[fletcherbaker]

Has anyone got any advice on growing chillies ie types,wot time to sow etc would be very helpfull as its my first time growing anything !!!

[hillbilly]

Yes please, me too 

[Jay The Digger]

I had great success with mine last year.

I started them off mid March, with one seed per module.  They were covered and put on my warm windowsill above the radiator.  Once they had sprouted I removed the cover and watered sparingly.  At the two leaf stage they were moved to a bigger pot with 3 long stakes inserted (they do look ridiculous at this stage but it saves damaging the roots later.)  Once they were about 25 cm tall they were finally transplanted to a large cermaic pot and put on the kitchen windowsill.  I regularly tied them to support the branches as the are quite brittle.

Once the flowers were fully open I would tickle them each day with a feather to help with pollination.  A few days later a small pin size fruit could be seen.

At this stage I would feed them a soluble feed (I used growmore Chilli and Pepper food) every couple of weeks.  It is important not to overwater as they don't like "having their feet wet".  I had a great crop and am still using my dried ones now.

I am going to try a couple in the polytunnel this year and see if they get bigger.

I kept the two strongest plants and they are in the garage hibernating ready for next year.

Hope this helps

[Jilly Pickles]

We set them in the polytunel February/March & April, plant outside when they a strong enough and the weather is warmer.

They like sunny postion and are easy to grow, never had any problems.

There are many types, my favorites are Cayenne " very hot" and a long mild one we got from the supermarket.

I planted the seeds from a supermarket one and have been getting loads every year

We are in France, so in the U.K you may want to grow them undercover!

They don't need much looking after, we dry them and hang in kitchen to use all winter.

The Cayenne is great for chilli/ curry, be carefull i would say use 1-3 depending how hot you like it.

The long one is great in salads and for pickeling in vinigare.

Peppers are much the same.

Enjoy.

Jilly.

[spottymint]

Hi

A nice small compact plant for the windowsill is "prairie fire". The chilli's themselves are small, but boy are they HOT!!

Upward facing, maybe an inch long at most.

As the others have stated, sow early feb/march or I have started some now above a radiator, keep away from frost/cold.

I grow mine in pots in an unheated conservatory after starting them indoors. Cayennes did well in pots too, but taller then P Fire.

[fletcherbaker]

Thanks for the advice from you all, i want to grow mine indoors is it worth trying it now then, as long as i keep them warm to germinate.Also do i put 1 seed in each small pot or a few!!

[8doubles]

I put 3 or 4 seeds per pot but it means you have to be ruthless thinning them out and not transplanting them like i do. Very little light gets IN to the rooms till the chillies are moved out.

[peskypixie]

Hi, you have chosen a really easy starter crop here. You really only have to show them some soil and water and they are away! I have been growing 'ring of fire' from the previous years seeds for about 5 years now - each time we are overloaded with the harvest.

Although I now grow mine in the greenhouse or polytunnel, they will happily grow outdoors or indoors provided that they get enough heat and light.

I sow mine in small pots or even a tray in about Feb/March on windowsill/summerhouse and then prick out when big enough. I pot them on as they grow and that's about it! Keep watering in dry weather and feed weekly with tomato food - Bob's your uncle!

Good Luck! 

[stentman]

Agree with all the above but watch out for greenfly just because you grow them indoors doesn't mean the little chaps won't find them. We had terrible trouble with greenfly on the chillies we grew in the conservatory last year. Once they get hold they are awkward to totally remove.