How to grow your own chillis

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EASY PICKINGS
1. When deciding on a location for your chilli plant, make sure the hanging fruit will be easy to reach come harvest time.

GETTING STARTED
2. Chilli fanciers are spoilt for choice, with a huge range of varieties available from seed these days. Sow in spring or summer into pots or trays filled with seed-raising mixture. Plant out the seedlings when they’re about 10cm high and they’ll take around 12 weeks until harvest. From spring to autumn, you’ll also find chilli seedlings and potted plants in most nurseries, ready for planting directly into a sunny garden or container.

GOING POTTY
3. Chillies make fun, decorative container crops, and the large range of plant sizes and fruit shapes and colours means you can use small windowsill pots through to larger troughs or tubs. Fill pots with good-quality potting mix and remember that larger pots hold more soil, so plants won’t dry out so quickly in hot summers.

SHAPING UP
4. As well as heat and colour, chillies also come in a range of shapes, from traditional tapered fruit to bells, bonnets and pointy edged ‘scorpions’. Habanero bears wrinkled bell-shaped fruit.

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HOW TO GROW THEM

Climate
Chillies grow in most zones but don’t tolerate frost and may defoliate or die during winter in cold climates. Here, treat them as annuals, saving seeds and replanting in spring.

Position
They love a hot, sunny position but don’t mind summer afternoon shade. Bring pots inside for up to a week for a burst of indoor colour.

Water
Keep germinating seeds and young seedlings moist, then water plants regularly, especially in the height of summer.

Soil
Chillies are not fussy and grow in a wide range of soils but it’s essential to keep them well drained. Add plenty of organics to the soil before planting, such as aged manure and compost plus a sprinkling of garden lime.

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Mulch
A layer of mulch retains soil moisture and helps prevent weeds popping up. Mulching in autumn helps keep soil and roots warmer over winter.

Fertiliser
Excess nitrogen results in lots of leaves and no fruit, so use a balanced fertiliser like Thrive All Purpose Liquid Plant Food or PowerFeed for Vegies monthly.

Harvesting and storage
Pluck fresh, plump chillies as needed – they last well on the plant. Harvest any excess before winter, bunching and hanging to dry in a warm, sheltered spot. Store dried chilli in sealed containers. Use fresh chillies in salsas, sauces and curries or preserve as jams and pickles.