Chilli seeds: What I've sowed and where to buy chilli seeds

Yay! My chilli seeds arrived on New Years Eve and another pack came today! So far I have sown about 20 chilli seeds, some of which are the Bhut Jolokia which for those who don't know are the hottest chilli seeds you can get! The other chilli seeds I have sown in Jiffy Pellets (Jiffy 7's/Pete Pellets) are the wonderful brightly coloured NuMex Twilight and the Apache F1, plus Prairie Fire.

Apache F1 Chilli

I am actually really looking forward to growing the Apache F1 chilli as they are perfect for popping on the windowsill and they have really nice looking classic bright red chilli peppers hanging off of them and mixed with the shiny green leaves they look really great.

Apache F1 heat level: Medium
Species: Annuum
Origin: Unknown

NuMex Twilight Chilli

I wanted to grow the Numex Twilight chilli peppers last year but never did. If you're looking for a slightly different chilli then these are fantastic as an edible ornamental chilli. The chillis pods grow upright and have great vibrant colours when growing from purple, yellow, orange and red. The Numex Twilight are another nice little windowsill chilli and they almost look like Christmas Tree lights.

Numex Twilight heat level: Hot
Species: Annuum
Origin: USA

Prairie Fire Chilli

The Prairie Fire chilli pepper looks almost the same as the Numex Twilight, the colours are the same and they also grow upright, another good choice for the chilli grower that doesn't have much space.

Prairie Fire heat level: Medium
Species: Annuum
Origin: Unknown

Bhut Jolokia Chilli (Bih Jolokia)

The Bhut Jolokia (translates to "Ghost Chilli") currently is the worlds hottest chilli and comes from the Indian region of Assam and is known by a few different names depending on the Indian province, one name the "Bhi Jolokia" is translated as "poison chilli", though it's not actually a real poison chilli and is edible.

It's not the most attractive chilli and certainly isn't the stereotypical chilli in terms of looks, it's quite small and is fairly wrinkly to look at, in a weird way the Jolokia reminds me of a prune, though the Bhut Jolokia is red and not black and is also bigger than a prune.

Prairie Fire heat level: Insane / Nuclear
Species: Chinense
Origin: India

For some quality chilli seeds checkout www.chileseeds.co.uk | www.readytogrow.co.uk | www.southdevonchillifarm.co.uk | www.seaspringseeds.co.uk

Checkout my grow your own chili guide titled "growing chillis at home" for more information on growing your own chillies.

Windowsill chilli peppers

I thought I'd quickly make a post about chilli peppers to grow on your windowsill at home as a reader, Jon, left a comment on the post below about looking for some chillis to grow on his windowsill.

While I was searching for some small chilli types I found a company called Sea Spring Seeds that sell some small chilli peppers called "the habanero collection" which contain the chillis Turtle Claw, Coffee Bean and Pumpkin.

When I emailed Joy at Sea Spring Seeds she said that they grow theirs in small 5inch pots and could grow to 1 foot which would make them great windowsill chilli peppers. She also says that the Habanero collection make great looking edible house plants.

So thanks Joy for your email and if anyone is interested in small chilli plants this year be sure to visit www.seaspringseeds.co.uk - the three pack is priced at £7


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Fire Garden selected chilli pepper seeds for 2010

Well I have decided to buy some new chilli seeds for 2010 and this time I am going for the smaller chilli varieties which are the NuMex Twilight, Apache, Prairie Fire and the not so small Bhut Jolokia just because it is one of those hot chillies that any chilli head has to grow at least once.

If you're looking for some high quality seeds and growing equipment for this season then be sure to check out my links to my fave seed companies on the top right of this page.

I will be posting about growing the Bhut Jolokia/Naga chilli separately as it is one of those special chilli peppers that a lot of people talk about so it would be nice for those wanting some information on growing the Bhut Jolokia/Naga to be able to read a totally separate grow diary for it.

In search for compact windowsill chilli peppers?

Well this time last year I had already sowed my first chilli pepper seeds (see: sowing chilli seeds) and this year I am going for some smaller compact types that would fit on my windowsill quite nicely but I cannot decide which dwarf chilli plants to grow! I was thinking Apache, Prairie Fire and Razzamatazz but don't want anything too bushy, any fellow chilli growers like to suggest some chilli seeds for me?

Back on line

Well looks like I forgot to renew my domain but it's all back now and
I will start my new chilli growing ventures in Jan so stay tuned!

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Storing Chillies

For those of you that are looking to keep your chilli peppers over a longer period here are some ideas to help you store chillies so you get the most from this years chilli harvest.

• Put them in a zip lock bag and freeze them whole
• Dry your chilli's and grind them down in to a home made chilli powder
• Pickle them in vinegar - try Jalapeno's pickled in vinegar, they taste great!
• Put them in the fridge

These are just a few little ideas and definitely the most common way of storing chillies, if you have any weird and wonderful ways of storing chillies then leave a comment!

As the chilli growing season comes to an end....

Well this year has been a real learning curve for me in terms of growing chilli peppers and other veggies, I have grown some really tasty chilli peppers this year and I really look forward to growing again next season, however I am down sizing my property and moving in to an apartment so won't have as much room to grow, however we will have a nice south facing balcony so there will be room for a few plants, not sure what types yet but I think some rather small ones, Apache and Scotch Bonnet chilli peppers are definitely going to be on my grow list next season!

I have harvested about 50 chilli's this and they have all been very nice, especially the red Jalapeno's. Here is a picture of a handful of my red chilli peppers that I have left to ripen. I am not sure what the big ones are, I know I didn't order any large types.