Greenhouse Gardening – chillies

In the UK, chilli seeds need to be sown early in the year, and brought on in a greenhouse or poly-tunnel if they are to set fruit. Once they germinate they can be grown outside in a sunny spot during the height of summer. The problem with chilli seeds is that germination is highly variable and may take as long as five weeks, although you can improved your chances by applying bottom warmth to the seed compost using a heated propagator.

It’s usual to sow seeds during February and March and as soon as the majority of the seeds in a pot have emerged and are showing two true leaves, they should be transferred individually into three inch pots. At this stage the seedlings need plenty of sunlight; ideally in a heated greenhouse or warm conservatory. Continue to keep them warm, moist and well ventilated. They can stay in the pot until they are three to six inches high, but when the plants have developed around five pairs of leaves they should be potted on again, either into larger pots (nine to twelve inches) indoors or into a polytunnel. If you are growing them in a greenhouse, you may need to provide shade from full summer sun by putting up blinds or painting with greenhouse paint.

A mistake often made with chillies is to treat them like tomatoes but they don’t do well if you give them a lot of nitrogen although, like tomatoes you shouldn’t let them dry out. Larger varieties may need supporting, usually a single cane and ties will be enough.

Greenhouse gardening chilli photograph by pjb 2332, used under a creative commons attribution licence