The 2021 Chilli growing season

The start of 2022

I am thrilled to announce that most of the superhots I planted have sprouted. Some far earlier than I would have expected.  The 2022 Chilli growing season has been kicked off early.

In a previous post, I mentioned that I have started my superhot Chillies early for the 2022 season. I would typically begin seeds at the beginning of February or March in any one growing season. This year, however, I am starting three months earlier.

The reason I am doing this is because many superhots have a lengthy seed to maturity growing period. Some Chillies, like the Carolina reaper, can take two hundred and fifty days before they bear any fruit.  Particularly when there is not a lot of sunshine.

With such a long growing period, I would usually not expect to get any Chillies from these plants in a single season. Instead, I would overwinter them with the expectation that I would get a crop from them the following year.

Next season, however, will be different. By starting the superhots now, they will already be at least six inches tall in spring. They can then immediately be potted on, hardened off, and placed outside for the rest of the season.  Doing this will put the plants in an excellent position to deliver a crop in a single season. After that, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t get overwintered to produce more Chillies in following seasons.

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New seed starting ideas

My previous post mentioned I would be starting  Ghost Peppers, Carolina Reapers, Hanain Yellow Lanterns and Habanero Maya reds, now, for next season.  For the most part, I got all the seeds planted about a week ago. I was expecting germination in two weeks. Surprisingly, the Hanain Yellow lanterns sprouted in three to four days

Over and above these Chillies, I also started Trinidad Scorpion Butch T seeds and some Habaneros. I will also be planting more superhot varieties in the not-too-distant future.

Unfortunately, the Maya red seeds took longer to arrive than I expected. The seeds only arrived yesterday. While preparing these seeds for quick germination, I began thinking it might be interesting to revisit seed starting. 

I have new techniques that I recently came across on this subject.  These techniques apparently speed up germination. I will be trying them out to find out how well they work.

To try out these ideas, I will need some teabags, kitchen paper towels, ziplock bags, an art knife or a scalpel. I will also need the seeds I will be planting. The ideas are all simple but could have a huge impact on how quickly seeds germinate.

When growing Chillies, it’s important to get seeds to germinate as quickly as possible. The longer the seeds take to sprout, the greater the risk becomes of them rotting. After all, you are keeping the seeds in a warm moist environment to get them to germinate. These conditions, while being great to get seeds to spring into life, they are also perfect for decay to set in.

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Will my old seeds germinate?

One of the things about growing Chillies is that each season you want to grow new varieties. There is so much diversity in Chillies.They come in different colours, shapes. flavours, sizes and a bunch of other differences. This makes it extremely difficult not to try out growing new Chillies.

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Another one bites the dust

In a previous post, I discussed identifying the species of unknown Chillies by their flowers. After writing the post, I decided to try and identify the unknown Chilli that I have ripening under grow lights.  I believe I have succeeded in doing just that, but it was not that easy. I think this time I just got lucky. It certainly wasn’t through any great skill on my part. Read more

Starting seeds early

Why I am starting early?

In a previous post , I mentioned that I would plant seeds for next season far earlier than usual. Usually, I would only begin with seed starting at the end of January. I started even later this year. I certainly won’t be doing that again. The season has not been as good as it could have been. To give my Chillies a more extended season, I’m starting seeds for next year now. In this way, I can avoid running out of time before my Chillies have fully ripened.

I believe, particularly with superhot varieties, there is a greater chance of a harvest in a single season.  Many of these Chillies have lengthy seed to maturity growth rates. Some can take over four months before they bear any fruit. The fruit then has to ripen.  Factor in that ripening depends on the amount of sunshine there is, and you could be waiting for over six months.

I won’t be starting all my seeds now.  For varieties with shorter seed to maturity rates. I will start seeds in line with what most other growers do. I will start these seeds in February. Quicker growing varieties can produce fruit in as little as twenty-two weeks from the date they are sown. For these types of Chillies, it makes sense to start later.  The Chillies I intend to grow that fall into this category include Chilli Trinidad perfumes, Zimbabwe Blacks, Pelita peppers, Malawian Birds – eyes, Apache F1s and Tangerine dreams.

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Using grow lights for more

The Chilli growing season in the United Kingdom is very short. Unless you grow fast growing varieties or Chillies that are cold weather tolerant, it is virtually impossible to take Chillies from seed to maturity in summer alone. It is essential to start seeds indoors well before then.  Many growers start as early as January, and others (me included) start even earlier.

While Chilli seeds can be started in the dark, once they have germinated, they need a source of light.  Unless this is done, the seedlings will become leggy. While this source of light might be a sunny windowsill. I find that grow lights work the best for me.  They not only allow me to start my seeds early, but also are a far more reliable way of doing things.

Besides providing a light source for seedlings, I have now found a new use for grow-lights. In a previous post, I mentioned I am experimenting with grow lights to determine if they speed up ripening. I have lots of Chillies on my plants right now, but I am concerned they may not mature before the end of the season. The experiment is currently in progress. However, it is too early to conclude whether this will help. We will need to wait a bit longer for that.

One thing about doing this experiment has got me thinking more about how to use grow lights in general. There is no reason why grow lights can’t be used, not only to start the season earlier than I might have, but also to prolong it. In this way, I can increase the harvest that I can achieve. It certainly seems like an opportunity not to be missed.

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