Talkback: Growing chilli peppers - Page 3 - Talkback

26/07/2010 at 14:57

I'm wondering whether the compost has got waterlogged, and the roots have started dying. This can cause plants to wilt and collapse. Alternatively the compost has dried out completely, and te plant wilted in the heat, but I'm assuming you've already thought of this.

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26/07/2010 at 21:15

Hi Adam I usually try to grow chilli from seed each year. Last year was a disaster as I had 12 plants growing well in the conservatory but they suddenly became infested with aphids and as a result the crop was very poor. This year I have been more careful with respect to pests and grown 5 plants. I have been carefully monitoring watering them- starting slowly when young and increasing the water to almost daily as the hot weather took hold a few weeks back (I live in London) and increasing also as the plants grow. I also feed tomato feed once a week. Currently my plants are doing ok and chillis are growing on each. However I still see plenty of flower drop- the flowers look good and then the stalks turn yellow and the flower shrivels and falls off before producing fruit. This happens every year; I thought it maybe due to over-watering so have been careful this year as I mention. The pots they are in are 20 cm- could the pots be too small? I would be grateful if you could assist on whatever is causing the flower drop as its so frustrating to not get a huge yield. I have grown them in the conservatory again; intially they were in there then I put them outside in the middle of May but brought them in again as I understand they dont like wind.

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31/07/2010 at 17:15

i have been growing a chilli plant now for about 4 months but unfortunately the chillis are not growing no more than 1 inch long . am i doing something wrong? also when you want a chilli off your plant where about do you cut it?

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12/08/2010 at 11:28

I had a lot of flower-drop and wondered if it was due to over- or under-watering but I couldn't find any pattern. Then I read that [?some] chillies have male and female flowers and therefore I assume that the male flowers do their bit and then die, which would account for the large numbers of yellowed and dropped flowers that occur. What do you think?

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04/10/2010 at 19:59

Advice please on how to preserve a good crop of Cayenne Chili Peppers. A successful first year of growing them.

Gardeners' World Web User

11/10/2010 at 09:44

Repl;y to A Walker: You should have taken a look at Toby Buckland's tip on drying chillies in the September issue of Gardeners' World Magazine (page 15). Toby simply strings-up the chillies on thread, hanging them by their stalk, and keeping in the greenhouse or a warm room for them to dry in the air. You could probably just lay them on a warm windowsill to dry instead. Once dry, store in airtight jars – either whole or broken into flakes. I'm also told chillies can be frozen, and then used directly in curries or other dishes as you cook.

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07/12/2010 at 19:25

Hi! I have grown my chilli plant from a seed and it is quite big now. It has flowered with those little white flowers loads of times but so far I have only managed to grow one chilli! (it was quite big though). All the other flowers just wilt and drop off. Any advice on how to get more chillis growing? Thanks :)

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13/01/2011 at 19:15

Try Thai dragon chillies - they'll be fierce enough for you! I managed to get one plant to produce two years running - I got over 250 chillies from it this season - stopped in early December - I'm hoping it will flower this coming season. I'll let you know if it does.

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17/01/2011 at 13:43

Reply to falcon41: Yes, I've often heard that people manage to keep their chilli plants growing over winter, and get them to crop the following year. However, I've never done this myself. Do let me know how you get on. If others have tried this please let us know.

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24/01/2011 at 22:01

chilli plants chilli seeds are showing in the pots planted 1 week back whish me look its my first time guys

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17/04/2011 at 17:49

Hi Chilli fans, over the past few years I have really got into my chilli plant growing and even go to local events to learn more. I have had quite some success with just pots of soil and droping seeds in and have slowly got more ambitious over the last few years trying to grow more. I have pulled together what I have learnt from other blogging sites, friends and festivals in a growing guide that may be useful so check it out if you are interested :) http://chillipepperheaven.blogspot.com/2010/12/growing-chilli-plants.html

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26/04/2011 at 13:24

its my first time growing chillies i followed all the rules , the plants germinated ok and have grown to about 1 inch tall.they seem to have stopped growing ,as they have been this size for about 4 weeks, conditions are as req. HELP anybody,thanks.

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06/05/2011 at 14:14

about 500 bhut jolokia has been produced from a single tree in my garden, is that a world record?? i'm curious

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23/05/2011 at 12:29

We are growing chili plants to decorate the tables at a wedding in early September. They are doing really well and starting to produce flowers. Some are a bit leggy. Two questions: Should we pinch the top out to make them bushier? Will the fruit last till the wedding? Should we start another batch now? Any tips/ideas would be much appreciated.

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09/07/2011 at 16:07

hi my chilis start off growing green chilis then they turn yellow/orange,is that normal or is something wrong??

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06/08/2011 at 15:40

I have 3 different chilli plants in the greenhouse, one has loads of green chillies on, the other looks ok but the last plant has loads of flowers on but they are dropping of and no chillies are coming, I would be grateful for any advice.

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23/08/2011 at 14:53

For those folk that are watering correctly but still suffering "flower-drop" and no Chillies, your plants are short of a good cuddle!! The problem is the flowers are not getting fertilized, no fertilization - no fruit. Chilli pollen "ripens" every day between 12noon and 3pm, so gather your plants together, put your arms round them and give them a good cuddle!(or a good shaking!) you Will see the difference!!

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23/10/2011 at 16:34

I have loads of chillis this year from the free GW seeds. I can't remember what type they were though and there are so many I don't know what to do with them - recipe / storage ideas please

Gardeners' World Web User

28/11/2011 at 18:38

I read recently that the hottest chilli is the Ghost chilli (which I've just Googled, and realise it's a name for the Bhut Jolokia you mention). It was an article about a woman who was trying to beat the world record of eating them. I think she managed in the 20s - ow. And she rubbed them on her eyelids for good measure - double ow. In fact, here it is: http://www.nowpublic.com/strange/guinness-record-eating-worlds-hottest-chilli-ghost-chilli

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