How to Grow and Store Chili Peppers? Do you enjoy eating chilli peppers and want to learn how to grow your own? They are not only delicious but also attractive as ornamental plants. With our instructions, you will become an expert in growing chilli peppers. We will also show you how to dry, preserve, and cook them.
Although chilli peppers have exotic names, they are trivially easy to grow, and anyone who has grown tomatoes or cucumbers from seed has already been retrained because peppers require significantly less care. All that is required to grow chilli peppers is a high-quality seed, water, soil, and a sunny location. Chilli peppers, which are related to regular peppers, are members of the flowering plant genus Capsicum (Solanaceae). They have been used for millennia in South and Central America.
How to Grow and Store Chili Peppers?
What Type of Chilli Peppers should I Grow?
The heat level varies according to the type of pepper. Even within a single species, the heat level can vary from pepper to pepper. Scoville Heat Units are used to express the degree of heat level (SHU). Plain peppers have a SHU of zero, Jalapeno peppers have a SHU of 3,000 to 6,000, and the famous Jolokia chilli pepper, grown in Bangladesh, northeast Asia, and Sri Lanka, has the highest heat level.
| Sweet pepper | 0 unit |
| Pepperoncini | 100 – 500 units |
| Pasilla | 1,000 – 1,500 units |
| Rocotillo | 1,500 – 2,500 units |
| jalapeno | 2,500 – 5,000 units |
| Wax | 5,000 – 10,000 units |
| Vserano | 10,000 – 23,000 units |
| Cayenne pepper, tabasco, Guntur chilli | 30,000 – 50,000 units |
| Red Savina habanero | 360,000 – 500,000 units |
| Naga viper, infinity chilli | 855,000 – 1,500,000 units |
In general, the hotter the pepper (or sauce), the better because it contains more capsaicin, a medicinal ingredient.
We plant the Following Chilli Pepper Species the most:
Capsicum Annuum: The most common type of chilli pepper, grown worldwide. There are numerous intersections within the species that contribute to its prevalence. The most well-known members of the species are red and green peppers, as well as the perhaps most well-known jalapeno chilli peppers. The species is known for its rapid growth and production.
Capsicum Annuum: The most common type of chilli pepper, grown worldwide. There are numerous intersections within the species that contribute to its prevalence. The most well-known members of the species are red and green peppers, as well as the perhaps most well-known jalapeno chilli peppers. The species is known for its rapid growth and production.
Capsicum Frutescens: This species is distinguished by a dense low shrub.Particularly sensitive to light. It typically produces smaller but extremely hot peppers. It requires a lot of light to grow, and its most well-known representatives are Tabasco and Bird’s eye.
Capsicum Baccatum is distinguished by its shrubby form and small leaves. It prefers colder conditions for growth while also preferring drier weather than other peppers in gardens. The Aji variety is the species’ most well-known representative.
Chinese Capsicum: The broad leaves of the chilli pepper with the highest heat level are well known. It produces the most delicious fruits of any other species. It prefers shade and plenty of moisture, and the most well-known species is Habanero.
Pubescens Capsicum: The leaves have a distinct shape, and the seeds are black. Some varieties of ancient chilli can grow up to 80 inches in height and width. The fruits are fleshy and thick. The most well-known representative is the Rocoto, which prefers shade and a little light.
Growing Chili Peppers:
Chilli peppers are plants from warmer climates, and they require a long period of warm weather to mature, in addition to an extremely long germination period. When it comes to chilli peppers, the hotter the pepper, the longer it takes to germinate and grow.
- Growing hot peppers is not as difficult as it is made out to be. You must respect the conditions that other crops require because their natural habitat is not in our area or climate zone. Several facts contribute to the problem of hot pepper germination:
- Germination requires temperatures between 77 and 86 (90) °F.
- Under ideal conditions, seed germination ranges between 70% and 80%. The more ideal the conditions, the better the germination. The germination period is prolonged if the substrate temperature is around 70 °F.
- Seed germination takes between 5 and 30 days, depending on the variety of hot pepper, but even seeds of the same variety do not germinate at the same time. In addition, the temperature is one of the factors influencing the uniformity of germination of hot pepper and other plant seeds. The peppers will germinate more evenly if the temperature of the air and the substrate remain constant (with little variation, of course) throughout the germination period.
