This category is a series of posts giving a step-by-step account of what happens in a typical season of growing Chillies in the UK. It begins with the selection and planting of seeds, and will end (after harvesting) with the preparation of some plants for overwintering.
All aspects of growing Chillies will be covered. Various mediums and methods of propagating seeds, including Rockwell cubes, peat pellets, paper towel germination and hydroponics, will be examined. The success or failure achieved with each medium or method will be described.
Once the seeds have germinated, posts will provide advice on how the seedlings should be taken care of. Other posts will describe the first potting on stage that will need to be done once the plants reach a certain size. Information will also cover what precautions should be taken to protect the young plants against unwanted pests like fungus gnats and aphids.
Once the plants have outgrown their first pots, the posts will go into the preparation of the compost that they will be transplanted into. Later in the season, when it gets warm enough outside to place the plants outdoors, the posts will describe how the plants should be prepared for outside exposure.
The next posts will then describe how the plants have been taken care of. This will include any obstacles that have been encountered including pests, weather conditions and anything else that may happen.
Fertilizers and nutrients will be discussed, and the outcomes that are achieved by using specific products. This will include which fertilizers and nutrients to use at each stage in the Chilli plants’ development.
From there, the blooming of the plants, pollination and the arrival of the first Chillies of the season will be covered. Their progression to full sized fruit and harvesting will also be discussed.
The series will then end with information of how the harvested Chillies have been used to make hot sauces, jams, chutneysand various other dishes. The final posts will also go into how seeds should be prepared and stored for next year’s planting season and how a few select plants will choose for overwintering.
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 .
will also cover what precautions should be taken to protect the young plants against unwanted pests like 
One thing to consider in this strategy is the seed to maturity growth rate of the Chillies. Some varieties like Bell peppers, Cayennes and 
