Okay, so I have more than enough seedlings for this season. My tried and trusted peat pellets have stepped up to the plate, and I have had good germination. Not so, as previously mentioned, with the Rockwell cubes and my Aerogarden, due probably to seed viability
With the remaining method I tried for this season – paper towel germination, I have had more success. But, as always, in Chilli growing, there is always something more to learn. My initial success ended up in disaster, and I had to go back to the drawing board. Here’s what happened
One way to test the viability of seeds is to use the paper towel method of germination. If you are unsure whether old seeds stand a chance of germinating, you can use this technique to test a couple before planting. If they germinate, it means the thumbs up for the rest. You can plant your old seeds (into your usual medium), happy in the knowledge that you will probably have a good chance of germination.
So that covers one of the uses for the method. But how about using it to start your seeds for the season? In other words, without peat pellets or the like? The intention is to plant directly from the towels into pots.
Chill growing in the UKis now in full swing.I now have about 50 seedlings and more on the way. The germination rate for the seeds planted in peat pellets has been excellent, with a germination rate of over 90 percent. I always plant more than one seed per pellet to cater for the possibility ofgermination failure but guess what? Yup, virtually all the seeds have germinated. This, of course, is far too many to take through to fully grown plant stage. Unfortunately, this means that once these seedlings get to about two inches in height ( when they will bepotted up for the first time), I will need to select only the healthiest plants to continue the season with. Read more
My first Chilli seedlings burst into life in the middle of last week. As soon as they germinated they taken out of the propagator and moved under grow lights. This needs to done immediately otherwise the seedlings will become leggy. If they do not have an immediate source of light they go looking for it. This results in long, unhealthy stems that are not good for the seedlings at all .
I must admit I was a tad apprehensive about how good germination would be after the drying out hiccupearlier in the season. It, however, would seem (on the peat pellet side at least) all is well. All in all, I have about 25 seedlings, with my Barak and Longhorn FI seeds being the first to germinate. Since then, I have had germination from my Basket of Fire,Scotch bonnet, Numex, Baccio Ciliegia Piccante (Satans kiss), Prairie Fire, Habaneroand Purple Tiger seeds. (I know, I know – many of these varieties were not mentioned when I started the season, but somehow the temptation just grabs you to plant more Chillies ( even when you vow not to! ) Read more
To achieve a good germination rate for Chilli seeds, they need careful tending right from the start. While I try as I may not to make mistakes, sometimes stuff happens.
This morning, I was inspecting my peat pellets and Rockwell cubes for moisture. I noticed the peat pellets seemed on the dry side. As I have previously said, whilst you don’t want to give your seeds too much water, you certainly don’t want them to dry out either! Yesterday I noticed condensation on the propagator’s lid. This normally means lots of moisture, so I wasn’t that concerned they were drying out. But guess what?
When I lifted the lid this morning, mainly to give the pellets some air and shake thecondensationback onto the pellets, I noticed they seemed quite dry. This seemed strange, so I thought I would look into it.
It turns out that when I sowed my seedsinto the pellets, I put them into a seed tray insert, but did not place this into a seed tray. This means the seed tray insert (with holes in each compartment) has been in direct contact with the heat mat. As the pellets lie directly on top of these holes, they have been getting far more heat than would normally have been the case. This cased the pellets to dry out.
I immediately moved the inserts into a seedling tray, and then sprayed each pellet with a fine mist of lukewarm water. Normally I would have only given them a couple sprays from my mister, but because these were dryer than normal, each pellet got wet until it was moist to the touch. Hopefully, the seeds have not suffered any ill effects from this. They are quite tough, as you would expect worse to happen in real nature outside, but let’s wait and see what happens
You have to be on the ball to be really successful at growing Chillies!
Growing Chillies means always asking questions. Having sown my seeds. The next question is, how long will it take for my Chilli seeds to grow? One can normally expect germination within 7 to ten days. Some varieties, however, with long seed to fruit-bearing periods, can take much longer. Chillies likeCorolina reapers can sometimes take over a month to germinate.
Now my Chilli growingseason really starts. I finally get to sow some seeds. My Chilli seeds have soaked overnight. They have been woken up. My Rockwell cubes have been PH balanced (and allowed to soak for two hours). So, I am now ready on that front. All I need to do before sowing is to prepare my peat pellets. So let’s get going!
As I will have a bit of a bit on my hands today, the other two methods (as mentioned previously) – the kitchen towel and hydroponic methods will need to be tackled tomorrow. The parts I will be dealing with today will be handled in the following ways:
The day has come to prepare my Chilli seeds for planting. The first step in the Chilli growing season has been choosing which seeds to grow. This (as always) was quite difficult There is so much choice. But practicality dictates. There is only a certain amount of time and space in a season ! Now that the seeds have been chosen, the next step is to prepare them for fast germination.
This year I have decided that I will be trying four different ways to start my seeds.I have always enjoyed planting Chilli seeds with peat plugs . I have always had great success with them. I am also a fan of thehydroponics method of germinating seeds, so I will be using that as well. For me, the two methods above are simple to do and deliver every time.