- Nighttime temperatures must not fall below 50 °F for successful cultivation and yield.
Don’t be discouraged by these reasons; when you grow your own chilli pepper, everything pays off. Chilli peppers are planted between early January and late March (depending on where are you from). For the majority of people in our area, now is the ideal time to plant. In reality, we can plant chilli peppers at any time of year if we provide the plants with the proper germination, growth, and flowering conditions. Chili pepper harvesting requires the right conditions, including the right temperature, light, moisture, substrate, and fertilisers.
How to Prepare Hot Pepper Seeds Before Sowing:
Because hot pepper seeds have a hard outer shell, it is best to soak them in water or chamomile tea solution for several hours, preferably overnight, before sowing. Some websites also recommend using a hydrogen peroxide solution, but we would not recommend this if you are unsure what you are doing.
Chamomile tea also acts as a disinfectant if the seeds are infected with plant disease agents such as fungi or bacteria, which can be transmitted and maintained in the seeds and harm the plants in their early stages of development. For seed disinfection, a 0.5% potassium permanganate solution can be used for 20 minutes. This solution also softens the seed shell, which leads to faster germination. If you use this solution, rinse the seeds in clean water and dry them before sowing.
Planting Chilli Peppers in Containers or Pots:
The following step is to prepare a pot/container in which to sow the seeds. If you are planting a large number of seeds, the Styrofoam seedling container is an excellent choice because it can hold up to a hundred seeds. They can later be easily transplanted into larger pots or soil.
Such containers are available in almost all better-equipped farm pharmacies. You can use any pots, yoghurt cups, mugs, or so-called Jiffy peat pellets to sow a small amount of seed (dip the pellets into water and let them puff, lay the seeds inside, and have ready-made germination that does not require a classic substrate for start).
Make sure the pots have holes in the bottom so that excess water can drain if they are overwatered. If you use a single pot for multiple seeds, be careful not to place them too close together as this may cause root damage when transplanting.
It is best to use commercially available substrate (soil) from garden centres or agricultural pharmacies. This soil has been sterilised, which means it should not contain weed seeds or plant disease and pest agents (bugs, mites, or roundworms) that could harm chilli peppers.
Cover the soaked seeds with no more than 5 mm of soil, as the seeds may not have enough energy to penetrate a thicker layer of soil. The seeded pots should be kept in a warm place with temperatures ranging from 77 to 86 (90) °F.
Taking chilli Peppers:
Pinching is the tearing of pepper sprouts. It is done to remove sprouts that the plant uses too much energy to develop instead of growing stems, main branches, and flower buds. You can shape the growth of your peppers with pinching peppers.
What exactly is the “excess” that must be eliminated? Everything that grows between the stem and the true leaf is usually cut off.
Chilli pepper harvesting
To avoid breaking the twigs, cut the chilli peppers with scissors. They can be harvested both mature and immature. Unripe fruits are juicy and crunchy, so eat them fresh or pickled. Ripe fruits take on colour and become more aromatic, but the meat dries slightly and becomes thinner as it matures.
Picking fruits on a regular basis will encourage the development of new flowers and fruits. You should probably save the seeds of a variety of chilli peppers for the following year, whether they were grown, purchased, or given as a gift. The fruits must be fully ripe, as the skin of the fruit becomes thinner and more vibrant in colour (for example, red or yellow). Then you can be certain that the seeds inside are also ripe. Grow and Store Chili Peppers
Drying Chili Peppers:
Chilli peppers can be prepared in a variety of ways, including drying. We’ve compiled a list of practical tips for drying chilli peppers to assist you. Chilli pepper drying is becoming increasingly popular, particularly because it can be used as a spice in a variety of dishes. Dried peppers have a much longer shelf life than fresh peppers, which simplifies their use.
Chili pepper drying requires a lot of sun and heat to be successful. Without these elements, proper and successful drying of spices and chilli peppers is impossible. It is not necessary to clean or remove the seeds from the chilli peppers before drying them.
Simply thread the chilli peppers at a 45-degree angle, and at the very end of the thread, thread a small piece of wood, a toothpick, or something similar to keep the peppers from slipping off the thread. The colour of the chilli peppers will darken as they dry. Although drying time is unpredictable, most chilli peppers dry for up to a month.
