The 2021 Chilli growing season

Seed to maturity period

As a follow on to my previous posts on growing Rocoto Chillies I decided to research how they would take to grow. This is what I found:

Apparently Rocotos  have a pretty long seed to the maturity growth period. It takes ten to twenty days for the seeds to germinate. Then, after germination, they will go through a series of potting -ons until they are in one-litre pots. This could take anything up to two months or even longer.  After all, plants grow more slowly in winter. The first opportunity will be potted on for the last time, hardened off and then placed outdoors for the rest of the season. It can then take over one hundred days after this until they bloom and set fruit. Apparently, Rocotos   grow quite quickly but take a long time before they flower  produce fruit

One thing I am going to have to consider is the temperature at which I start the seeds. I usually start seeds at between twenty-six and thirty two degrees Celsius. I would imagine  this Chilli should be started at lower temperatures because of its origins. Seed starting temperature is something I will need to experiment with for these Chillies. I will probably begin two batches in heated propagators. One at a lower temperature, say in the region  of eighteen and twenty three  degrees Celsius, and the other at between twenty-six  and twenty-nine  degrees. It will be interesting to see what starting temperature is the best

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The Rocotos have hatched

I was delighted a few days ago when I discovered that four of my Rocoto seeds had germinated. I was even more pleased this morning when I found that another had burst into life. Considering I expected germination for these seeds to take up to twenty days, it was a pleasant surprise indeed.

Instead of the time  I had  expected, the first seeds germinated in only ten days. What made the event even more pleasing was that the new peat-free seed starting medium had worked like a charm. To become peat free in my Chilli growing, where previously i would have used peat pellets, I tried something else.

To start these seeds, I used eggshells as seed starting containers.  I filled the shells with John Innes seed starting compost that I had mixed with fifty percent vermiculite.

Okay, I have to admit that not everything was peat free. The John Innes compost contains a little .  It was however, a bag of compost I already had on hand. It will have served no purpose to throw it out. When the bag is finished, I will look at other peat-free starting composts. I have already done some research, and I could possibly make my own seed starting compost by next season.

If you read my last post, you might recall that I also used the egg tray in which the eggs were packed to germinate the seeds. I filled the cavities in the egg trays with a little vermiculite to aid capillary action between the capillary mat in my self-watering propagator. The eggshells were placed on top of the vermiculite in these cavities

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The seeds finally arrived

Last week, I received my Rocoto seeds. I was delighted, as this meant I could finally start my series on the life of a Chilli from seed from when it is planted right up to its use in cooking. I want to map out the journey of a single variety (Rocotos in this case) from the minute I start it, right through to harvest, and then finish with what I do with it in the kitchen.

When I opened the envelope, the seeds were sent in; I found a small bag containing ten black seeds. Black seeds are a characteristic of Rocoto Chillies. The seeds were quite big,   about two to three millimetres wide and long. The seeds certainly looked healthy. So, while I might have paid a lot for them (the postage cost as much as the seeds), I was pleased with the quality

It didn’t take long before I was preparing the growing medium to plant these Chillies. As part of my drive to become peat-free in my Chilli growing, I decided to try something else instead of using peat pellets. The thought of using egg shells immediately came to mind. Somewhere along the line, I had seen an image of them being used for organic seed starting. The idea immediately appealed to me.  Here was a way to achieve peat free growing, but also a way to use a sustainable resource. Read more