More on chillis

Many of you know that I am fond of growing chillis...

Fuego F1

The website Lovethegarden.com (whose competitions I sometimes enter) has recently published a short infographic on chillis, which might be of interest to you if you are thinking about growing them for the first time. Here's a link to it: Hotter than the Sun

In the infographic it states that "adding fish fertiliser once a month is critical". I disagree. I have successfully grown chillis for many years and I have never even contemplated using fish fertiliser. I hate fish in all forms, and the thought of putting it on my beloved chilli plants is repugnant! I do however regularly use the Tomorite tomato-fertiliser which is also advocated - and I use it on my tomatoes too.

I would also suggest that you ignore the advice in the infographic to only plant out your chillis when the daytime temperature averages 21 degrees C. In the UK you might wait for ever! I have found that although chillis LIKE high temperatures, they will tolerate much lower ones, so don't be put off. Of course, if you have a greenhouse (even one of the little plastic ones like I have), it would be best to grow the chillis in that - at least until they are well established.

Fuego F1

Another factor in successful chilli growing is moisture. In the hot countries where chillis originate, rain often falls in huge quantities but for a short time (I know this is an over-simplification!), whereas here in the UK we tend to get rain much more frequently - and until recently I would have said "in smaller doses", though this year has been exceptional and many parts of the British Isles have had torrential rainfall. I think it is best to try to keep your chillis relatively thirsty. My belief is that this will put them under a certain amount of stress, which in turn may serve to make their fruit somewhat hotter (which is good if you like that sort of thing). This therefore is another reason why growing chillis under cover is desirable.

Sitting here thinking about what makes a good chilli, I have come to the conclusion that it may all be just a case of Trial and Error! If you are a commercial grower it is usually possible to create a constant set of conditions, but as an amateur growing perhaps half a dozen plants each year this is not the case. I have further concluded that that is exactly why I enjoy growing chillis: the challenge of creating the right conditions; the excitement of never knowing quite what you are going to get; and the thrill of seeing the end result - a harvest of glossy green / red / orange / purple fruits. For me of course there is an added bonus: chillis are good photo subjects!

Amando

In all honesty, we don't eat a huge quantity of chillis. We use them wherever appropriate, but we are not obsessed with them. I'm not over-enamoured with the blazingly-hot chillis either. Not for me the mouth-numbing fire of Bhut Jolokia; I prefer the mellow smokiness of a good Chipotle.

Turkey

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P.S. Nothing to do with chillis, but...

I have seen an advert for WoodblocX's amazing method of creating easy-to-build, flexible, durable raised beds, planters etc. I'm not normally one to be overly-influenced by advertising, but I think this concept is exceptional. Like Lego bricks for grown-up gardeners! OK, you may say, it sounds expensive for just some bits of wood, but just think of all the effort you would save (buying, transporting, cutting, treating, assembling wood etc). I reckon my granddaughter Lara would have some fun helping me to build one of those beds too...When (if) I win a million on the National Lottery I shall definitely be buying some Woodblocx.

P.P.S. WoodblocX have kindly offered me one of their kits to review, and it is arriving next week! I shall be writing about this in due course. Watch this space...