chillis outside only

[Deleted User]

Just wondering how they are doing. My plants are looking autumnal and I have chillis on all of them but not masses, like in 2010

Has it been in iffy year for you? If you have had great results outside then which ones are doing best?

Mine are rocoto, average 4 per plant
hungarian wax, average 4 good sized per plant
nigels outdoor, lots of fruits so far but small

Leif

My rocoto has about 10 pods, some almost 2" across, and plenty of flowers. But it is 7 or 8 years old, and it suffered massive damage during the storms when it lost 2/3 of its leaves and flowers. Otherwise it would have 40 or so pods. My Aji Pulsar (C. baccatum) are not doing well, no pods. My sweet C. chinense are pathetic. The appalling weather has almost destroyed my chilli plants, sadly. I bought a C. baccatum (Lemon Drop) from the local garden centre, and it has quite a lot of pods, but it was raised in a greenhouse, and is now outside. I think I will overwinter a couple of plants, give them a good start for next year. Next year can't be as wet, cold and windy, can it?

annie123

Kittie I grow lots of peppers outside each year and the only one that's been brilliant is my over wintered one.
Some I composted back in July due to tiny size and no chance of catching up and the rest have been average.

hotcookie101

I have 4 plants grown from free wahaca seeds (so serrano I think) and have at least 10-15 chillies on each, just waiting for them to turn red. They have been pretty munched by greenfly, but am hoping to get some red ones (and can always use green if I have to...)
Nowhere to overwinter unfortunately, unless I can stick on the kitchen windowsill....

annie123

hotcookie101 wrote: »

Nowhere to overwinter unfortunately, unless I can stick on the kitchen windowsill....

That's where mine go, and my bedroom too. They keep producing till xmas as a rule and then lose their leaves and grow new ones. It's at this point that some don't make it.
Longest I've kept one going is 5 years I think, but you get such a good start on the year it's well worth trying.
I already have strung up red dried chilis from my overwintered one, with loads of green ones still to come and it's still flowering away so will get them right up to Xmas.

They key to overwintering is getting the watering right, keep very much on the dry side of damp.

Leif

hotcookie101 wrote: »

Nowhere to overwinter unfortunately, unless I can stick on the kitchen windowsill....

The best way to overwinter is to prune the plant to a central stem, 6" is enough in my experience, remove side shoots, or cut them back to a few inches, and then trim the root ball so it is 6" across. Replant in fresh compost. I do this in early January. You can get pods over winter if you leave them, but pruning helps the plant grow new vigorous growth and gets rid of exhausted compost. The plant will gradually grow new shoots, you should get two crops instead of one. Last year my rotoco, maybe 7 years old, gave its best crop yet, with larger pods than usual. In fact this year, despite the damage from gales, wind and rain, the pods are huge.

I've overwintered a Capsicum chinense too, although this year I killed it as it got too cold in the porch.

Chillis are more concerned about warmth than sun, in my experience anyway. I've grown lots of chillis on a windowsill, including Tabasco (C. frutescens), Rocoto (C. pubescens) and Lemon Drop (C. baccatum).