no expert @foxbat but they look like the jalapenos I have tried before - never seem to get on in my garden.

 

[Richie_asg1]

Never tried with chillies, but I did buy one pot of mint from Aldi for 69p, and have propagated stems from it in water...and now I have about 20 plants and a planter full of mint.

Tried it with basil too but the plants never liked going outside and always seem to succumb to some form of disease deficiency or rot. The bought plants are always overcrowded to start with, but the cuttings start well in water. They just don't transition well into soil.

 

[stz]

I started 6 each of 5 varieties from seed under grow lights inside late January. They took about two weeks to germinate, but they all did and once going grew fast. I potted up once and a few weeks later again. They were inside until about late march at which point some were starting to flower so I moved them outside into partial shade for a few days before moving to final containers in full 'sun'.

Pretty much without failure all 30 plants have withered, lost most leaves, gotten sunburnt, been attacked, developed rusty spots and so on. The plants are quite large so I've high hopes they'll recover as the summer progresses, but ... at the moment they look very unhappy. I don't know if the soil isn't free draining enough. I don't know if they got slightly root bound before their final transplant. I don't know if I didn't firm down enough or too much. It is a learning curve. Things will eat them too so slug pellets have been required.

Again .. I think that they'll bounce back somewhat. I'll take a picture of them outside as is.

 

[foxbat]

Pretty much without failure all 30 plants have withered, lost most leaves, gotten sunburnt, been attacked, developed rusty spots and so on. The plants are quite large so I've high hopes they'll recover as the summer progresses, but ... at the moment they look very unhappy. I don't know if the soil isn't free draining enough. I don't know if they got slightly root bound before their final transplant. I don't know if I didn't firm down enough or too much. It is a learning curve. Things will eat them too so slug pellets have been required.

Have you successfully grown them outside before? I've had success in previous years but always in the greenhouse because I've never thought that we had the temperature to successfully grow them outside and I'm down south.

 

[foxbat]

Never tried with chillies, but I did buy one pot of mint from Aldi for 69p, and have propagated stems from it in water...and now I have about 20 plants and a planter full of mint.

Mint grows like a weed! If you don't confine it to a planter you'll have a mint garden before you can say what the.... ?

 

[Clint]

Yes got some chillies growing in the poly tunnel...Cayennes, jalapenos and a couple of others I can't remember. All from seed and doing well...I'll get some pictures when I go there on my days off.

 

[stz]

Have you successfully grown them outside before? I've had success in previous years but always in the greenhouse because I've never thought that we had the temperature to successfully grow them outside and I'm down south.

I've a green house, but I've got them outside, I can move them into it. I've never grown them before. I spoke to a few people last year who grew them successfully in pots on patios and stuff so I figured if we have a good summer, they should be alright?

 

[Oneflewover]

I normally grow loads of different chillies, but just got 7 varieties this year:

Aji Limo (c. Chinense)

Super tramp (c. Annuum)

Burkina Yellow (c. Chinense)

Spike (c. Annuum)

Michael's Magic (c. Chinense). This one's got some pods developing already

Madre Vieja (c. Baccatum)

Padron (c. Annuum). Courtesy of @IainM

 

[Oneflewover]

I've a green house, but I've got them outside, I can move them into it. I've never grown them before. I spoke to a few people last year who grew them successfully in pots on patios and stuff so I figured if we have a good summer, they should be alright?

I think that it really depends on where you are, how sheltered the plants are, and crucially what variety you are growing. I very much doubt Capsicum chinense would come to much outside anywhere in the UK. You'd probably be alright with annuum in a sheltered area down south. To be honest though I'd always choose to grow chillies under glass

 

[foxbat]

I normally grow loads of different chillies, but just got 7 varieties this year:

Yours are looking great already. I think I need to back off the watering of mine a bit - I see your pots are quite dry and the plants are looking very healthy.

 

[Oneflewover]

Yours are looking great already. I think I need to back off the watering of mine a bit - I see your pots are quite dry and the plants are looking very healthy.

Yeah unlike tomatoes and cucumbers chillies really don't like having their feet wet. They like oxygen to their roots and water impedes the uptake of oxygen.

Most of the plants are in self watering pots. They get water (and nutrients) via a wick that goes down into a reservoir. They are never watered from above so don't get waterlogged. I'm actually behind where I would want to be with them, they were put out into the greenhouse a bit early and it stalled them

 

[IainM]

Yup, I've got some chillies on, but no where near as many as last year, which was my first with some space to grow them (34 varieties, 59 plants). Overwintered, I have 3 Carolina reapers, a moruga brainstrain, a trinidad perfume, a chocolate doughlah, a peach scorpion, a fatalli, two 7 pot primo and a bhut jolokia. I've had a few ripe fatalli and peach scorpions already off them already. Grown this year I have a few varieties of jalapeno, some padron (because they're delicious), antep aci dolma, spaghetti (thank @Oneflewover!), thunder mountain longhorn, charapita, white fatalli, orange habaneros and peach ghosts. I think this is enough, considering I still have a freezer drawer full of chillies from last year.

 

[chrissyr63]

Well I've got two on the go - a black one and a Scots bonnet - just outside in Devon, in pots in a tray to keep them watered.

 

[foxy]

I planted some random seeds in late April given to me by my brother-in-law from a plant he grew from seeds saved back from supermarket-bought fruit. All eleven seeds that I planted germinated and after giving away six small plants I've got five left to occupy a corner of the greenhouse:

Haven't a clue what variety they are except I'm told they're "quite mild". Anybody else got chillies on the go? Show us your plants!

I bought some Carolina Reaper from the supermarket,passed the use by date so were marked down, all germinated, but in future the hottest I am going to grow is the Jalapeno.
When ever I have grown a few together they seem to cross pollinate, as do my capsicums.

 

[MmmBeer]

Yeah unlike tomatoes and cucumbers chillies really don't like having their feet wet. They like oxygen to their roots and water impedes the uptake of oxygen.

Most of the plants are in self watering pots. They get water (and nutrients) via a wick that goes down into a reservoir. They are never watered from above so don't get waterlogged. I'm actually behind where I would want to be with them, they were put out into the greenhouse a bit early and it stalled them

Here are mine, in their growbag greenhouse. They are a mix of jalapenos, cayenne and habanero, though sadly I have lost track of which are which.

I made a watering system out of some copper pipe and fittings (left).

 

[foxbat]

Here are mine, in their growbag greenhouse. They are a mix of jalapenos, cayenne and habanero, though sadly I have lost track of which are which.

Once they get a bit bigger you might be able to tell from the shape of the leaves.

 

[MmmBeer]

Once they get a bit bigger you might be able to tell from the shape of the leaves.

I'll post some more photos when they grow. I was planning on waiting until they fruit, as it should be quite evident then. I'll keep the watering to a minimum and give them a fortnightly feed.

 

[uDicko]

I've got a hot rod chilli on the go, doing ok