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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16 Mar 17, Marie (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Hello, we had the first frost this morning, my plant is full of big green chilies, is it now time to pick all my chilies or will they still turn red? Also how do i save chilie sead for next year?
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17 Mar 17, Jack (Australia - temperate climate)
If the chillies are hit by frost they are likely to rot. I suggest pulling the plants out by the roots and hanging them upside down in a protected spot. This works with tomatoes and at least you would redeem some or most of them. To save seed cut or flick them out and let them dry on some paper towel. Store them in a paper bag or envelope with the name and date on it.
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14 Feb 17, Neville Tonkin (Australia - temperate climate)
Where can I obtain large numbers of chilli and pepper seedlings ?
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15 Jul 17, mick (Australia - temperate climate)
Why would you waste money when you can buy some chilies let them dry off for maybe a week and then put into water for a day. After that rub through a sieve to separate seeds, let them dry in a shady spot and a couple of weeks later plant out in a seed tray with a sandy mix. When 5 cm high plant in the garden in a sunny spot and mulch well. Start the process in mid winter and I'm sure you'll get a heap of chilies late summer. Be warned though the plants die in prolonged cold conditions from my experience so choose an appropriate spot which gets sun all year around if possible as the plants will produce like mad in the second year if you can nurse them through the winter. Good luck.
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15 Feb 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)
Around Melbourne and in some regional areas of Victoria there are commercial seedling growers who grow seedlings in trays of about 200 per tray. These growers will often sell trays of seedlings from the nursery as a cash sale. Look up 'seedling nurseries' on the internet or send me an email and I will help you. Trust this helps.
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01 Jan 17, Lynne Adams (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Do I nip top stems off to increase side stems and fruit
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02 Feb 17, Karen (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Yes. Not counting the seed leaves I generally let the plant grow to about 8 true leaves then remove the lower 2 (ventilation space under growing plant) and cut the stem leaving 4 true leaves. This results in a stronger stem, more side shoots = more fruit. This works well for me growing one plant per 15L container.
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07 Jan 17, Peter (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
If you nip off the stem they will be sturdier plants and I have found they do produce more fruit.
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23 Nov 16, gordon bates (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
how long will fruit begin to grow after flowering
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29 Oct 16, Vanessa (Australia - temperate climate)
Can i plant cayenne pepper seeds direct in the garden bed now that its a bit warmer?
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Showing 161 - 170 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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