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How to grow chili peppers the basics !
Are you growing chillies or chilis? Nevermind the different spellings, there are even more shapes, sizes and colours!
IMO
Everybody needs to grow chillis for cooking. Even if you don't like hot food, just a little hint of chilli to warm it up stimulates the taste buds and everything else tastes just so much better. True.
Chilli plants grow into small to medium sized bushes from half a metre to two metres tall. How big they get depends on the species and variety.
There are different species of chillies. Most chillies are grown as annuals even though they can live for a few years in warm climates.
Some chilli varieties are true perennials. Most of the common varieties belong to the species
capsicum annuum, the "annual" species.
(Bell peppers, called capsicums in Australia, also belong to the species
capsicum annuum.)
Chillis have small to medium sized, shiny, dark green leaves. The fruit, the chilli peppers, vary wildly in size and shape.
Chilli peppers are green to start with. Most of them ripen to a rich red, but they can also be orange, yellow, purple or brown.
They may hang down or stand up like little colourful candles. There are even ornamental varieties that are mottled and freckled.
The different chilli types not only vary in size and colour, they also vary in how hot they are! If you grow chillies for the kitchen, choose your variety with care...
Where can you grow chillis?
Chilli plants love heat. They are closely related to capsicums/bell peppers and also related to tomatoes (they are in the same family, the
solanaceae), but chillies prefer their growing conditions a lot hotter.
Chilli seeds need 20°C to germinate, and it should be 30°C or more for the fruit to ripen. Night temperatures should not drop below 15°C. (At least not on a regular basis. The odd cool spell is ok.)
Chillies also don't mind humidity as much as sweet peppers or tomatoes do.
Most people will need to
grow chillis in full sun. In the hottest, sunniest regions chillies still grow well with a bit of shade. Especially afternoon shade can even be beneficial. (The fruit can get sunburned.)
If you live in the tropics or subtropics, great. Your chillies should thrive. Even the "annual" varieties should live for two to three years and they produce fruit all year round.
If your climate is not tropical, don't despair. You can still grow chillies if you get decent summers. And you can
extend the growing season by growing chilis indoors, just like you do with tomatoes.
In fact, chillis are also related to tomatoes, so the growing methods and requirements are similar. Except that chillies need more heat.
People with small gardens or balconies will be pleased to hear that
you can grow chillis in pots.
How to grow chillies from seed
You can buy chilli plants in a nursery or you can grow chillis from seed. The seed needs at least 20°C to germinate.
Start them in early spring in cooler climates or any time during the dry season. (You could start them all year round in the tropics, but it's a good idea to let the plants grow strong before the wet season hits them.)
Chilli plants are usually started in seedling trays or small pots. They are very vulnerable when small and they don't grow all that fast.
Still, I prefer to start mine directly in the ground, because like capsicums chillis don't like being transplanted.
Actually, I only start them in the ground when I have enough seed to allow for a high percentage of fatalities. (I am the laziest gardener I know, so I don't look after my seedlings much.) I usually have enough because I save my own seed.
If I buy seed of a new chilli variety and I get one of those tiny packets with barely a dozen seeds in them, then I start them in pots.
You can plant several chilli seeds per pot. Once your seedlings have a few leaves, snip off the weaker ones and only keep the strongest.
You only want one chilli plant per pot when you plant them out.
Otherwise you will disturb their roots too much and they HATE having their roots disturbed.
If you grow chillies in seedling trays or little punnets, plant them out once they have four to six true leaves (about 5 cm tall). If you don't, their roots will start feeling restricted and it will set them back.
Chillies don't mind growing in bigger pots, so the timing for planting them out is not critical if you use pots. If you live in a cooler climate, use pots. Let them to grow to 10 to 15 cm. Make sure it's warm enough before you put them outside!
Water the chillies before transplanting, so the soil doesn't fall apart when they're removed from the pot. Be VERY careful when removing the seedlings from their pots.
