Early Chilli Peppers

[cevenol jardin]

I've got little green chillis on my Thai chilli plants now and i am so excited i just had to tell you all.

I bought some Thai chillis in a shop and they were so tasty i thought i'd test them out to see if they'd grow. As it was only a test i didn't care when i sowed them (August last year). They germinated and i pricked out potted on as normal and kept them in the house all winter in a sunny spot. They got flowers last month and i gave them a tickle with a piant brush in case they didn't polinate and i now have my first batch of chillis coming along they are still small and green but they are there

I am going to try this with a few more of my favourite varieties again this year and maybe keep a few plants back indoors in pots all year.

You chilli experts out there probably already know/do this but i just had to post this in case there's anybody out there who didn't know you could grow chillis all year.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear C.J, sounds very interesting, but i can not say i have tied it before, please do let us know if they are a roaring success.

[dewwex]

this may interest you.

I have been getting my seeds from KINGS seeds in england. i am a home gardener, but by mistake they sent me their commercial growers catalogue.

Apart from showing up the exorbant prices the home gardener is paying for seed compared to the commercial.
eg:
Augergines
varity: Long purple
home garden catalogue: 150 seeds for 99p
commercial catalogue: 5250 seeds for £2.95

Tomatoes:
varity: Gardener's delight
home garden catalogue: 35 seeds for £1.09
commercial catalogue: 640 seeds for £3.45

The sowing times for Aubergines in the commercial catalogue is januuary (which is normal) or for early crops November.

I checked under peppers, and the catalogue says for really early crops sow early november.

Now i guessing that commercial growers probably grow under lights. But this shows the scope for growing plants early; is there.

Indeed since peppers don't seem to have same direct light issues compared to tomatoes (they can be house plants)you may have stumbled upon enlightnment. quite interesting.

Its also interesting that you grew from seeds from a shop bought chilli. More and more i am wondering how much we could grow from just saving seed from shop veg or ones own veg. you would wonder about things like squashs,peppers,chillis, tomatoes etc. F1 seeds though may be an issue! Have you checked out the 'real seed company'.they actually have a no F1 policy. its quite an interesting debate. Is f1 a breeder conspiracy?? Are new improved varities of veg being breed to be F1 on purpose? I personally don't have much faith the majority of seed companys. think i will go italian seed company next year as my first shop.

[cevenol jardin]

I made a biased guess that the Thai chillies i bought were not F1 on the basis that its a type of chilli that is so common in Thailand i supposed the chillis to be heirloom as in, grown for generations using the seed from one crop for the next and grown by many growers accross the country.

I would not consider saving seeds from veg in a supermarket chain as i would expect these to have been grown by commercial growers using F1 seeds.

I have had success using seeds from small markets where the growers sell direct and often when you ask they do save their own seeds for the following year.

Anyway i am not sure until the thai chillis ripen if they are indeed true - will keep you posted. I planted out 1 of the two plants and it seems to be coping well with the current night temps of 9c and a lot of wind.

I am looking forward to more experiments this year on early sowings but the earliest i would sow tomatoes would be january. I did that one year - just a bit keen to get going - and they were 3.5ft but rubust when they went out i got a crop in late june.

[dewwex]

I don't personally see much advantage sowing too early with tomatos. late febuary for me. i would feel january sowings would only be really suitable if one had say heated glasshouse/tunnel.i sowed my 'gardeners delights' in march 10th last year and they were cropping from mid july anyhow. i sowed them febuary 19th this year. and to be honest i don't feel they have grown much more. growth very slow in late winter anyhow. maybe if i used lamps.

i personlly would be more inclined to have a few bush type plants eg F1 tumbler, tumbling tom, red alert in order to achieve a early harvest. even from mid march sowings , these start cropping in june.

just a few thoughts!

[Tigger]

Hmmnnnn - I've had both successes and failures in early sowings, of both chillies and tomatoes, but can't resist either. This year appears to be one of positive results as I already have plants in my heated tunnel on their way to fruiting!

Big contrast to last year.

[dewwex]

tigger:
whats fruiting for you? when did you sow it? toms or peppers?

[Marge]

I was wondering when it is best to start giving my chilli plants a dash of liquid feed? They are a decent size now and have produced flower buds already.

Here is a picture of a few of the chillies so you can get an idea of their size.

http://margeland.co.uk/blog/2007/04/18/chilli-news-update/

[Johnboy]

Hi CJ,
I know that this is not Chilli's but a few years ago I saved the seeds from a Galia Melon bought in the local supermarket. I know very well that it is an F1 but could not resist the temptation to sow these wonderful seeds. Would you believe that the result was melon's aplenty and every bit as good as the Galia if not better. Now I appreciate that I was lucky really and normally growing the progeny of a known F1 can be disastrous but it goes to prove not always. I feel that if you do not experiment then you never find out. If anybody decides to grow the progeny of an F1 they should not rely on the outcome as their main crop but as a bonus if they turn out well. With your Chili I wonder what the progeny will produce? This is assuming that you will save seed from the fruits produced this year.
JB.

[cevenol jardin]

HI Marge
I start giving my chillis a foliar feed - diluted seaweed extract (SM3 from chase organics) sprayed on. I start spraying once every 2 weeks once buds start, chilllis and peppers are the only plants that get this preferential treatment - i know all children should be treated equally but they are my favourite and seem to do better with it while tomatoes, my other favourite, it doesn't seem to make much difference. In saying that my tomatoe plants are much smaller this year, though sturdy.

Aha JB sounds like a great experiment. So far my chillis are looking very much like the originals.

Here's a pic of the chillis growing today


Then the chillis i bought & dried

[Marge]

Thanks for the tip. I never thought of using a foliar feed. I shall look into it.

[Multiveg]

Where would I put 5k of aubergine seed? Do I know enough people to share the seed with?

[cevenol jardin]

Sorry to quote myself but what i said was not correct.

I did that (jan sowing)one year - just a bit keen to get going - and they were 3.5ft but rubust when they went out i got a crop in late june.

but i am not sure when the first fruit came from that January sowing.
Last year I got tomatoes June 16 from a Feb 3 sowing - Set out May 9 - but they had to hang around in pots for a long time(as spring was slow starting that year) which probably stressed them a bit.
Now that i have a tunnel i think a late Feb early March sowing of toms will be best for me to get an early undercover crop.
However Aubergines and Peppers do best for me started Late Jan - Feb. I tried them later this year (March) and they are a lot smaller than previous years hope they will catch up.

[Colin_M]

Where would I put 5k of aubergine seed? Do I know enough people to share the seed with?

What sort of aubergines - do you have any info? We'd need to plant them pretty soon to make the most of the growing season.


Colin

[Marge]

Hmmm... bit of a problem with my chillies at the mo', the leaves are beginning to droop downwards. Otherwise the plants are healthy.

Is this anything to be concerned about?