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2018 Chilli Growing


lord_seagrave
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Hi all,

I’m just cracking my knuckles and limbering up for the 2018 veg growing season, and I’m conscious that this will be the first year I’ll be growing chillis.

 

Lady Seagrave and I like hot food, but we’re not crazy chilliheads, and so I’ve selected “Red Basque” from realseeds.co.uk as the one for us - looks like a good compromise between heat and taste.

 

There’s no greenhouse at Scandi Hüt (the latest New Seagrave Towers) so whatever I grow will only get as much protection as my homemade cold frames afford. I jumped the gun with my runner beans and tomatoes last year, and they got a bashing by some cool nights, so I don’t want to get caught out with my chillis.

 

SO, am I still too early to fire up the propagator (20th January), or should I just crack on?

I’ve got 18 seeds, and there’s room outside for up to 5 plants in total.

All advice gratefully received. Feel free to pile on with general chilli inspo/advice.

 

LS

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Mines been in a week but plenty time yet.

Have overwintered 4 in the kitchen,ones a 2nd winter plant and about deceased but the others are fine and in fact one is still producing the odd fruit and another has around a dozen new flowers but not sure if they will fruit or drop.

Have seeded 6 varieties and will but a few others as plants in the spring and hoping for a better summer than last year.

 

As an aside,even with all this frost and poor weather im still getting green tomatoes out of the greenhouse and ripening inside.The plants are on their last legs but still the odd fruit.

 

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My best tip is after a few failures is to germinate the seeds in airing cupboard end Jan as they need a long growing season. What i now do every year is a piece of kitchen paper wet under the tap & lay on worktop. On half the sheet lay your seeds in grid formation about 1" apart. Now fold the other half  back on top, put into ziplock bag & pin to hot water tank in airing cupboard. With in 2 weeks you should see little horns coming out of seed. Now very carefully pick out of paper & pot up.

General tips are never outside till frost gone, do not over water, water only when dry or leaves droop a bit, my best result are in pots in greenhouse, they don't seem to like open ground?? Feed every 2 weeks with tommy food. When picked i just freeze whole in freeze bag, still using 3 year old chillies. 'Scotch Bonnets' are all i grow now as give me consistent results!  Good luck!

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On 21 January 2018 at 10:18, sako751sg said:

Mines been in a week but plenty time yet.

Have overwintered 4 in the kitchen,ones a 2nd winter plant and about deceased but the others are fine and in fact one is still producing the odd fruit and another has around a dozen new flowers but not sure if they will fruit or drop.

Have seeded 6 varieties and will but a few others as plants in the spring and hoping for a better summer than last year.

 

As an aside,even with all this frost and poor weather im still getting green tomatoes out of the greenhouse and ripening inside.The plants are on their last legs but still the odd fruit.

 

I've a few 2nd winter survivors on the kitchen sill, still producing fruits. I'll give them a wee feed in a couple of weeks and hopefully they'll produce a few more chills whilst my new seeds get going. 

Not planted any new seeds yet, first week of February usually for me. That way there's a bit of heat for an hour or so if the sun puts in an appearance. 

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2 hours ago, Uilleachan said:

I've a few 2nd winter survivors on the kitchen sill, still producing fruits. I'll give them a wee feed in a couple of weeks and hopefully they'll produce a few more chills whilst my new seeds get going. 

Not planted any new seeds yet, first week of February usually for me. That way there's a bit of heat for an hour or so if the sun puts in an appearance. 

I gave mine a feed about a fortnight ago and im presuming this is what has made one flower so much.

Im doubting they will fruit and more likely fall but there is still the odd chilli there.

I overwintered some last Xmas and in April the fruit on them was unbelievable but when i put in the greenhouse in June it just demolished them and they never recovered.Presuming it was the stress from a constant temp in the kitchen to extreme in the greenhouse but not sure.

Ive to trail and error with my chillis as still pretty green with them but learning every year.

So far ive one tray seeded and will do another next month and pick the stronger ones to plant out and as you say plenty of time yet.

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Im hoping I can get the greenhouse erected at the new house this spring to be involved this year but I fear it could be 2019. A few years ago I really got into growing chillis but this year it may have to be a garden centre bought plant. Good luck to all.

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21 hours ago, sako751sg said:

I gave mine a feed about a fortnight ago and im presuming this is what has made one flower so much.

Im doubting they will fruit and more likely fall but there is still the odd chilli there.

I overwintered some last Xmas and in April the fruit on them was unbelievable but when i put in the greenhouse in June it just demolished them and they never recovered.Presuming it was the stress from a constant temp in the kitchen to extreme in the greenhouse but not sure.

Ive to trail and error with my chillis as still pretty green with them but learning every year.

