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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18 Nov 16, John (Australia - temperate climate)
Yes. That is what would happen naturally. Don't cover the seeds too deeply and mke sure they do not dry out.
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18 Sep 16, jordan (Australia - tropical climate)
My bigger chillies going well but just the small ones 4inch chilli leaves curling upwards especially tips which grow tiny so I pull off and then lower leaves grow regrowth but top repeated itself tops are tiny and curled live in cairns queensland
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24 Sep 16, Bob Dobbs (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Your chillies probably have an attack of 'Broad Mite'. I grow a lot of chillies and frequently have to spray for these mite. The small leaves curl up and stop growing. Ask your local nursery what they recommend as a spray and make sure that you spray the under side of the leaves, as that is where they will be. I do not use organic sprays but prefer not to recommend anything in writing. Bob
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17 Sep 16, Paul (Canada - Zone 4b Temperate Warm Summer climate)
I have many green chili peppers on my plant, and frost is around the corner. If I harvest the green chili peppers, and bring them in the house, will they turn mature into red chili peppers?
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21 Aug 16, Freeman (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Hi plz give me the following information.I can i plant chilie during summer and winter? And chilies are on markets.
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16 Jul 16, Mark Rogers (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
What is the preffered time to sow Habenero seeds
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01 Oct 16, May (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Hot chillies need a long growing season, so as early as possible in spring would be good, although soil temperature may be too cool still for them to germinate. So best, I think, is to start them indoors, in seed trays, at the very start of spring, using heating if possible to get them going and then planting outside as soon as they are strong enough and it is warm enough. You can sow seeds later during the growing season also if you have a plan to pull them through winter, because they're perennial and that way you'll have strong plants that can start producing asap when the next growing season starts.
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02 Jul 16, Gordon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Best time to prune and what type of fertiliser
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26 Jun 16, Julie (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I have Bischops Crown, Jalapeño, Hungarian Hot Wax and Zim Birds Eye chilies growing in my veggie garden. They grow well and bear a lot of chilies, however the birds seems to love nipping at all of them except the Birds Eyes. Is there anything I can do to deter them, they take a bite out of every chili and leave the bushes looking terrible.
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17 Jul 16, (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Birds, the feathered variety, are a big problem in my area of Centurion. I brought the winter surviving plants into the north facing patio and in pots this year and the birds are waiting at the front door already in mid-July as I begin to plant out the August plantings, but this year, I am blesseed with glass houses. Last season,, when birds became a major nuisance, I found some old CD discs and hung these up on strings from the surrounding trees just above the vegetable garden. It worked just as well as shade/ frost cloth that I removed. Secondly, my wife and I adopted a cat, this worked even better!. Good luck!
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Showing 171 - 180 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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