It’s a vegetable! It’s a fruit! It’s… a chilli pepper?! It’s not surprising as to why the classification of the chilli pepper is often confused due to it’s feature of looking like a vegetable when it is indeed a fruit.
Although though chilli peppers can come in a variety of colors, shapes, and textures, the most distinguishing image that comes to mind when if we were asked to visualize the chilli pepper is the bright red and sizzling hot jalapeno.
There are two primary groups that peppers are divided into which are sweet peppers and hot peppers. Hot peppers produce the stronger and spicier taste(go figure huh) with a thinner texture whereas sweet peppers are more plump and have a more succulent sweeter taste.
The chilli pepper plant, which bears these flavorful fruits, is of the genus species Capsicum annuum under the Solanaceae family(pretty difficult to pronounce huh?) and is a perennial native to Mexico. Maybe you’d like to learn about how to grow a chilli plant or would like some extra tips if you’re already grow your own chilli plant!
Before we get into the planting process, it’s important to establish a good understanding of your planting environment and the variety of chilli’s you’ve selected in order to ensure healthy growth and tasty peppers. If you are already growing tomatoes in your garden, growing chilli plants should not bring many surprises as tomatoes and the chilli plant are grown in similar conditions.
As nature would have intended, hot and sizzling peppers thrive in high sunlight spots along with having a low hardiness against frosty conditions. Because, the chilli plant doesn’t do well in areas susceptible to cold and frost, you may also consider growing your seeds indoors with some a heating system in place.
Also, be sure to see that your soil is well drained and has a slightly neutral pH of 6-7. The green chilli plant and red chilli plant are the most popular variety grown amongst house gardeners due to their versatility and perfectly hot peppers.
Some common chilli plant diseases include Xanthamonas vesicatoria(bacteria causing leaf damage), Anthracnose(fungus that causes wide brown circular spots), and Fusarium oxysporum(fungus that damages foliage and can spread throughout the plant). Although these conditions are treatable with some light copper fungicide, however be wary as fungicide may slow down the growth of the plant.
Prevention is key so please see that your seeds are disease free before sowing and that your growing conditions are not too moist. Visiting your local nursery or contacting your area’s agricultural office about the chilli varieties you can grow would be a great idea to ensure piece of mind with your plants.
After you’ve selected your varieties of chilli plants suitable to your environment, it’s finally time to get to planting!
Three Step Simple Chilli Planting
Step 1: Prepare your soil with some compost and plant fertilizer a couple weeks BEFORE planting the seeds or plant.
Step 2: Plant your seeds about an inch deep and with your preferred spacing layout keeping in mind that these plants will grow into medium sized bushes.
We recommend having at least 15-25 inches apart. Also, you do have the option of planting several seeds in a good sized pot(that is well drained of course!).
Step 3: Water well, cover with a fine layer of mulch, and allow the germination process to begin.
If you decided not to grow an indoor chilli plant, you should allow you plant to acclimatize to outdoor conditions simply by allowing your plant to soak in the sun during the day, and bringing it indoors during the night. Do this for about a week before allowing your plant to settle outside.Your chilli seeds will take about a week or up to a month to germinate.
Be sure to constantly see that your chilli plants are well watered on a weekly basis giving them about an inch or so of each every week, however be careful to not over water as that can cause damage as well. You can prevent this by making sure your soil is dry up to the top before watering.
Also, periodically fertilizing and replacing the mulch will promote an even healthier growth. Chilli plant food is also an option that can provide even more nutrients to your plant however it is not at all necessary.
When you see the first shoots beginning to flower on your chilli plant, use the method of “topping” which is simply pinching or cutting out the tip of the shoots. Topping increases your future harvest by returning energy to the plant to allow for promote even more branching. Click here to check out the best selling pruning shears!
Stake your plants as they begin to fruit to give support against the weight of the chillies.
Chilli plants will produce seedlings that should be moved to grow on their own when they are mature enough. Be sure to water well before transplanting your seedlings and to exercise caution with the fragile stem. The seedlings require similar growing conditions as their mother plant so the same type of soil you used to grow your mother plant would be fine to use. Again, if you are growing your plants outdoors, be sure to acclimatize your plant to allow it time to adapt.
Harvesting Your Sizzling Chillies!
Most varieties will be able to harvest in 2-3 months. You’ll know it’s time to pick the peppers when they are easy to pull off or have some small brown lines forming. However, the best method for determining if your own specific peppers are ready to harvest is simply reading the plant information on the packet you received the seeds in.
Caution! Please be sure to wear some kind of hand protection if you decide to use your hands rather than a pruning utensil because pepper oils may cause irritation to the skin! Click here to take a look at the #1 best selling gardening gloves!
You may choose to store some of your leftover chillies by simply drying or freezing them.
Adding spice to your meals
There are several ways to consume your hot or sweet peppers such as eating them with vegetables, fish, and all types of meat. However, many also decide to use grinded up pepper as a seasoning which can be a real flavorful addition!
If you find yourself not being able to handle the intense spice of a hot pepper, many find it useful to drink some milk or eat some yogurt to help ease the burn. We know, we’ve been there!
We hope this article on chilli plants proved useful or insightful to you in one way or another. We would highly appreciate if you contacted us or leave some comments on your experiences with the chilli plant or have any other gardening questions you may want answered!