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 Nov 14, Pieta (Australia - temperate climate)
Hello Some great reading, thanks. I am in Brisbane, Australia and have over 300 chillies, approx. 50+ varieties. I germinate from seeds either purchased or swapped with other chilli heads. I really find germinating in a heated propagander the most successful way for me. Once they shoot, I introduce heat lamps, when the 2nd/3rd set of leaves appear I move them to my greenhouse. Give them a feed every couple of weeks with seasonal and powerfeed and happy, healthy chillies start to grow
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08 Nov 14, wayne (Australia - temperate climate)
I have several varieties of chillies, they reseed every year.I then rotate to another bed or large pot to which I add compost and old manure, mix well.I then transplant the reseeded plants to the new bed or pot. After that it's water and liquid fertilizer. I'm never short of chillies, I dry them and jalapeno I pickle in vinegar (make your own concoction, add herbs,garlic whatever) They are delicious. So the idea is let some of your chillies fall to the ground and they will germinate when ready. Also if you make a little hot house over your plants they will keep going. I've had them up to three seasons. Enjoy
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23 Oct 14, Sue (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi, I have got white sticky stuff on the leaves of my chilli plant and the chives next to them have also now. I am away on our boat and don't know what to treat it with, I have vinegar on board? Or do I just try to wash it off with mild detergent? Appreciate your advice,
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10 Oct 14, Dudley Randa;; (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Hi. My chilli plants growing shoots are all withering and curling up. Can someone help me with a treatment. Spider mite spray doesn't seem to help
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13 Sep 14, sheree (Australia - tropical climate)
We have a chilli plant and the chilli has not grown. They are red but only about a centermetre long and starting to shrivel up. What are we doing wrong?
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16 Nov 14, wayne (Australia - temperate climate)
could be shutting down because of the cold. Plant more now they will grow well as the temp increases. Mine are flowering now and the fruit will be growing by xmas. Ref my post from the 8th nov. They are a summer fruit
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08 Sep 14, Mahesh (Australia - temperate climate)
I have planted chilli seeds they were transplanted in pots but they don't seem to grow fast but remains the same. Can you please help me out. You may email me the answer wu.ith the solution.
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09 Sep 14, (Australia - temperate climate)
I found capsicum/chilli plants to be very cold sensitive. As soon as my seedlings were exposed to cold (<15 C) temperature they stopped growing for a week at a time. I found it better to keep them indoors under lights until at least mid-spring when the day and night temperatures remained warmer.
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15 Aug 14, Hank (Australia - temperate climate)
I have saved some seeds from jalepono chilli's. Do I need to let them dry before planting in egg container trays or should I dry them in an oven as I have been advised to. Another source says to plant in garden after 6 - 8 weeks, but I guess that when they are seedlings it would be time to transplant them? Temperate zone near Melbourne, Victoria.
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25 Aug 14, Sam (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Hank. I place my Habanero seeds in seedling containers early August UNDER COVER. Through the years, I have found they will come up when they are ready. I also found that the egg containers will rot away. -Sam
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Showing 241 - 250 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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