Fact Sheet Chillies

Growing Chillies
Capsicum frutescens/annum
The plant
If you can grow tomatoes successfully, you should be able to
grow chillies. They are a little different in their needs but are
as easy to grow on a sunny patio, a big pot on a windowsill
or in an unheated greenhouse.
Chillies are best treated as half-hardy annuals. The plants

have a longer growing season than the UK climate allows, so
they have to be grown indoors for protection against frost
for quite a long time before you can plant them outside. In
colder areas they may be more successful if they are kept
indoors.
Varieties and plant material

Growing chillies in a cool climate won’t make them any less
fiery!
There are hundreds of different cultivars of hot pepper, and

seed is widely available from seed companies, or you can
save the seed from peppers you buy for the kitchen: they
are quite likely to be true to type. Choose ripe fruits, which
should be really soft and wrinkly, before you remove the If growing under glass chillies prefer slightly warmer and
seeds. When removing the seeds it’s a good idea to wear more humid conditions than tomatoes, with frequent
rubber gloves to protect your skin, and remember to wash misting or regular damping down of the greenhouse floor
your hands afterwards. to encourage fruiting: aim for temperatures of 21-24°C/
70-75°F. Although chillies are tropical plants they can easily
Planting and site be scorched by direct sunlight, so use some form of light
Sow seed in late February to mid March. Either just sow a shading if the sun is very bright.
pinch in several 9cm/3in pots and pull out all except the
strongest seedling, or scatter seed thinly across a larger When plants are growing well, keep moist and apply a
pot and transplant the seedlings. Cover the seed to its balanced feed every ten days or so, until the fruits begin to
own depth in compost and keep at 21°C / 70°F for best colour when switch to one with a higher potash content,
germination. such as diluted comfrey liquid.
Pot on seedlings as they grow: if you are planning to keep Pests, weeds and diseases
the plants inside all summer they will need at least a 30cm Not many things like eating chilli plants - the hot taste tends
diameter pot when fully grown. to put off pests. Attacks by green capsid beetles early in
the season are not uncommon and lead to small holes like
Above, common green capsid and right, its effects on pepper leaves
Growing Chillies
pinpricks in the young unfolding leaves, but plants usually will

grow out of this.
Like other members of the tomato family (Solanaceae)

chillies are prone to attack by a wide range of viruses, which
may show as a lack of vigour, yellowing or mottling and
distortion of the leaves. Infected plants should be removed
and destroyed. (Remember that some chilli cultivars such as
‘Trifetti’ and ‘Fish’ are variegated, which is normal for these
varieties.)
Harvesting and storage

Pick peppers when they are green or coloured, as you need
them.
Chillies can be dried for winter use either by spreading on

a flat baking tray and slowly dried in the sun or on a bright
windowsill, or threaded onto a fine string and hung up to air
dry. Either way, when completely desiccated they should be
taken down and kept in airtight jars somewhere dark and
cool.
Plants with unripe peppers at the end of the summer can

be brought indoors to finish ripening, or have green fruit
ripened off the plant. It is possible to overwinter pepper
plants especially of the small bird-pepper types, by cutting
them back to ground level and storing the pots somewhere
cool but frost-free and dry; the resulting plants will get away
much quicker next season and give an early crop but it’s only
worth it unless you have a particularly good cultivar or lots
of warm shed room. Minimum temperatures are similar to
the conditions for dahlias.
This leaflet is produced as part of the Sowing New Seeds Project.This is funded by
Big Lottery’s Local Food Fund and has produced a resource of information on growing The Sheldon Trust
advice, experiences and seeds to promote growing of exotic produce in the UK.
For further information visit www.sowingnewseeds.org.uk

or email [email protected]

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Growing Chillies

Chillies are best treated as half-hardy annuals. The plants

Varieties and plant material

There are hundreds of different cultivars of hot pepper, and

pinpricks in the young unfolding leaves, but plants usually will

Like other members of the tomato family (Solanaceae)

Harvesting and storage

Chillies can be dried for winter use either by spreading on

Plants with unripe peppers at the end of the summer can

For further information visit www.sowingnewseeds.org.uk

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