How To Grow Chillies At Home
Thinking about adding a little bit of spice to your garden? Chilli peppers or chillies are a great way to do just that. They’re a great homegrown food option because there are varieties to suit any palate and they grow in just about any garden. Even if you don’t eat chillies the bright red fruit will bring a welcome bit of colour to your vegetable patch. So, without further ado, here’s how to grow chillies at home!
How to Grow Chillies At Home In A Snapshot
Chillies grow in bushes. Chilli bushes work great in small spaces, in containers and on balconies.
Where Do Chillies Grow Best
Chillies thrive in full sun. The soil should have a pH of between 6 and 7 (slightly acidic to neutral). Chillies are from the same family as tomatoes so they will grow in similar environments although chillies, like their flavour, like it a little bit warmer than tomatoes.
Types of chillies
Chillies are usually categorized by heat. Ranging from the mildest (like bell peppers or capsicum) to Poblano and Pimientos (still mild but getting warmer) to jalepanos (medium) all the way to serranos and habarnaros (hot and extra hot respectively).
Mild
- Bell peppers are not spicy at all
- Banana pepper
- Poblano pepper are where you start to get a little bit of heat. But be careful these chillies have been known to be a bit hotter than expected.
- Pimientos. Still considered mild, pimientos are the chillies used to make paprika so that will give you a bit of a guide on their strength.
Medium
- Jalapenos
- Cayenne are slightly spicier than jalapenos
- Thai chillies are hotter again and are used to make sriracha sauce.
Hot And Extra Hot
- Serrano (hot) and Habanero – be careful these guys are hot, hot, hot!
Planting Your Chillies
Chillies can be grown from seeds. If you’re starting out in early Spring, it’s a good idea to grow your seeds indoors because they need temperatures of about 70°F to germinate. Chillies prefer it when overnight temperatures do not drop below 60°F. You’ll need the temperature to be about 86°F before the fruit will ripen.
How Should Chillies Be Planted
Chillies thrive in pots and containers. If planted in the ground allow about 1 foot between the bushes.
Chillies love being grown in larger pots as you can start them inside (when the temperatures are cooler and you don’t have to disturb the roots by transplanting them later on. Just make it’s warm enough and your bush is about 6 inches before taking it outside.
Make sure you have good quality soil. You might need to use fertilizer if your soil is of poor quality. Use mulch to retain heat and moisture.
Chillies Need Water!
Like tomatoes chillies need a good amount of water to prevent them from drying out. But make sure your soil isn’t too compact as they don’t want to feel swampy. Water every day and twice a day through the peak of summer.
Time to Harvest Your Homegrown Chillies
Assuming that its warm enough, chillies are come into fruit pretty quickly. Depending on the variety your looking at between 60 to 120 days. When harvesting your chillies fresh, simply pull the mature fruit off the branch when its shiny and plump. Make sure you pull it upwards away from the direction its hanging. Alternatively, you can cut them by snipping them off.
Looking for more?
Click here to read our simple guide to growing tomatoes.
Click here to read our article about growing cucumbers at home.
