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

Post a comment or question Display Newest first | Oldest first, Show comments for USA | for all countries
21 Apr 12, Brad Davies (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I live in Brisbane Qld and have planted Jelapenos a few weeks ago & now have black on some of the leaves. Does anyone know what this is and how I can fix it? Thanks
Reply or Post a new comment
19 Apr 12, tony (Australia - temperate climate)
I placed some chilli pepper seeds about 3 weeks ago which I bought from a local store in my garden.Then I realized that I read the instuction wrong regarding the right time to plant them.Well I said to myself seeing we're having this Indian summer in Victoria maybe they"ll germinate. Check today 19th April and to my suprise they're sprouting up.Ok all you experts what is my chances of getting chilles in winter time ? I say nil .What do you think.?
Reply or Post a new comment
24 Feb 13, Chris (Australia - temperate climate)
Planting out of season will cause your plants to "rush to seed", you will notice very very slow growth and it will flower a lot quicker, thats if it survives some winter frost. Planting out of season sometimes might get you results, if you can but the plants in behind glass or in a greenhouse, or a enviornment that protects from elements, you may get better results. The change of times, i.e switch to day light savings means shorter light in the days, plants react to this also.
Reply or Post a new comment
17 Mar 12, JWM (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
If only I could send you some of the thousands my single green chilli plant is producing!! I live in Brisbane, Australia, and am at my wits end with the amount I get every day - close to 3/4 bucket full every 2-3 days. I have made hot/sweet fruit chutney, eggplant pickle, given away heaps and heaps and still have a bucket full sitting in my kitchen. Don't do too much more than watering every 2-3 days, but started with well rotted vegetable peels etc, so I guess the soil I have planted this one plant in had a good start and no pests at all.
Reply or Post a new comment
23 Jan 12, wayne (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Ive grown many a differant chilli in the bundaberg region and with great success. Just keep them well watered. Full sun. Pinch off earliest blossoms for a bigger harvest. Good luck farmer joe
Reply or Post a new comment
23 Jan 12, Lynne (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I've grown chillis many years but in another country. I'm now in a sub-tropical area of Australia and not having any luck with any type of chilli plant. I've bought seedlings, seeds and even been given grown producing plants. They never seem to develop much beyond whatever stage they were in when given to me. What am I doing wrong? Are they more difficult to grow in the sub-tropics? Could it be a soil issue? Thanks for any suggestions or help.
Reply or Post a new comment
10 Jan 12, adam (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
There is the pellets you can get which are made from iron chelates, and nothing else. Safe for everything including humans. The Multiguard people make them, $3.75 at Burnings. Not a sales pitch, just in case you want to not put poison on your veggies.
Reply or Post a new comment
09 Jan 12, Dave (Australia - temperate climate)
Thanks for the tip I have put down pellets for the slugs and snails. Its funny I have no trouble with the chillies I have grown them for years. Anyone growing them my advice is if they are strong and healthy they will survive winter just put some grass cuttings around the base to keep the roots warm and you will chillies growing in the spring again.
Reply or Post a new comment
05 Jan 12, (Australia - temperate climate)
hi I am growing chillies this is there second season in the ground, bush is full of them but some are getting holes in them never happened before looked inside but nothing there, anyone got any ideas what it ccould be.
Reply or Post a new comment
05 Jan 12, (Australia - temperate climate)
I have same experience. The holes on the chili were caused by slug. I put snail & slug pellet around the plants. In the morning after that, found died slugs.
Reply or Post a new comment
Showing 321 - 330 of 432 comments
See comments for all plants

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

Please provide your email address if you are hoping for a reply


All comments are reviewed before displaying on the site, so your posting will not appear immediately

Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.