Advices On How To Grow Chili Peppers

Well known chillies are for example Cherry pepper, Cayenne, Jalapeño, Habanero etc. Their strength is measured in scovilles. There is very mild one called Yellow wax pepper which can reach up to 500 scoviles and there is Datil reaching up to 300.000 scovilles. You can try with different types and plant them at the same time.

Here are some helpful advices on how to grow them at home.

1. When to plant
If you’ll plant chilli peppers in your garden, try to find a plot that gets full sun. You can grow them outside from May or when all the frost danger is over. If you decide to plant the seeds you can start few months earlier indoors.

The best time to do the planting would be in the morning or afternoon. Choose a sunny day though.

2. Planting

It is not difficult to grow chili peppers from the seeds. You can speed up seeds germination by placing a clear thicker plastic bag over the top of the pot and tighten it with an elastic band. When planting your chili peppers into the ground put them around 18 inch apart to avoid crowding. Plant them with some of the stem under the soil.

3. Soil

Chilli roots need air so take care for a proper drainage. That is even more important if you live in an area where there is a lot of rain. You can mix a bit of a sand into your soil. For the best outcome the soil should have a neutral or slightly acidic pH around 6.5 and plenty of nutrients. After the first planting, give the chilies a bit of extra water to avoid transplant shock.

4. Waterings

When watering your chillies do it thoroughly and deeply rather then often and shallow. Chilli peppers will thrive best when their soil is moist, but not soaking wet so make sure it will dry up before next watering. Too much water will drown out the chillies and cause them to grow less fruit. It is also better to use water that has stood for 24 hours.

5. Sunlight

Chilli peppers can grow almost anywhere but they prefer warm conditions. They are actually true heat lovers and they grow most successfully when they get plenty of sun. Chillies need at least six hours of sun daily in order to produce strong stocky plants.

6. Fertilizer

It is recommended to incorporate light and well-drained compost into your soil a few weeks before planting. If potassium is not already present in sufficient amounts, then you’ll notice a significant growth improvement on your chilli pepper plants if you add it to their soil. You can also use liquid fertiliser.

7. Growth in pots

With the right conditions, chillies can do brilliantly in containers. When they grow bigger, they will need to be transplanted into a larger pot but do it gradually. It is better if you replant them several times then change really small pot for 5 liter one.

8. Harvesting

You can remove your chili peppers from the plants with a sharp knife. It is highly recommended to harvest them regularly because then the plant puts all of the energy into producing more fruits. Any type of chillies can easily be dried or frozen so that you can use it all year around. If you’re planing to make chili powder it would be better if you leave them on the branch to dry up.

9. Pests and diseases

It is possible that you will discover aphids or Whitefly on your chili pepper plants. Another thing that can occur is grey mould. It is most common for densely sown crops and in wet conditions. If you see it, remove the infected parts.

10. No fruits

Sometimes it happens that the plant doesn’t produce fruit. The majority of chili peppers require insect pollination. If that doesn’t happen especially when you grow your chilies in a greenhouse, you can do a hand pollination.

 Use moistened paintbrush and pick up some pollen produced on the stamens then transfer it to another flowers center. The best time is few hours after noon.