Growing Chilli peppers, also Hot peppers

Capsicum sp. : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Mar	May	Jun
S
	T	T
	P	P

(Best months for growing Chilli peppers in USA - Zone 5a regions)

S = Plant undercover in seed trays
T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
P = Sow seed

Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 64°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
Space plants: 16 - 20 inches apart
Harvest in 9-11 weeks. Wear gloves to pick 'hot' chillies.
Compatible with (can grow beside): Best grown in a separate bed as chillies need plenty of light and air circulation.

Your comments and tips

10 Feb 18, Desiree (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): Hi I planted habeneros and jalepenos but the insects are eating the leaves, any natural insecticide I can use
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11 Feb 19, Andy (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): fill a drum with kakie bush then fill with water, after 1 week put the water on it. Problem gone Happy planting
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06 Oct 18, RL (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): Pour boiling water over a handful of chopped up tomato leaves and 3 subsections of garlic. Allow to infuse for 24 hours then remove vegetable matter, add a drop of dish washing liquid and spray on chilli leaves about once a week. If you want to get fancy you can also add a drop of linseed oil to the mix but I've found it works fine without.
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18 Mar 18, hain (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): you could use the chilly itself to deter the pests .............you take the fruit pulp it and pour warm water over the pulp let it stew for a few minutes ......one cup to one fruit ...........and use a bottle sprayer to spray the whole plant making sure o spray the underside of the leaves too............that should hold the pests at bay for a while if not working the up your ratio of fruit to water.... hopefully that works well
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30 Nov 17, George Tsui (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Blueberry dying: After growing in pot for nearly a year, my Blueberry starting to die, can some advise me why???
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10 Jan 18, Edward S (Australia - temperate climate): Check your soil pH. Blueberries require acidic soil. If pH>5.5, add peatmoss to the soil. Also, try not to water with tap water. Tap water is alkaline. Water with rainwater.
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03 Dec 17, Mike (Australia - temperate climate): Why would you ask about blueberries in the chilli section? I have no idea - water, heat ????. Google how to grow blueberries.
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29 Nov 17, Lalita patel (New Zealand - temperate climate): How many chilli plants will grow in a medium size pot
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02 Dec 17, Hamsa Lingam (Australia - cool/mountain climate): You can sow up to 10 seeds but you must transplant when it is about 10 cm to individual pots for the plant to grow and give abundant chillies
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21 Nov 17, William R (Australia - tropical climate): Anyone growing orange habaneros in Cairns? Looking for seeds or seedlings. Cheers William
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Showing 131 - 140 of 432 comments

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Replying to:

Tammi - could be mice or rats, they can do this also. Its happened to me in Perth. Megan - Chillies will only grow vigourously during the warmer months, depending on where you are, they will either slow down, go dormant, or die altogether, depening on how cold it gets, a severe frowst will kill them. Wait until summer, they will flower all over, and give you lots of fruit. If you want a hotter chilli, water them less, let them dry out a little (but not all the way). A stressed plant will give hotter fruit. If you want hotter fruit still, get a different variety. Look for a chinense variety. Gareth - Most people raise chillies in punnets/starter pots, then into medium pots (10-15 cm across at the top), then onto final larger pots or garden beds when they have outgrown the medium one. You can tell when they are ready to be moved as they will have roots coming out the bottom. Julie - feed them with tomato food, probably in liquid form, is pretty good for flowering chillies, also, mulch and compost the soil if you can. Murray - depending on the variety, chillies can take up to 6 weeks to germinate, and they also need warm humid conditions to do so. Chillies are originally grown in warmer humid places, so they better you can recreate this, the happier they are. Keep them moist, (but not wet or soggy), perhaps put half a coke bottle over them to keep the humidity up, put them somewhere warm, they dont need sunlight to germinate, so the top of the fridge will do. When they do germinate, move them to a sunny windowsill or similar until they are ready to be hardened off to go outside. Michael - an NPK ratio of 10-5-10 for when they are growing works well, then 5-10-10 for flowering, if using bought fertilizers. Otherwise, a well composted mix of garden waste should work well, with some animal manure thrown in. Dont forget to mulch the soil to stop evaporation.

- Simon

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Growing Chilli peppers, also Hot peppers

Capsicum sp. : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Your comments and tips

Gardenate

Keep your garden growing - see what to plant right now

Growing Chilli peppers, also Hot peppers

Capsicum sp. : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Your comments and tips

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