Hardening Chilli plants
Right now, in this Chilli growing season, I believe I should be further down the line. In previous seasons, I would have already completed hardening my chilli plants off . by now. They would already have been prepared for exposure to outside conditions. Most would be permanently outdoors. Not so, this year!
I am not entirely sure why, but I am starting to get the feeling this year that my Chillies seem a bit smaller than on average. So far this season, we have not had a lot of sunshine in the United Kingdom. I suspect this may have impacted how well the Chillies are doing.
My tallest plants, the Longhorn F1s, Satan’s Kisses, Numexs and a Purple Tiger, 
are between five and eight inches. I started these from seed at the beginning of March. Many of my other plants, however, including Scotch bonnets, Prairie fires, Habaneros, Baraks and African Devils, are only still between two and five inches tall. Many of these were started at the same time as the tallest plants.
In addition, I did a second round of seed starting about two weeks later. The cultivars started were much the same as those mentioned above. I accept that some plants are bound to be smaller if they were started later. This is only to be expected. After all, seedlings need a certain time to grow.
I also acknowledge that slower-growing varieties like Habaneros and Scotch Bonnets will take longer to develop into mature plants. (Hotter varieties like these can take over a hundred days from potting on to reaching maturity). This is why it is important to start a growing season early with these varieties. Start too late and they will need to be overwintered.
