New grower and jumping in the deep end.

[Justin Verrall]

I've recently found my green thumb and one of the plants I've wanted to grow were chilies. I decided to find out what the hottest chilly available in NZ and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Chocolate Bhutlah seeds are in fact available so I did the smart thing and jumped on the chance to grow them.

I have the seeds as well as a box of jiffy peat pellets. What would be the best direction that I should go now? Start sowing them right away or wait till spring?

-chili enthusiast with an unfortunately low tolerance and soon to be Chocolate Bhutlah grower.

[CJBateman]

Hi Justin,

Good to see new budding chili enthusiasts joining the hot side of the force. I started my Chili journey in a similar way 5 years ago - low tolerance and jumped straight into growing superhots (ghost peppers for me). A few tips that I have learned:

(1) Superhots can take anywhere from a week to a month to germinate, and the plants can take longer to mature than the milder varieties. They can also prolifically drop their flowers for a few weeks before producing flowers that take with fruit. Usually I plant my seeds indoors in the middle of winter to get part of the non-fruiting stage of the growing process out of the way before the weather gets warm enough. Sowing indoors now would be an advantage.

(2) Chillies are perennials (despite being frost sensitive), so you can keep plants alive indoors during winter.

(3) Double Beer-Pong Cup trick: make holes in the bottom of one pot and fill with soil. Fill the other cup with 1/3 water then sit the soil cup inside - this will force water through all the soil. (Works nicely for the first transplant of the seedlings until they are 2-4 inches tall). This provides a nice way to ensure a good distribution of water through the soil while the seedlings are developing their roots.

(4) Ghost pepper sauces makes for a good stepping stone for building initial tolerance as the burn has a (relativity) slow buildup.



Good luck for the coming season!