Growing Chilli peppers, also Hot peppers

Capsicum sp. : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
    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

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17 Jul 17, Eric Nelson (Australia - tropical climate)
I'm actually in Thailand but your site doesn't list that. Having a hard time growing chilies here and looking for any hints. Soil has plenty of nutrients but does not dry out due to the rains and clay underlayer. At this point I'm thinking of adding sand to the soil to aid in drainage. I've dug a hole in the garden down to the clay layer and filled it with water. It drained within 5 minutes so it's really about my topsoil quality. Thanks!
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16 Apr 19, Sylvia (USA - Zone 9a climate)
Sand would be too heavy. You need to add compost or other organic matter into the soil when planting. To loosen soilup. Chilies/peppers do better in soil pH 6.5 to 7.0. Helpful info link https://bonnieplants.com/how-to-grow/growing-peppers/
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09 Jul 17, Allen Payne (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I've planted chillies that keep flowering but no fruit, do you have an idea of what I'm doing wrong. They are healthy!
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19 Jul 17, muchaco (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Need to shake the pollen out of the flowers. Probably not many bees around
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15 Jul 17, Darren (Australia - temperate climate)
Try a little potash around the plants when flowering. Watered in, this should help promote fruiting.
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30 May 17, Allen (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I've planted a row of chillo's all bar one are small bushes producing limited fruit but my healthyist plant is a good size but just keeps flowering with no fruit at all. Any ideas what's wrong.
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02 Apr 17, Greg (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
I use tomato fertilizer and it works well for me.I grow chilli in pots inagreen house.
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30 Mar 17, Guy (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
What fertilizer are people using in New Zealand? I see a lot of sites recommending a 10-10-10 or a 5-10-5, most of NZ fertilizer seem to be high nitrogen.
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31 Mar 17, (Australia - arid climate)
I use this in temperate Queensland. General all round fert for garden and lawn. Bit low in P but I add a bit more. Go to a farmers fert depot and ask. Buy a 25kg bag, a lot cheaper than shops. $25 for 25 kg at the moment. In a shop 3x the price the other day for 3 kg. CROP KING 88. The fertilizer name. N-P-K-15-4.3-11.3. These indicate that it contains 15% nitrogen, 4. 3% phosphorus and 11. 3% potassium. The forms in which the nutrients are present are indicated in the following table: 15% Nitrogen (N) Ammonia form 4.1% Phosphorus (P) Water Soluble 0.1% Phosphorus (P) Citrate Soluble 0.1% Phosphorus (P) Citrate Insoluble 4.3% Phosphorus (P) Total 11.3% Potassium as Muriate of Potash (i.e. the chloride form) 13.6% Sulphur (S) as Sulphates  48.5%   The remaining 51.5% is made up of elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and carbon that are part of the chemical compounds that contain the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrients.
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31 Mar 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)
Maybe I am biased but I wouldn't use chemical fertilisers like you mention as they destroy soil life. Healthy soil teeming with soil life is the answer. Build your soil up with old manure, compost and any organic matter and 'numbers' won't be necessary.Use crop rotation starting with a leaf crop after you have added manure, etc to the soil. When the leaf crop is finished plant a fruit crop (beans, capsicum, tomatoes zucchini, etc), then finally a root veg crop. Re-fertilise the soil ready to start the cycle again. plants need more than N-P-K and organic matter will achieve this, building up the soil life, increasing the capacity of the soil to hold water, increasing disease resistance and making more micro-nutrients available to your plants. adding some lime in late autumn or winter will also help. Trust this helps.
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Showing 151 - 160 of 432 comments
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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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