As the popularity of growing chillies increases so does the bewildering number of varieties out there. One great way to experiment with growing different varieties is to save seeds from your current plants and swap seeds with fellow chilli growers. You can even experiment by trying to cross pollinate your plants and create new varieties….
The weather at the minute is very changeable to say the least. After a heat wave in March we had a very wet and cold Easter and it seemed summer was never going to arrive. Chillies flourish in consistent growing conditions so such variable temperature of Spring pose a bit of a challenge to us…
The Serrano seeds from Wahaca that I planted in the first week in January are looking really healthy. As mentioned before i wish i’d only planted one seed per cell as I don’t enjoy thinning out seedlings. As you can see in the shot below some of the Wahaca seed sticks had up to 5…
For the last 3 years i’ve been using a home made light box to help increase the early season growth of my chillies. I’ve mentioned the box before but never really gone into a lot of detail about how it’s made. In this post i’ll break down the components used in it ans explain how i made…
One problem i face every year is what to do with my chilli plants when I go away for a few days during the summer. It can be soul destroying to put so much effort into nurturing your chilli plants right through the winter and spring only to have them fry during a hot summers…
Its getting to that time of year when plants start dying back and the garden starts to look a bit scruffy. I tend to grow a lot of potted plants, not just chillies so at this time of the year I have large quantities of dead plants, root balls and other garden waste to dispose…
One of the most important things you need to do to maximize the growth of your chilli plants, particularly in early spring when the days are short, is to maximize the amount of light they are getting. Without large amounts of light growth rates slow down and the number of ripe chillies you can harvest…
It’s that time of year when I start to think about germinating chilli seeds and planting up ready for the season ahead. I’ve had a few requests from readers to describe the best way to germinate chilli seeds so I thought i’d share the guide below. The Wet Tissue Method I have found this to…
Can you freeze chillies? Yes. All varieties of chilli pepper freeze extremely well and keep for 12 months or more. Frozen chillies can be used straight from frozen in any cooked dish. To freeze chilli peppers: wash and dry thoroughly, spread on a baking tray in a single layer and freeze for 2 hours until…