Growing Chilli peppers, also Hot peppers

Capsicum sp. : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
                S S    
                    T T

(Best months for growing Chilli peppers in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings

September: After risk of frosts

  • Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 64°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 16 - 20 inches apart
  • Harvest in 9-11 weeks. Wear gloves to pick 'hot' chillies.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Best grown in a separate bed as chillies need plenty of light and air circulation.

Your comments and tips

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31 Mar 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)
Maybe I am biased but I wouldn't use chemical fertilisers like you mention as they destroy soil life. Healthy soil teeming with soil life is the answer. Build your soil up with old manure, compost and any organic matter and 'numbers' won't be necessary.Use crop rotation starting with a leaf crop after you have added manure, etc to the soil. When the leaf crop is finished plant a fruit crop (beans, capsicum, tomatoes zucchini, etc), then finally a root veg crop. Re-fertilise the soil ready to start the cycle again. plants need more than N-P-K and organic matter will achieve this, building up the soil life, increasing the capacity of the soil to hold water, increasing disease resistance and making more micro-nutrients available to your plants. adding some lime in late autumn or winter will also help. Trust this helps.
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16 Mar 17, Marie (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Hello, we had the first frost this morning, my plant is full of big green chilies, is it now time to pick all my chilies or will they still turn red? Also how do i save chilie sead for next year?
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17 Mar 17, Jack (Australia - temperate climate)
If the chillies are hit by frost they are likely to rot. I suggest pulling the plants out by the roots and hanging them upside down in a protected spot. This works with tomatoes and at least you would redeem some or most of them. To save seed cut or flick them out and let them dry on some paper towel. Store them in a paper bag or envelope with the name and date on it.
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01 Jan 17, Lynne Adams (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Do I nip top stems off to increase side stems and fruit
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02 Feb 17, Karen (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Yes. Not counting the seed leaves I generally let the plant grow to about 8 true leaves then remove the lower 2 (ventilation space under growing plant) and cut the stem leaving 4 true leaves. This results in a stronger stem, more side shoots = more fruit. This works well for me growing one plant per 15L container.
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07 Jan 17, Peter (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
If you nip off the stem they will be sturdier plants and I have found they do produce more fruit.
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07 Jul 14, Deepak Bhatia (New Zealand - temperate climate)
What kind of fertilizer does chillies need
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30 Jun 10, (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Growing indoors, they will need an even warmth and plenty of light. If they are on a windowsill, watch that they don't get too cold overnight.
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12 Jan 09, Lucy (New Zealand - temperate climate)
hi, I am growing chillis in a 75cm round pot, there is 1 chilli plant and 1 capsicum plant in there, will they grow well in a pot?
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03 Sep 08, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Julie, chillies will do better in full sun
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Showing 31 - 40 of 40 comments
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Tammi - could be mice or rats, they can do this also. Its happened to me in Perth. Megan - Chillies will only grow vigourously during the warmer months, depending on where you are, they will either slow down, go dormant, or die altogether, depening on how cold it gets, a severe frowst will kill them. Wait until summer, they will flower all over, and give you lots of fruit. If you want a hotter chilli, water them less, let them dry out a little (but not all the way). A stressed plant will give hotter fruit. If you want hotter fruit still, get a different variety. Look for a chinense variety. Gareth - Most people raise chillies in punnets/starter pots, then into medium pots (10-15 cm across at the top), then onto final larger pots or garden beds when they have outgrown the medium one. You can tell when they are ready to be moved as they will have roots coming out the bottom. Julie - feed them with tomato food, probably in liquid form, is pretty good for flowering chillies, also, mulch and compost the soil if you can. Murray - depending on the variety, chillies can take up to 6 weeks to germinate, and they also need warm humid conditions to do so. Chillies are originally grown in warmer humid places, so they better you can recreate this, the happier they are. Keep them moist, (but not wet or soggy), perhaps put half a coke bottle over them to keep the humidity up, put them somewhere warm, they dont need sunlight to germinate, so the top of the fridge will do. When they do germinate, move them to a sunny windowsill or similar until they are ready to be hardened off to go outside. Michael - an NPK ratio of 10-5-10 for when they are growing works well, then 5-10-10 for flowering, if using bought fertilizers. Otherwise, a well composted mix of garden waste should work well, with some animal manure thrown in. Dont forget to mulch the soil to stop evaporation.

- Simon

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