So far ive one tray seeded and will do another next month and pick the stronger ones to plant out and as you say plenty of time yet.

Yeah shifting the plant likely did for it. The feed does bring on the flowering. Because of my location I wait for the sun to get above the top of the adjacent hill before I feed them, so beginning of February for a few hours sun per day, when the flowers appear I use a cotton bud to hand fertilise, which works in leu of creepy crawlies.  

I may order something a little more interesting for this year....  

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Seeds been in 11 days and have started transplanting the toms in to pots,keep them deep so they dont get too leggy.

Will keep on the sunny cill and keep the chilli tray warmer until they germinate too.I dont grow anything in the propagator and just single cell trays and they seem to start off fine.

 

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About half way through the varieties and most things germinated no problem although some of the old chilli seeds have failed but will give them another week.

Very lucky here this last fortnight with loads of sun and the toms especially are going to be stronger than my usual and are spreading where as the last couple of years they have been leggy and the hours in the greenhouse with good light is making a difference.

 

Just edited to say we had the last of the seasons tomatoes yesterday sliced on some toast.Picked from the plants in the greenhouse about a fortnight ago and ripened inside and they were delicious.

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Edited by sako751sg
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I’ve had four out of six Red Basque germinate in the propagator, and they are now very much enjoying the sunshine on the windowsill.

My tomatoes will all be grown outside, so I shall leave it until almost the end of the month before sowing them. I don’t want them to get too big and comfortable before I put them out later in the year.

Not to deviate too much, but I am really looking forward to this year’s toms, as most will be from seed saved from last year’s crop. Some I know are open-pollinated, but one (that made delicious big, brown tomatoes) was bought from a stall on the side of the road, and I’ve got no idea if it is heirloom or F1...! :hmmm: 

 

LS

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  • 3 weeks later...

Fenman, I don't suppose you'd be tempted to sell a couple of young plants would you? After giving up the allotment a few years back I don't have the potting shed and window sill space for me is in the upstairs man cave but has a plethora of items on there already. Mrs H would have an opinion if I tried growing them on another. I usually get mine from a local garden centre and to say they underachieve would be an understatement. We have a direct south facing garden with 6'+ fences each side a nice high wall to the bottom. It is a real sun trap so should be perfect for chillies but I've always put it down to how they've been started off. I count myself successful if I have one that goes from green to yellow.

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Hi Doc, mine have 2 leaves on now & this year for the 1st time only done what i will need but have over 50 Scotch Bonnet seeds in the cupboard. Its still not to late to to start germinating, if you want i can germinate dozen for you that would need potting up in a round 2 weeks, these would be easier to post to you. Let me know if any use?

 

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1 hour ago, Doc Holliday said:

Fenman, I don't suppose you'd be tempted to sell a couple of young plants would you? After giving up the allotment a few years back I don't have the potting shed and window sill space for me is in the upstairs man cave but has a plethora of items on there already. Mrs H would have an opinion if I tried growing them on another. I usually get mine from a local garden centre and to say they underachieve would be an understatement. We have a direct south facing garden with 6'+ fences each side a nice high wall to the bottom. It is a real sun trap so should be perfect for chillies but I've always put it down to how they've been started off. I count myself successful if I have one that goes from green to yellow.

If you want some seeds ive some spare of various if you want Doc.

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Of the four that germinated, only three have kept up the pace. I’ve topped up their cells with fresh compost, and will give them a little drink of very diluted tomatorite tomorrow now that their are two ‘real’ leaves on them.

 

I’ll start the next batch off in a fortnight (knowing my luck, every single one will germinate!), and my tomatoes (soooo many varieties!) early next month. This forecast cold snap has scared me right off!

 

LS

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Everything looking fit and healthy and have the final plantings done yesterday so that should be my lot.

Have just topped up the bigger toms and chillies so should get fine and strong from here.

Over wintered plants are still fruiting and one especially has just erupted in flowers which in the main are going to fruit and very lucky to have a great portion of most days being sunny which all plants are making the most of..

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Impressed with the overwintered ones and I might just try it for this season though it might be difficult keeping them in a heated space so it will be weather dependent.  One variety took 10 months to reach the properly ripened stage so there will be benefits.  Mine are all still in situ under glass but dead but it has been an excellent way of preserving them and depending on variety they have either dried out nicely or are still quite fresh and juicy.    I'm about to pot on so will have to go through the agonising stage of discarding the spares; less this year as I overdid it last.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just under a fortnight gone and progress is very good with the plants way stronger than the last couple of days.

If its sunny they get put outside to the greenhouse which is helping a lot i think and im trying not to stake in the hope they get stronger instead of leggier.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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