Drop them in a hole in the garden, fill it back in, firm down the soil, water, done.
Inspecting and Testing Seed
OK, you’ve got your seeds home and you’re eager to plant them out. Just step back for a few moments and listen as there is a test that can significantly improve your results at this stage. Get a bowl of water and pour all the seeds you’re intending to plant, into the water. Give it a good swirl with your finger to break the surface tension of the water and ensure that it is not preventing any of the seeds sinking.
Now, any seeds that are still floating are highly unlikely to germinate, due to a variety of factors including malformation and a lack of embryo or kernel. Discard the floaters and then pour the remainders into a sieve to get rid of the water. Now inspect the seeds, with a magnifying glass if you’re really keen, and discard any that look undersized, deformed or damaged.
Getting Your Seeds to Germinate
Even with ideal conditions, getting chilli seeds to germinate can be a slow, irregular business. Talking to both small and large growers in Western Australia you can expect germination to take from one to six weeks, even in the tropical areas. The warning here is; don’t give up too early on your seeds. Just the same as the majority of other plants, chilli seeds need warmth, oxygen, and moisture before germination will occur. Below, I discuss some other factors that may help you increase your success rate planting from seeds. Temperature The ideal temperature for germinating chilli seeds is 22oC to 28oC .
The mini greenhouse I use to germinate chilli seeds. The plants in the pots nearby are curry trees, which I thoroughly recommend to all of you as an ingredient for many asian style dishes.
Fruit Maturity
In the fascinating, but heavily scientific, Capsicum and Eggplant Newsletter that used to be published by the University of Turin (Italy) I found reference to a study carried out in 1986 in Texas on seed from tabasco chillies harvested 150, 195, and 240 days after transplanting. What the scientists R.L. Edwards and F.J. Sundstrom, observed, as expected, was that the seeds from the ripe fruit had a better germination percentage than the seeds from the immature fruit.
What surprised a little more was that the germination percentage decreased as the fruit got older; after achieving 81% germination from the 150 day old plants, the percentage dropped to 63% for the 240 day old plants. To summarise these results, the study suggests that seeds from newly ripened chillies will have the highest percentage of successful seed germinations. If harvested too far either side of becoming ripe, you risk decreased seed germination performance.
Several other studies have shown drying of the seeds for 2-4 months after harvesting significantly increases germination percentages, whether dried within the chilli or separately.
Dormancy
Another factor that affects chilli seed germination is a mechanism called dormancy which is common in many plant types. This is an obvious self defense mechanism that prevents the seed germinating in Autumn only to be exposed to the risks of winter and possible seedling death. All chillies are perennials however, unless you live in the tropics, they will behave as annuals and the inherent dormancy in both the seeds and the plants will vary between the varieties.
Growing chilli plants in soils
Chillies grow in a variety of soils. Like most plants they grow better in rich soils and produce more fruit, but they will grow in any reasonably fertile soil and don't need any special treatment. If you use plenty of mulch and compost in your garden the chillies will grow just fine.
If your soil is poor, you'll have to
fertilize your chillies. (And start using more mulch and compost...)
When fertilizing chillies keep in mind that, like their relatives and indeed most fruiting plants, chillies like potassium. Too much nitrogen will make them grow lots of soft leaves and no fruit.
It is important to
keep your chilli plants well watered and mulched. Mulch not only improves soil over time, it also protects it from drying out.
Chillies have such a tough and hardy image, people often don't realize how sensitive they are when it comes to lack of water. Make sure your chillies have plenty and never dry out.
At the same time, don't overwater. The soil should be free draining. Chillies don't grow in swamps.
Problems when growing chillies
Chillies have weak branches. If they are loaded with fruit they can snap off. The whole plants are prone to branches drooping on the ground and breaking off, so you may want to give them some support.
(I don't. I just cut off the broken branches and the bush grows new ones. Chillies don't mind if you prune them.)
A stake will also prevent the whole plant from toppling over, which also happens because their roots are only shallow and not very strong.