Preparing for fast germination
As for the other two methods, time will tell. Some growers swear by Rockwool cubes (mineral wool) . Others by a method where the seeds are germinated between wet paper towels in a zip lock bag. I have previously tried both of these ways of doing things – without much success .
However, I am always keen to learn . I will try the last two methods again, but with only a few seeds . Let’s see whether I can be successful this time around. As already said, time will tell. In the meantime, however, I will stick with my tried and trusted peat plugs and hydroponics for the most part.
I will discuss each method in more detail in future posts. I will also share what the outcomes have been. For the moment I will only cover what preparation needs to be done before the seeds are planted. The idea is to get them to germinate quickly.
What steps need to be taken ?
Rockwell cubes
Soaking the seeds and Rockwell cubes
I will be taking the following steps to prepare the seeds and the Rockwell cubes:
The seeds:
Need to be placed in lukewarm camomile tea. ( it should not be too hot). The seeds need to be soaked overnight ( between 12 and 24 hours maximum). This will alert the seeds to the fact that they are being woken up. This is very much like rain does with seed outdoors . Soaking in water will allow faster germination.
To make it easy to differentiate between the seeds, I will place each variety in its own clearly marked container for soaking. I do this because many a season has gone by where I have mixed up seeds at this point. What should have been a Cayenne turned out to be a Carolina reaper!!!
Tip: If you have old seeds and want to find out if they still have a chance of germinating, soak them in room temperature water for 15 minutes. If they float to the surface, they are not viable anymore. If they sink to the bottom, there is a reasonable chance of germination.
Rockwell cubes :
They will need to be soaked before 2 hours in PH adjusted water for two hours prior to sowing. To do this, see here.
Before use, excess water will need to be removed from the cubes.
Do not squeeze the cubes to get rid of the water. This damages the structure of the fibres. Clench the cube gently between a thumb and forefinger. Then hake it vigorously until most of the water has been expelled.
Once this is done, I will ready to go (except for some preparation of the peat plugs and wet paper towels).
The next post will describe this preparation, how to plant the seeds, and what steps should be taken to ensure that they will germinate quickly.
Okay, so I have decided to get this year’s Chilli growing season into full gear. Where do I go from here? To have a good season, it is important to get the basics right. Whilegrowing Chilliesis easy, there is quite a bit that can go wrong. With this in mind, I prefer using a well-thought-out strategy that will give me the best chance of success.
One thing to consider in this strategy is the seed to maturity growth rate of the Chillies. Some varieties like Bell peppers, Cayennes and Jalapenos will bear fruit within ninety days of the seeds after having been started. Superhot varieties on the other hand, can take more than 120 days from final potting-on before they start fruiting. Carolina reapers, for example, can take over 250 days.
This year I want to grow a combination of mild, medium and hot chillies. With the mild and medium Chillies , I expect to harvest by September. The hot varieties will take longer. There is even the possibility that the hotter varieties may not bear fruit this season at all. I may have to overwinter them for a crop next year. All this will depend on the weather. Chillies like lots of sunshine to do well. Without it, they take longer to grow.
At this point, it is still too cold in the UK to be planting Chillies outdoorsbut it is a good time to begin indoor propagation. By doing this, come May or June, when it will be warm enough to take your seedlings outside, they will have already grown eight to twelve inches and will be well on their way to a good season. Start now by following this step by step guide to growing your Chillies.
There is good reason for starting theChilli growing seasonright now. Nothing is more frustrating and upsetting than caring for a plant from seed, then watching it die when the weather becomes too cold The growing season in the UK is quite short. It comes to an end more or less at the end of September. With this in mind, it makes perfect sense beginning early. Indeed, if you want to stand the chance of harvesting Chillies for a month or two after your plants mature, now is the time to start .
In fact, starting the season almost flat bang in the middle of winter is particularly important for super-hot Chillies like Carolina reapers and Habaneros. These Chillies (particularly the super hots) have a long growing from seed to fruit-bearing stage ( over 100 days). Even as early as it is right now in the season , it may even be too late for these Chillied to have been planted . Ideally they should have been planted indoors as early as mid-January to stand the chance of a harvest.
This year I will be keeping a log of each step in the growing season. The selection and preparation of my seeds for propagation . Follow me as I show how I take care of them until they sprout, and every step of the way after that. This will carry on right through until I finally harvest some Chillies (and hopefully a bumber crop at that!)
. I hope that following this step-by-step guidance to growing Chillies will lead to a successful growing season to all our readers .
It should be no surprise that Chillies are used in Brazilian cooking. The fact that Brazil contains 65 % of the Amazon basin is a clue to how close this country is to the Chilli. It is widely accepted that many varieties of Chillies, while now found worldwide, are native to the Amazon basin *. While neighbouring Bolivia is thought to be one of the countries where Chillies originally started, Brazil would not have been far behind in being a place where they could first be found and consumed
Dry seed starting pellets
One thing to consider in this strategy is the seed to maturity growth rate of the Chillies. Some varieties like Bell peppers, Cayennes and 
