BensGrandad
New member
According to the 'experts' up my allotment they are ready when the flowers have died off and the plants begin to fall over as if dead.
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Chillies, Toms & Sweet Pepper growing
- Thread starter Marc
- Start date
According to the 'experts' up my allotment they are ready when the flowers have died off and the plants begin to fall over as if dead.
defrocked priest
Father Footy
Has anyone tried those upside down plant growing thingamagines.
we've got a tumbling tomato plant growing upside down, we made our own with one of the 5 litre water bottle things. the plant has about fourteen green tomatoes on it now so it seems to work.
we made it like this
Make your own upside down tomato planter - UPDATE | The Cheap Vegetable Gardener
we made it like this
Make your own upside down tomato planter - UPDATE | The Cheap Vegetable Gardener
defrocked priest
Father Footy
It looks quant and unusual all at the same time I'd be skeptical of gravity on the fruit and protection from bugs and vermin.
Tricky Dicky
New member
I have 51 chilli plants on the go (all on window sills) - 3 varieties, Jalapeno, Cayenne and Lanterns. Looks like they're just starting to flower. I planted them in Feb, but I've never grown any before so it's all new to me at the mo. Exciting !
I've got some jalapenos on the go - all indoors. Loads of flowers and quite a bit of fruit now, including some that are quite big. I'll upload photos from home later. I'm a 'first-timer' too Dicky.
My basil plants from seed have gone pretty well too - I reckon I could make some pesto shortly. My sweet peppers are the laggards right now.
My basil plants from seed have gone pretty well too - I reckon I could make some pesto shortly. My sweet peppers are the laggards right now.
Tricky Dicky
New member
How long did it take from flower to first fruit then ?
Sorry - not entirely sure. On the flowers that will fruit (not all of them will), it becomes obvious quite quickly - you'll see the start of a chilli peeking out from the middle of the flower.
What are you doing about pollination? Having read about it elsewhere, I've been using a very small paintbrush (ie for painting on paper, not walls!) to try and spread the pollen around a bit. I've got no idea if this is working at all, or whether the fruit I have would have come anyway.
Tricky Dicky
New member
No probs. Not sure about the pollination at all, I need to read up on it. Marc will probably know more as he's the 'expert'. From my rudimentary grasp of genetics, I think you would have had some fruit regardless, but I suspect you would get more quantity and healthier if the plants do not pollinate themselves (i.e. in-breeding). I stand to be correct though.
Correct if you want full size spuds
Correct if you want smaller, new potatoes
Have a lot of veg on the go in a few square meters again this year. All my chilli seedlings got eaten by something one night and have never had luck with them so didn't replant.
New this year are shallots - incredible looking things in the ground. Also growing garlic - which seems to be keeping the bugs at bay. All of the aliums are easy to plant and grow.
Been growing peas for pea shoots and have been taking salad off them for a month now - fantastic and cheap salad crop.
Courgettes, cucumbers and squash all now in the ground. Red Kuri squash is brilliant and easy to grow. Am also trying cucumbers in the main garden growing on the gravel mulched area - might work?
A few parsnips and carrots in just so we can pull a few fresh from the soli - but not really space to do them justice.
severnside gull
Well-known member
very impressed TRHK.
I also grow peas for their shoots - fabulous in salads
Potatoes and beans going well and lettuces, tomatoes, cucumber and other salad stuff looking good right now but my peppers have been knobbled by the slugs
I also grow peas for their shoots - fabulous in salads
Potatoes and beans going well and lettuces, tomatoes, cucumber and other salad stuff looking good right now but my peppers have been knobbled by the slugs
It may be slugs that got my chillies - they all went overnight.
Growing salad is incredibly easy - and saves a fortune if you are buying backs of pre-washed stuff. We had salad on the raised beds growing (under an old window) right through to January this year.
The pea shoots tip is such a good one - because unless you grow peas on an industrial scale there are always far too many in the packet. So shove them in much closer than you normally would and start pinching off the shoots as you need them. And when you're done, the pea roots are good for the soil too.
[apols about the huge picture above - trying to get it removed]
Growing salad is incredibly easy - and saves a fortune if you are buying backs of pre-washed stuff. We had salad on the raised beds growing (under an old window) right through to January this year.
The pea shoots tip is such a good one - because unless you grow peas on an industrial scale there are always far too many in the packet. So shove them in much closer than you normally would and start pinching off the shoots as you need them. And when you're done, the pea roots are good for the soil too.
[apols about the huge picture above - trying to get it removed]
Let us know how the Scotch bonnets get on Mark.I buy them every week but would love to grow them indoors.It's a bugger having no garden.I love raddishes as well and would love to grow the golf ball ones along with sweet corn.Keep thinking about renting an allotment out.
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You should be able to grow chillis on a window-sill without any problem at all.
Check out Landshare if you want to get hold of some land to tinker. One of Hugh F-W's initiatives.
- Aug 7, 2003
- 8,087
I'm a chilli newbie too, with about 30 plants growing inside at the moment. We've been told that we should "pinch" the top of each plant to encourage sideways growth, rather than have a very tall thin plant. Does anyone know anything about this?
I've heard about that, but heard others who grow chillis commercially say there really is no need.
Where are you lot with 30-50 plants keeping them all - your windowsills must be pretty 'busy' !
Cheers for that link.Where i use to live in Warninglid,you could rent an allotment from the council for £7 per year(patch that is)
Have to read more info on it first as i haven't got a clue about this topic but eager to learn.
Tricky Dicky
New member
I have heard of doing this, but not being a gardener of any sort, wouldn't know where to do it without damaging the plant.
Seems like there are lots of us new to chilli growing this year !
Tricky Dicky
New member
Out of interest Algie, what do you use the bonnets for, as you buy them so often ?
I love hot food.Trust me i buy them every week from my corner shop as they are much cheaper then supermarkets.
Spicy stew and dumplins
Belly of pork
Chilli mince,jacket potatoe,rice
Homemade curry.
I will try and put chilli into most foods i can get away with.