Time to bring the chillies in!

When we lived at our last house, we had no greenhouse, but we were desperate to grow chillies.

We decided to have a go at growing them on the window sill. There was however a slight issue.

The plants looked really healthy and were growing well, we just couldn’t understand why all these flowers weren’t producing fruit.

Then it dawned on us, there were no insects in the house to pollinate them!

We got one of my makeup brushes, and did a gentle dust on each flower.

Eureka, fruit appeared!

Keeping Chilli plants over winter

All the guides talk about discarding the plants at the end of the season, and the first year we did just that.

However the second year we thought, “these plants are still looking really healthy, why don’t we keep them and see what happens”. To our surprise the plants just kept on going.

As the plants got bigger they soon outgrew the window sill. So we moved them upstairs into the office , which was a south facing room. And they loved it!

Finally getting a greenhouse

We moved house to get a bigger garden, and we have just spent the last eight years transforming it.

When we moved in our top priority was to start growing food, which meant, getting a greenhouse.

We initially bought a standard sized one, and probably did grow far too much in it that first year. We soon realised though, that we were going to need a larger greenhouse, and quickly upgraded.

Bigger Greenhouse, more Chillies!

Once we got a larger greenhouse, there was no stopping us and we now produce enough to last all year.

As well as adding a zing to your food, they do look really attractive in the greenhouse.

We actually have ‘his’ & ‘hers’ chilli plants. For myself I grow the milder ‘Jalapeños’ and this year I’ve tried ‘Havana Gold’ which has a lovely flavour.

For my husband we grow the hotter chillies, mainly ‘Habaneros’ and ‘Nagas’. Someone call the fire brigade!

Harvesting the Chillies

Even with the mature plants that we kept on through the winter, the earliest we get ripe chillies is August. The largest part of the harvest is in September and on into October.

Once we’ve picked them, they just need a quick rinse and

a thorough drying.

Preserving the Chillies

We preserve the large amount of fruits, so that we can enjoy them in the winter months.

They can simply be sliced up – with rubber gloves on! And placed into pickling vinegar. This is a perfectly good way to preserve them. But when using them on your meal, you do tend to get some very hot mouthfuls and some not so.

My niece who’s also a keen gardener, preserves some of her chillies by threading them up to dry. She also makes extremely good sweet chilli sauce, and this gave us an idea.

We decided to make chilli sauce, but rather than a sweet dipping sauce. We’d make a savoury one that could be added to meals.

The beauty of the sauce is, when you add it to your food and stir it in, you get a much more uniform heat throughout the whole dish.

The other benefit is, we do like ‘very’ different amounts of heat and so have, ‘his’ and ‘her’ chilli sauces.

Growing Chillies

Chillies need a long growing season so it’s important to start them early.
I sow the chilli seeds at the end of January in a seed tray, which is placed in an electrically heated propagator. They do need at least 21 degrees to germinate, so the propagator is essential at this time of year.

It’s fantastic sowing seeds so early as it marks the start of the gardening season.

I’ve now had seeds from Plants of Distinction, Marshalls and Thompson & Morgan. All have germinated well.

Once they are big enough, they are potted on into small individual pots, but stay inside until March or April.

They are then transferred to the greenhouse, together with the mature plants from the previous year.

As they get bigger they are potted on into 1 litre pots, before finally ending up in 2litre pots. They really do, do much better in bigger pots.

Watering, Feeding and Staking

The worst thing you can do to your chilli plants, is over-water them. Letting them dry out slightly actually creates hotter fruits, as it stresses the plant.

Once the first fruits start forming, it’s time to start feeding them weekly, with a tomato fertiliser.

As they get taller they need staking, as the fruits can get quite heavy. I finally bought some substantial plastic ones which I now reuse each year.

Once the weather turns much colder, especially the nights, usually at the end of October. It’s time to bring the chillies indoors.

We can’t bring them all in, but we bring at least one or two of each variety. This gives them a real head start the following year, allowing us to have the earliest chillies possible.

Stay safe & happy gardening.