How to grow Chilli: At the very beginning (crash course part 1)
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Growing chili, that's how you get started...

Prerequisites

Seeds propagate chillies (generative propagation). In order to be able to harvest in summer and autumn, you need to grow chilies in time, because from planting out to ripeness, peppers need 60 to 90 days depending on the variety, some Caribbean ones even more than 120 days.

It is therefore best to start growing them in February or March. At this time of the year there is still the threat of frost in our climate, especially since the seeds like to be particularly warm (22°C or more) when germinating. As outdoor sowing could only take place from May onwards, ripening would start too late and possibly be endangered by early autumn frost. In addition to the seeds and various growing accessories, you will need a warm, bright place to grow chili peppers, such as a windowsill with a radiator underneath it.

The following schedule gives a first rough overview of the further procedure:


 

Preparations

Ideally, the planning and preparations for chillies cultivation should begin long before the cultivation. In the beginning, there are some considerations. For example, which varieties to grow, where to get the seeds from and how much space can be dedicated from the garden, terrace or balcony for chilli plants. You should also make sure that someone takes care of your chilli cultivation if you are on vacation.

The quantitative aspect should not be underestimated: seed packets usually contain 20 to 100 seeds and it is not difficult to grow 100 plants or more in a mini-greenhouse. But do you have enough space for all the grown plants? As a guide, you can assume that each plant needs a radius of about 30 to 45 cm.

An important consideration is what you plan to do with the fruit of your chili pepper plants.


Some varieties are best processed fresh; others are better for drying, pickling or freezing. And if you're flirting with sweet peppers: There are varieties bred for high yield, interesting colours or heavy fruit. You may also be interested in attractive spots of colour in the garden in general or for later use for decorative purposes. The "long winter days" are therefore ideal to command catalogues by seed suppliers, to procure seeds and to obtain further accessories. A good selection of different seeds can be found here.

If you cannot work with containers or flower boxes that can be brought to a warm place if there is a risk of frost, you should concentrate on varieties that ripen in 50 to 70 days. But don't be afraid to experiment a little, because that's the best way to find out which varieties suit you best and thrive best in your climate.

When the time comes to start growing, you will need very few accessories, except for the pepper seeds, only growing trays, one or more mini-greenhouses and growing soil. And before you get started, a small germination test (see below) will tell you whether it is worth the effort to grow a certain seed.

Seeds - where from?

As the most important utensil, you need of course chili seeds. There is a whole range of possibilities for obtaining them.

Nurseries and plant markets - Here you can get seed bags from various commercial seed suppliers. Click here for the chili cultivation products in the Pepperworld Hot Shop.

Although specialist seed mail-order companies, nurseries and plant markets offer a wide range of sweet peppers and other vegetables, there are usually only a few chilli varieties. For this reason, the Pepperworld Hot Shop was expanded several years ago to include a separate seed department, where interesting and sometimes very rare varieties are available. In addition, there are various herbs that are often needed in the Hot & Spicy kitchen for the authentic taste, e.g. epazote, cilantro and lemongrass (depending on availability).



F1 Seeds - What's that?

Some varieties have the abbreviation F1 on the seed bag after their name. This is so-called hybrid seed. F1" refers to the first offspring of a cross between a sire and dam line. In the F1 generation, varieties with specific characteristics are obtained, e.g. higher yield, uniform maturity or resistance to certain pests or diseases. However, already in the next generation ("F2"), the offspring already split back into their parent traits, i.e. only the F1 seed provides the advantages of breeding.

Seeds taken from these fruits do not. This does not always have to be tragic, the F2 or a later offspring can look the same, in the case of chillies, they can have the same pungency, but they lack e.g. resistance to a certain mould or other traits that you do not notice at first sight. Since F1 seed is very complex to produce, it is often more expensive or more difficult to obtain.

Holiday Souvenirs - If you're travelling to Southern Europe (Spain or Portugal, for example), the USA or the Caribbean, look for garden nurseries and get seed bags.



