Chili plants

What should I do with my chili plant when it arrives?

Immediately after receiving your chili plant, it should be transplanted in a medium-size pot. Water the soil block well before transplanting and fertilize the soil in the new pot with horn meal. Horn meal is a quickly available biological fertilizer, a standard in organic farming. After transplanting, the plant needs 1-2 weeks for the formation of new roots. After then the plant continues to grow. The growth is significantly accelerated by using horn meal. Keep the soil well moist during this time, the soil pot must never dry out, otherwise the roots can be damaged.
You should use a medium size pot (round pot 10.5 cm, if necessary a pot saucer 11 cm) for the first transplanting. The medium pots can remain indoors on the windowsill until mid-May. Once it has at least 10°C at night, the next transplanting is done into the 9,3L or 14L pot. Please also fertilize the soil with horn meal and ensure a good drainage of irrigation water. Avoid waterlogging. Now the plants can be grown outside in a sunny spot.
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Pots and saucers

When can I harvest the first chillies?

The growth of chili plants is dependent on many different factors. If the chili plant is given sufficient sunlight, warmth and nutrients, it can grow relatively quickly. However, very hot varieties in particular, such as the habanero, scotch bonnet, fatalii, bhut jolokia, Trinidad Scorpion and Carolina Reaper, require a very long time for the chili peppers to reach full maturity. 20cm tall chili plants need at least 3 warm summer months until the first chillies can be harvested. A small greenhouse or a conservatory are perfect ways to help extend the chili season until October. Chillies should always be harvested when fully ripened as the green peppers usually have a bitter taste. One of the few exceptions is the jalapeño chili, which also tastes delicious whilst still green, which is why it is more commonly found in its green state. Likewise, the most spicy heat (capsaicin) can be found in fully ripened chilies. Most chili peppers ripen from green to red. You can tell they are ripe when the chillies have turned red. It is more difficult to tell with varieties that ripen from green to black and then purple or from green to orange and then red. This is why you should always do some research to find out what the final colour of your chilies should be. If in doubt, you can also try to eat an unripe chili. If it tastes good then there’s nothing to stop you from eating it. Fully ripened chillies have a noticeably stronger taste, they are usually a little sweeter and more aromatic than chilies, which have been harvested too early.