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Grow Your Own Chillies
Chilli plants love the sun and ideally they would like to be sitting in hot sunshine all day with seasonal tropical showers to keep them watered. The English weather doesn't always provide these conditions, but here are our handy growing tips to make sure you get the most from your plants.
Pre-Germination
- Grow seeds indoors or under glass
Chilli plants are naturally found in the relatively warm climes of South America and Asia however growing chillies can be done successfully in the northern hemisphere. In order to get a decent harvest the seeds need to be started off either indoors or under glass.
- Avoid the frost
By April it may seem to be warming up outside but it's not uncommon for it to get frosty overnight. Chillies will not survive the frost so young seedlings need to be kept indoors or under glass until the end May/June.
- Give them space
When planting chilli seeds aim to space them about 5cms apart in normal multi purpose compost, ideally mixed with some plant feeder.
Then lightly cover the seeds with about 0.5cm of compost and spray the tray lightly with water.
- Check them daily
Seeds sound be checked every day and sprayed gently with water if they look a bit dry. The aim is to prevent the compost from drying out rather than keeping it wet so if you touch the soil and it feels damp, there is no need to water. Overwatering chillies can be just as damaging as not watering.
- Be patient
The time taken for seeds to germinate varies between differnt varieties of plant. For example Apache or jalapeno usually germinate in anything between 1-3 weeks. Other varieties such as Habenero may take up to 6 weeks or longer.
Post-Germination
- Give them light
Once seeds have germinated they need light. If you are keeping them indoors, make sure they are positioned next to the sunniest window, or in a conservatory. If seedlings are having to grow up quickly to try and reach more light you will end up with spindly plants that will be difficult to plant out.
- Re-pot the plants
Once the seedlings have developed their second set of leaves it is time to re-pot them.
Be careful not to damage the seedlings at this stage as the plants are still very delicate. One good tip is to avoid touching the roots altogether by re-potting the area of compost around the seedlings roots. By doing this hopefully you will avoid damaging the roots of the plant.
Some plants may need re-potting again before they are ready to be planted outside. A general rule of thumb is to only re-pot when roots are appearing through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pots.
- Harden off before planting outside
Once the risk of frost passes you can put the plants outside. Initially you might want to harden them off by placing outside for just a few hours a day. This will get the plants used to outdoor conditions like wind and direct sunlight that they won't have experienced indoors.
- Beware of pests
During the early stages of growth, chilli plants are susceptible to pests like aphids. You can protect your plants using pesticides, alternatively Ladybirds are the natural predators to aphids, you can attract ladybirds into your garden with an Anjon Chillies Ladybird House.
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