Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi,

I have a few piccanti chillies left which were brilliant - produced loads at the allotment and tasted lovely! as I haven't been able to find the same variety again (it was a free seed pack so didn't give many) I thought I would try and save some seed. Never done this before so a few questions -

- is this a good idea (thinking about the whole f1 and disease issues...)?
- if so, how do I go about doing it. I remember reading for tomatoes you need to wash them but do you need to do this with chillies?
- does it matter that the chillies were picked a while ago in and are on the site of getting on a it (I don't think that cherry chillies are really meant to be dried for storage like standard chillies as they are more flashes like its pepper cousins)

Thanks in advance

Pawty

Hi Pawty, they are very easy to save, just take any bits off and dry them thoroughly. No soaking or anything. If they are f1 you may get varied seedlings, also if you've grown other varieties nearby they may have crossed. I'd give it a try and see what you get.

I have saved chilli seeds as described by PP with good results. I've even picked seeds out of chillies which have been dried and kept in a jar in the kitchen for months !

I don't usually grow F1 chilli varieties, but the open pollinated types seem to have produced very few surprises, mostly come true. I grew a red habanero from seed out of a chilli bought from a Jamaican grocers for about ten years, and it still came true for several generations of seed.

Haven't tried saving before but having read this thread, will give it a go this year with some open-pollinated ones. There's a useful guide to going about it at: http://www.thechileman.org/guide_seedsaving.php (Tony, editorial, aka Peter Radish).

piccanti chillies are sold by seeds of italy. They do not appear to be F1.
Regards Sally Wright

Thanks all!

I (very stupidly ) cut the top of the pack off where it would have said if they were F1! So let's assume not as per seeds of Italy (thanks Sally).

So, I've just saved two chillies before Mr Pawty could put them in tonight's tea. Seeds removed and are trying in a bowl! So many seeds from two chillies. If anyone wants to join me in my experiment let me know and I'll send you a few seeds in the post to see if get them to germinate and fruit.

I see that the pack says start from January. I know they need a long growing season but that does seem early. When do you start yours off?

Tony - you certainly know your chillies - do you cook with them a lot?

I've got some dried Dorset Naga in a jar - am now wondering if I could get these to germinate and get results?

Pawty

Goodness Pawty! Dorset Naga!

You actually eat them? You guys are de-sensitised indeed! Totally addiction I'd say! Enjoy though & yes I believe you can grow them from dried seed but someone with your same addiction will soon confirm that. I'm saving seed from kiddies sweet peppers by just drying them out in the skin (seed end) on the window sill along with some pointed big ones. Did it with the pointed big ones last year & got a good crop but slow to ripen but that I put down to the weather, not the seed saving.

Westi

Dear Pawty,
I usually grow a LOT of chillies for the kitchens where I work (15 varieties have produced 26kgs and counting so far this season) and I start them in early February. I do have the advantage of a good propagator and a warm greenhouse though. That said they do not take up much room during the first two months so keeping them warm is not all that difficult with fewer facilities. The glasshouse section they grow in after final potting is empty from the end of May till January so they take up no room from anything else and supply the kitchen's chillie requirements for the whole year.

I have thought about starting some later on in the season to overwinter as smaller plants but I don't think it is really worth the build up of pests etc in the glasshouse over winter.

I will be doing a longer post on chillies later when I have all the harvest data sorted out. They are still cropping so it could be over the Christmas period when I have more time to post.
Regards Sally Wright.

Pawty wrote:Tony - you certainly know your chillies - do you cook with them a lot?
Pawty

Do you mean me - there seem to be two of us Tony's now !

A lot of my favourite food is spicy in one way or another. I'm quite fond of meat cooked slowly for a long time, with or without chilli ! My all time favourite cookbook is Cooking with Chillies by Meg Jump, but I also like Rick Bayless for Mexican food, and of course Dave DeWitt's The Hababnero Cookbook. My chilli growing is minor compared to Sally's; I only grow for my own use, but aim not to need to buy any (chillies and garlic are the only things I really achieve that with). I grow about 20 plants of half a dozen varieties each year. This year I grew Ancho and Mulato, for use fresh and dried in Mexican dishes, Ohnivec for general purpose fresh use, Habanero Red Savina for hotter stuff, Cayenne for drying/chilli powder, and Early Jalapeno which I've smoked with maple wood to make a sort of Chipotle.

I've been trying to find a good replacement for that habanero from the Jamaican grocer for years. I've tried Scotch bonnet, Chocolate Dorset Naga, Datil, Ecuadorian devil's breath, Paper Lantern (my avatar picture), and this year Red Savina, which is the closest so far. But stil not as good. Any suggestions welcome - I'm looking for the best fruity flavour, more so than heat.

Please do tell us more about your chillies Sally, and how you grow them. I've been growing chillies for about 20 years, but still think I could do better.

Dear Tony H,
please understand I am not a fan of actually EATING chillies so this is only what the chefs are telling me but they do love the flavour of peach habanero, Fatalii and peruvian lemon drops; all crop very well for me.

If you pm me your address I can send you some fruit of all three to try before you buy some seeds; all are easily available from the internet and grow well in 3 litre pots.

In general I find that Habanero types produce better for me than Scotch Bonnet types; the fruit set on the SB types is poor with a lot of malformed fruits.
Regards Sally Wright.

Sally, that's a very kind offer. I'll PM you. I think I remember growing peach habanero once, but it was quite a long time ago. Never tried Fatalii (sounds potentially exciting) if Peruvian lemon drops though. I'd love to try them.

Looking forward to hearing your chilli report. 3L pots is about what I use; I'd be interested to know what you do for feeding them etc.

Hi,

Yes, also really interested in your report! I just love chilli plants - bright colours, different flavours and just a lovely planst!

I've grown lemon drop - and it is as it says on lable - bright yellow with a lemony smell and flavour (it's also hot).

Pawty

Oh my word.

What a wonderful and generous parcel arrived for me today from Sally. A few of each of a dozen or so varieties.

I'm feeling happy on the endorphins at the moment having tasted a Lemon drop, and a Bahamian goat pepper. I thought I ought to taste them raw to see what the pure taste was like. But I am not like one of the YouTube chilli testers you understand; I cut a small bit from the pointy end first to try, then if that seems OK go for the rest.

Lemon drop is a Capsicum Baccatum, or Aji type. Which reminded me that I used to grow Aji Amarillo, which I originally got out of a dried chilli bought for cooking from The cool chile co. The lemon drop is a bit fresher and yes, a touch more citrus tasting. Nicely warm but not the sort of heat but upfornt, not the sort that grows in the mouth. The Bahamian goat - a Chinense by the look of it - was a good bit hotter. Verging on the eyes begin to water, but it did have a fairly fruity character, and an odd aroma. Is that the reason for the "goat" ?

Thank you very much Sally. I shall enjoy this so much

Sally's Fatalli chillies are ... rather hot

Dear Tony,
should save money on your heating bills then!
Regards Sally Wright