Root know nematodes can cause the plant to weilt and die for no obvious reason. However, root knot nematodes are a sign of very poor soils. If you add lots of compost and mulch to your garden you shouldn't have any trouble.
Other than that chillies grow happily and aren't bothered much by any pests or diseases. If they struggle it's usually a sign that the soil is not as fertile as you thought.
Did I mention that compost and mulch is great stuff?
Harvesting chilli peppers
Chillies are quick to fruit and flower. How quick depends on the variety and on the temperature.
You can harvest the first chillis green once they reach full size. Or you wait until they turn red, or whatever colour they are supposed to turn.
If you plan to dry them for chili powder or flakes, you can even leave them on the bush until they shrivel up and dry.
To harvest fresh chillies cut or pull off the mature fruit while it's still shiny and plump.
If you pull it off, pull it upwards, exactly opposite to the direction in which it bends down. Then it should snap off at the joint, without breaking off the whole branch. Otherwise just snip them off.
The fruit will last in a sealed bag in the fridge for up to a week.
You can dry it in the dryer or sun dry it, you could also just string it up and hang it up to dry in an airy spot.
Pound it to flakes or put it in the blender to make cayenne pepper and chili powder.
Harvesting:
http://www.chillisgalore.co.uk/pages/growingtips.html
Check your variety for the mature pod size and then as they reach full size, the pod should feel firm and look fairly glossy, if it still feels soft to the touch it is still immature. Pods can be picked early but they really need to be fully developed to develop their full flavour and heat. The best time to pick chillis for drying is just when they start to change colour. This picking will stimulate the plant to produce more flowers and eventually chillis, and the picked chillis will continue to ripen as they dry, even totally green chillis may ripen to completely red after being picked.
Picked chillis will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator if kept in a sealed container. When using some of the hotter chillis they are best prepared wearing gloves when removing the seeds and inner pith, as any contact with the skin afterwards will cause burning when you touch your face or any other delicate parts, which is inevitable, take my word for it, washing with water afterwards will not remedy the situation.
Drying is the oldest and most common way to preserve chillis. Avoid any damaged, pitted or marked chillis as they may mould before drying and infect others. On a dry hot day spread the chillis out on a metal container to collect the heat, which will speed up the process, or string them up through their stalks and hang out. Here in the UK we have successfully dried out string of chillis in about 2 weeks, weather depending, if the weather turns out bad midway through gather them up and lay on a metal sheet on top of the boiler or hang in the airing cupboard . A quicker way is simply to buy a home dehydrator which will speed things up. Once completely dried store in airtight bags in the dark or remove the seeds and grind down either to a fine powder or coarse flakes.
Saving Seeds:
Keep a couple of ripe chillis for next years crop. Hang the chillis in a dry atmosphere and then when dried out, collect all the seeds and seal in an envelope, label up and keep in a dry cool dark place for following year. Unless you have only grown one type of chilli in your greenhouse, or isolated a species, it is likely that most of your plants will have cross pollinated especially the annums, therefore the following year will not give a true variety. Germination may not be as high as bought treated seeds but enough seeds from a couple of plants should yield a satisfactory number of plants for the next season, if you're only growing for enjoyment and culinary uses, does it really matter if you get a slightly different cross pollinated strain. The degree of cross pollination, will be influenced by a number of factors, closeness of plants, amount of insects and if growing outside wind conditions, to ensure no cross pollination occurs plants must be completely isolated or grown winsome kind of mesh canopy.
A word of warning
You don't need to eat chillies for them to burn you!
Just wait till you get Habanero chilli juice under your fingernails for the first time...
When cutting fresh chillies, make sure to scrub your hands well after. Don't touch your skin and especially don't touch your eyes! The hottest chillies can make you go blind. I am not kidding.
When working with dry chilli be VERY careful not to breathe in any powder. Also don't get it in your eyes.
http://www.chillies-down-under.com/s...s-complete.pdf