Late spring is the perfect time to plant your chilli seedlings. Once the fruit starts to set there is nothing better than seeing splashes of bright red, orange, yellow and green dotted throughout the vegie patch. There are so many great summer salads and stir fries to use them in… what are you waiting for?
Chillies require heat to grow well, so in Melbourne they are planted in spring and harvested during late summer and into autumn. It is advisable to start seedlings growing indoors or in a greenhouse and plant them out as advanced seedlings once the last frosts have passed. To avoid transplant shock you can use peat pots or toilet rolls to grow your seedlings in and then the whole lot can be planted without disturbing the roots.
In warmer areas chillies are a perennial plant; with some dedication and a frost free area you can keep them going over winter in Melbourne, but generally they are regarded as an annual.
Cultivate the soil beforehand using plenty of compost, well-rotted manure and add some dolomite lime for magnesium and calcium.
Plant in a sunny spot with good air circulation, as they are prone to fungal problems, and avoid planting where tomatoes and eggplants have grown in the previous three years.
Although they love the heat, it is worth shielding them on days of extreme temperatures to prevent flower loss.
Harvest chillies regularly to increase vigour and productivity. Growing chillies at home offers you a much greater choice of varieties, especially if you grow from seed. Hundreds of chilli varieties exist and they come in all shapes, sizes and colours. The most popular types are habanero, jalepeno and cayenne. Habenero are the hottest, then cayenne then jalepeno.