Many types of chili are also available fresh from their home regions, so keep an eye out for fruit and vegetable markets. Choose a ripe but not shrivelled pod. Cut the fruits open as soon as possible (protect your hands, wash them well afterwards!), remove the seeds, clean them from any pulp and place them on a piece of paper to dry (but avoid direct sunlight and temperatures above 35°C, otherwise the delicate substance will burn or dry out). After drying, put the seeds in a bag folded out of newspaper, which should also be labelled with the variety and date. If the seed was not yet completely dry, the residual moisture can escape; airtight, still moist seeds could go mouldy. At home, the seeds are then kept dry, airtight and cool.

Note: Special breeds from seed suppliers are sometimes subject to plant variety protection, which prohibits the import and/or commercial propagation and distribution of the seeds (usually such breeds involve years of research). And if you want to exchange seeds with Pepper friends internationally: In many countries the import of plants is subject to licensing. In the case of complete plants, pests or diseases that were previously unknown can be introduced, especially with the soil, and in the worst case can cause problems for local agriculture.

Germination test

Depending on the variety and temperature, chillies need about 10 to 30 days to germinate. Poorly germinating seeds are therefore an annoying waste of time. In order to save yourself the effort of cultivating chillies in this case, a small germination test helps in advance.

To do this, place a few layers of household paper in a plate and moisten it well. Place rows of the seeds to be tested on the plate, each about 2 cm apart. Stretch transparent household foil over the plate and drill a few holes with a toothpick - and the test greenhouse is ready! Place it in a warm place, for example near a radiator.
Since the seeds of almost all Chili Peppers look identical, it's best to make notes about the varieties that are designed for testing. Since the germination test also takes one or two weeks, it is best to do it well in advance of the planned sowing date, usually around the beginning of February.



Of course, it is optimal if almost all test seeds produce sprouts. However, 100% of the seeds will sprout very rarely, - due to natural conditions. Good results can be expected for all values above 75%. When growing, simply use a little more seed than planned. If less than half of the seeds of a test variety germinate, you should try to get new seeds; if not a single seed sprouts, you can usually save yourself the work of growing these seeds.

However, there are some varieties that require some experimentation to germinate. For example, PC-1 needed a constant temperature of about 29°C. Galapagos chili seed did not germinate until the seed was soaked overnight in lukewarm guano solution (on the islands this wild growing variety is spread by birds). See also our article: "The secret to making seeds germinate".

Growing trays and soil

As already mentioned, the cultivation of chillies must be protected and carried out at a constant temperature and humidity. Indoor greenhouses", which consist of a plastic bowl and a transparent top with adjustable ventilation, are ideal for this purpose. For beginners, we recommend grow stations that offer a nice starter package on the subject of chillies for the coming hobby gardener. In the Pepperworld Hot Shop you will find two models with very good ratings.

peat pots (for example "Jiffy") are recommended for growing chillies, which are purchased in tablet form and are allowed to swell in water before use. Use one pot for every 2 to 3 seeds or give each seed its own pot and avoid the risk of damage when separating them.

According to the supplier Romberg, the Jiffy pots contain everything that the seed (or a cutting) needs: sphagnum white peat as the basis for healthy growth, dolomite lime to regulate the pH value and a balanced nutrient mix that accelerates germination and root development.






Alternatively, humus-rich loose growing soil can be used, which is available in bags (e.g. from Euflor). Such soil is rich in humus and contains little fertilizer. This is very important so that the sensitive seedlings do not "burn". If you use pots or bowls used for cultivation, you should first rinse them thoroughly to avoid the introduction of plant diseases. If you are not careful, moulds in particular will quickly spread in the humid mini-greenhouse climate.

If cultivation soil is used, it should be sterilized to kill weeds, insect pests and mold spores. This can be done in a fireproof container at 200°C for 30 minutes in the oven (be careful, stay hot for a long time!!) or ask your gardener many nurseries sterilize soil for their own use.

Click here for exciting products in the Pepperworld Hot Shop all about growing chili:

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