Total failure with chillies, any ideas?

[Birdie Wife]

Hi guys,

I tried growing two chilli plants this year, as a first time chilli grower. One I raised from seed and grew on in very free-draining compost, the other was given to me and was in standard shop-bought compost. Both only reached about 5" in height and struggled to flower. They were growing on a southfacing window in an upstairs bedroom. Once they started to flower (July) I put them in a coldframe outside where they could be warmish but with an half-open lid so they could be pollinated. Unfortunately slugs got to them at this stage and now I just have green twigs... but I'm puzzling to know why they never got very big.

I'd love to grow these next year but I'd like to know what I was doing wrong so I can try and do it right next year. Please help, someone!

PS if anyone has a glut of chillies, look up the harissa recipe I posted last year, it's fabulous! It's the reason I wanted to grow chillies this year

[Cutecumber]

What size pots were they in?

[Birdie Wife]

They were in 3 - 4" pots as not really big enough to pot on. I potted up the one I grew as the roots were getting fairly thick in the pot, but I had read somewhere that keeping the roots constricted a little encouraged them to flower. No sign of yellowing so I think they had enough feed in there.

[shirlthegirl43]

I can only say that my chillies are treated the same as my tomatoes. Potted on when the roots come through the bottom of the pots until they get into 10 litre flower buckets. Grown in whatever multi purpose compost I have to hand and watered when the leaves wilt, given tomato feed when the toms get some.

The one that is currently green sticks might make it through the winter if you want to give it a try. I brought my plant in last year when the weather got bad and kept it beside the patio doors, no trimming back and light watering if it looked to need it. Once the weather got better this year (and my greenhouse was built) it was re-potted and went back out there. Don't think it will overwinter again so I have taken cuttings and stuck them in pots of damp compost to keep in the kitchen till next spring.

Hope you have better luck next time. I must say the chillies I grew this year (Big Jim and Bolivian Rainbow) have not been as vigorous as the Cayenne from last year so not sure if weather has been a factor. Bolivian Rainbow is a lovely plant but Big Jims pretty disappointing yield-wise - will try overwintering and see what next year brings.

[Cutecumber]

I can only think that there just wasn't enough light.

Even on a south-facing windowsill, they may not have had enough light overall - especially this year with its rather poor summer.

I am surprised you say that the roots were strong and yet there was not much top growth, but when I think of my De Bresse chillis, they are not disimilar. I've kept them in 5 inch pots and they have produced chillis, but the plants themselves are very small.

What type of chillis were they?

[Birdie Wife]

One was a Cayenne from the GYO mag last year, the other I'm not sure about as it was given to me. I'll have a look and if the roots are still healthy looking I'll try overwintering.

I thought they were growing okay until I saw the plants in the garden centres appear in August!! They were monsters in comparison!

[Cutecumber]

Well in that case don't worry.

Garden centres can give plants ideal conditions and usually feed heavily. It's unlikely that you and your windowsill can compete!

[Birdie Wife]

So is the trick to growing nice big chilli plants to feed recklessly to encourage lots of growth, then withold the feed to get it to flower, then feed more sparingly to give the flowers enough vits to fruit? Or is that too fussy?

[Alice]

What a shame Birdie Wife. I had great crops of chillies but I didn't put them outside . I grew them on a south facing windowsill and lifted them back a bit on days when the sun was really strong. I got great crops from Big Jim, still plenty coming, and will grow them again next year. I've saved some seed if you want some. The Hungarian Hotwax did well too. I didn't do anything special with them, just fed and watered as for any other plant.
Mixed chillies

[Birdie Wife]

That would be lovely Alice, if you can spare some. I'm always keen to source seed of more local provenance. Is there anything you'd like it return?

[The Gardener]

I suspect the compost, make sure it's good quality and organic if possible, give the roots room to breathe and water well.

I don't think being reckless with the feed is a good idea. or withholding it even. I also used tomato feed when they began flowering, once a week, stopping the feed when they turned red. Not sure this is the definitive way, i'm still learning, but it seems to have worked.

That's a nice selection of chillies Alice, I'm almost jealous.

I'm in a show-off mood now. Here's one I grew earlier:

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u.../22807_sb1.jpg

[Alice]

I'm just showing off too Gardener, but here's some of my sweet chillie peppers on the plant.

[Waffler]

My chillis were non-existent this year - following a bumper crop last year. I treated them exactly the same (also treated 'as toms). the plants are still alive and healthy looking, but I've not had a single flower, whereas the pepper plants next door to them have produced some fruit (though not huge quantities). I sowed about 8 different varieties of chilli in the end, thanks in part to a couple of kind donations from grapes; unfortunately only the cayenne germinated, which was bad enough at the time, but at least then I figured I'd only have one type of chilli: to have none at all is quite upsetting... I'm inconsolable!!

Anyway, they were in an unheated greenhouse border - the same as last year.

[pixie]

I can sympathise. My chillies were plentiful last year grown in a compost bed in the greenhouse. I did exactly the same this year but the plants are small and there is no sign of any chillies. My view is that it hasn't been hot enough and the light levels have been poorer this year.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Good job we are all 'triers' looking at this thread!

I'll have a crack at peppers next year despite all this (or just because Alice has posted such a MAGNIFICENT photo of her peppers! - how inspiring is that photo??)