If the pests are removed and the affected leaves removed, the plant can sometimes be saved. A: We don't prune our crop plants at the farm. We do sometimes pick off set fruit on small Hungarian Wax plants as they can sometimes get a little preoccupied with developing the first fruit that sets, but this doesn't happen very often. Pruning to re-shape a plant may be needed if it has grown a little too much towards a bright window, or to remove dead growth while over wintering a plant.
As long as you provide good spacing and good light, chilli plants usually develop into a natural bush shape. Q: Can I train my chilli plants like tomatoes? A: If you wanted to train the plants into a more vertical shape, then pruning out the side shoots would be necessary. This is a technique used by large greenhouse pepper growers to maximize the area under glass. Q: I would like to keep my chilli plant over winter, what should I do? A: Chilli plants tend to stop growing and flowering during the winter months in the UK.
Most chilli plants can be treated as perennial house plants, placed on a sunny windowsill and watered with a little tepid water when dry, depending on the room temperature central heating can dry out the plants. If a large plant is coming in from a greenhouse or patio, you may need to prune it to fit the available space. You can lightly prune to re-shape the plant or heavily prune on the main stem. If the plant grew to an ideal size, then a hard pruning will allow it to re-grow with the same fruit cover and size the following season.
Keep the compost just off dry while the plant is dormant and keep it somewhere light, but not with extremes of temperature. In the UK, overwintered plants usually start to become active in March or April, depending on where they are being kept.
Fresh compost in the Spring will help to get them going. A: Drying chillies is more about air circulation than heat, so place them in a well-aired basket and put them somewhere warm — such as over a radiator. Spread the chillies in a thin layer and leave the stalk attached. They should dry out in a few days. Chillies with thick flesh like Jalapenos are not a good choice for drying. A thin-fleshed chilli, like Ring-of-Fire, is an easy chilli to dry.
Once dry, store in an airtight glass jar or tin, and keep out of direct sunlight to preserve the colour and flavour. A: Yes, they freeze very well. To save space in your freezer, chop chillies by hand or in a food processor before freezing and store in thin slabs or ice-cube trays. Q: I would like to collect and save chilli seed for next season, do you have any tips? A: The ideal time to pick a chilli to be used for seed stock is just as it reaches its ripe colour.
Cut the fruit open and with a blunt instrument, scrape the seeds out onto paper. Place the seeds in a warm spot out of direct sunlight until they dry a little — this will prevent them developing mould.
Store wrapped in foil and place the foil wrapper in a tin or glass jar with a lid. The fridge is good if you want to keep the seed for several years, but they should be fine for a couple of years if they are dried a little before storing. To receive occasional updates on growing chillies, subscribe to our newsletter.
A: Most of the heat in a chilli is held in the spongy material that the seeds are connected to. To compare the heat of one hot chilli to another, we usually liquidize a whole fruit in a set amount of water say, 1 litre and then taste a teaspoon of the water to gauge the heat. If you would like a more scientific test result, we can recommend the services of the Scoville Heat Laboratory. Chilli Hotline Trade Become a Stockist Brochure.
Orders Wish list Track my order s. Track my order s. Sign in Register. View basket. Login Register. My Account. Become a Stockist Brochure. Growing Chilli Plants Learn how to grow chilli plants from seeds from the experts. Germination and pricking-out We tend to sow seeds about 5mm deep and in small pots, with a number of seeds of the same variety in each pot.
Hot and Very hot chillies for cooking? Plants for the patio? We recommend a plant with smaller fruits or pliable stems to prevent too much damage from rough weather. Twilight, Aji Limon and Firecracker are good choices. You can grow other varieties, but they may need some support from canes.
What chilli plants are best for hanging baskets? Q: How late in the Spring can I sow chilli seeds? Chilli plants that want to be big like Padron peppers will need better light than small plants like Prairie Fire , so if you only have a small area with good light, use that area for your larger plants Q: When using your plugs, how should I sow them and pot them on?
Q: What compost should I use? Q: Can I use an automatic watering system? Q: How often should I water my plants? Reduce the risk by building up organic matter in the soil and practise crop rotation. If you're growing chillies in pots, simply replace the potting mix each time you replant. They're also prone to blossom end rot.
This is caused by a calcium deficiency and also irregular watering. This can easily be prevented simply by watering regularly and applying a bit of a dressing of dolomite lime. They can also get two spotted mite, which can be controlled by applying a wettable sulphur or spraying with horticultural oil. Of course chillies can be used to add spice to all sorts of dishes.
They can be added fresh, you can add them to oil and vinegar to give them flavour. Ones like Chilli Fire are great to dry to make chilli powder. Anaheim, mild and large, are great for stuffing, or eat them just as they are. Do not worry — your plants will be using much less water during this hibernation-like stage. Up to 2 weeks between watering is fine — just make sure you check that the soil is moist but not damp.
If you are successful, your efforts will be rewarded in many different ways. First of all, when Spring does arrive, your plants already have well established roots balls and stems. Give them a couple of weeks after Spring has arrived and they will start producing new shoots and leaves.
There are both sweet and hot pepper varieties to consider. In addition, you can choose pepper plants that have a shorter height and smaller width. These compact pepper plants are ideal if you want to grow them in containers either indoors or outdoors. If you choose to grow a taller pepper variety, you might want to give them support using tomato cages, stakes, or trellises. For more information, check out my article on trellises.
Before choosing pepper plants, you should also consider the length of your growing season and the time to maturity for the pepper plants you choose. Here are some pepper varieties from Burpee that you can try — the first three are sweet peppers, and the last three are hot peppers.
You do not need two pepper plants to produce fruit. All pepper plants are self-pollinating, which means that the flowers contain both male and female parts. As a result, you only need one pepper plant in order to produce fruit from the plant no cross-pollination is required.
However, keep in mind that self-pollination does not mean guaranteed pollination. If you lack pollinators such as bees in your garden, you may need to use an electric toothbrush to pollinate by hand. For more information, check out my article on pollinating pepper plants. The quality of care that you give your pepper plants will determine how much fruit you get each year. Some of the most important factors are:. Pepper plants are tropical, so they prefer warm temperatures.
Early fall frosts or late spring frosts can spell death for them. When temperatures fall below 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit 13 to 16 degrees Celsius at night, your plants may stop producing fruit.
At the start of the season, you should not transplant peppers outside until nighttime temperatures are consistently above 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit 13 to 16 degrees Celsius. If you already transplanted peppers outside and a frost threatens, check out my article on protecting your pepper plants from cold.
For pepper seed germination, the ideal soil temperature is 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit 18 to 24 degrees Celsius. Avoid letting the soil stay dry for too long, since uneven watering can lead to blossom end rot in peppers. If you find that you have a problem with dry soil, check out my article on how to treat dry soil. On the other hand, over watering your pepper plants can lead to root rot and eventual death.
The best way to decide when to water is to feel the soil with your fingers. If the soil feels dry 2 or 3 inches below the surface, then go ahead and water. For more information, check out my article on over watering your plants. Try to water early in the morning, rather than at night, to allow water to soak into the soil. Avoid getting the leaves wet to prevent rot, mold, and diseases. To avoid getting leaves wet, water from below near the stems at ground level rather than spraying the leaves.
You can also try using drip irrigation to conserve water and save yourself some time and effort. If you do decide to water by hand with a hose or bucket, remember to water deeply and infrequently rather than a little bit every day. Deep and infrequent watering will encourage a stronger root system and a more resilient pepper plant.
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