Chillies - growing and overwintering 2018

[gardengeordie]

i have some ready to start, I better dig out my heated propagator :-) is there anything else apart from chilli's that benefit from an early start?

[Philthy]

i have some ready to start, I better dig out my heated propagator :-)

Which ones are you doing?


Nothing sown yet for me. My overwintering plants are mostly okay, several losses already though, think I was too late bringing them indoors
Two of my three Paper Lanterns gone, last one best of the three and fingers crossed it survives, a Red Scotch Bonnet which was always a sickly plant but was gifted to me so persevered with it.. the smaller of two Green Trinidad Scorpions, a big Joe's Long, bit annoyed about that one, and big surprise to me one of two Lemon Drops has snuffed it (normally one of the most resilient plants for cold spells )

My healthiest ones are all three of my Apple Crisp plants (very mild pepper, but something a bit different visually), Orange Thai from saved seed; two of those, a big (so far) Espelette, another Joe's Long, and the other Green Trinidad.

Have a handful of others but they've already been cut back quite harshly so if they deteriorate further there'll be nothing left worth keeping. Submarine one such plant, it was the slowest grower by some margin last season, if it takes the same time to die then maybe it'll be spring again before it's made it's mind up...

[Chris11]

My overwintering plants are mostly okay, several losses already though, think I was too late bringing them indoors

Similar situation here. Some losses, but others doing surprisingly well despite a few cold nights in the greenhouse before being brought indoors.

Overwintering always a bit of a lottery, and it's too early to be confident, but so far these look like they have a chance:

Aji Pineapple
Akabare Nepalese
Bahamian Goat
Bishops Hat
Cayenne Large Red Thick
Elysium Oxide F7
MoA Scotch Bonnet
Orange Thai Large
Santa Fe Grande
Turbo Alberto (C. pubescens)
7 Pot Red

The Akabare and Bahamian Goat seem particularly hardy and haven't even dropped any leaves.

[Scarlet]

Hmm, my trinidad scorpion looks like it's going stems going brown and the leaves have gone...they usually stay green in my kitchen due to the constant warmth of the Aga.
I've not sown a thing yet...

[Small pumpkin]

Let the experiments begin!
My scotch bonnet seeds didn't germinate and they were my last 2 seeds from the packet. I couldn't order more from the seed company because I can't find them! ( another one of VC's spectacular bargain finds that she shared with everyone) park seeds or park promotions something like that. Anyway they were only 5p a packet and I brought loads . A very long winded way of saying I really wanted the same strain as they were stunning last year. I've sown seeds from one of last years harvested pods from the freezer . They've germinated . Fingers crossed everyone that they're not crossed!
Experiment 2 is the super hots I got for Christmas from a friend. I've found out they came from eBay so it will be interesting to see how many are cayenne or jalapeños! They have germinated very quickly for super hots !! Alarm bells screaming in my tiny little mind!

[Scarlet]

Fresh seed..SP, really makes a difference, though with eb@y in the mix you never know

[Small pumpkin]

Definitely going to try isolating for seed saving again this year.

[Leezy2]

Quick recommendation guys?
I'd like a good all round chilli not mega hot but enough to give a pleasant warmth! Preferably something that I can cook with, dry and make chutney from as well.
I'm based in France so outside temp range from 7° early spring to mid/high 30s in Summer, polytunnel may be a bit hot.
I did some bird's eye last year but they were pants. Seed came from a friend and I think they may have got crossed with something, tasted like a sweet pepper when fully ripe!
Thanks,
David.

[Dalrimple]

Let the experiments begin!
My scotch bonnet seeds didn't germinate and they were my last 2 seeds from the packet. I couldn't order more from the seed company because I can't find them! ( another one of VC's spectacular bargain finds that she shared with everyone) park seeds or park promotions something like that. Anyway they were only 5p a packet and I brought loads . A very long winded way of saying I really wanted the same strain as they were stunning last year. I've sown seeds from one of last years harvested pods from the freezer . They've germinated . Fingers crossed everyone that they're not crossed!
Experiment 2 is the super hots I got for Christmas from a friend. I've found out they came from eBay so it will be interesting to see how many are cayenne or jalapeños! They have germinated very quickly for super hots !! Alarm bells screaming in my tiny little mind!

this is great ! it may mean we dont have to dry out seeds we save! just pop one in a labled zip bag ,but i'll have to make sure that Mrs Dal doesn't do what she did with the pods my Italian mate gave me and stick them in a omlet LOL atb Dal

[Mitzi]

I'm surprised and impressed that the frozen seeds germinated, SP.

I sowed my rocotos on Thursday and the La Paz Rojo are already starting to sprout! Thanks very much, Jack! Still waiting on the other two varieties to show any signs of life but it's early days.

[the big lebowski]

david i liked lemon drops

[Small pumpkin]

I'm surprised and impressed that the frozen seeds germinated, SP.

So am I! Didn't think they would to be honest. It was an act of pure desperation!
Just hope they grow true now. They were in close proximity to 5 other varieties. All of which would make some very odd children!

[Small pumpkin]

david i liked lemon drops

I second that. A very good all rounder

[Mitzi]

Quick recommendation guys?
I'd like a good all round chilli not mega hot but enough to give a pleasant warmth! Preferably something that I can cook with, dry and make chutney from as well.
I'm based in France so outside temp range from 7° early spring to mid/high 30s in Summer, polytunnel may be a bit hot.
I did some bird's eye last year but they were pants. Seed came from a friend and I think they may have got crossed with something, tasted like a sweet pepper when fully ripe!
Thanks,
David.

Gosh, it's too hard to pick just one! Lemon drop (also known as Aji Lemon) is indeed a good shout. I've been extremely happy with Superchilli the last couple of years. Also Aji Omnicolor which I'm hoping to overwinter. Cayenne types are easy. They would all thrive outdoors in your climate once the temperature is over 10 degrees at night. Habanero or scotch bonnet varieties tend to be a bit hotter and might like the polytunnel. If the temperature gets too high they won't set pods apparently but that's never going to be a problem in my cold, windswept part of Yorkshire.

[Scarlet]

I'm surprised and impressed that the frozen seeds germinated, SP. .

I often freeze bean seeds that I want to save, they can sometimes get weevils in the seeds, the cold kills the bugs and the beans germinate fine.