Chili is a spicy tasting pod that is used in cooking around the world for its spiciness and flavors. Imagine growing them in your own garden. Home grown chilies are much greener, shinier and fresh than the store brought ones.They come in lot of varieties, colors and also their level of spiciness differs. Chilies can be planted either in ground or in pots as they are best suited for pots as well.
I preferred the former method as they have deep roots and don’t like interruptions.
How to grow chili
Plant them in warm climate after the frost has passed.
Chili plant require full sun as they love heat and prefer growing in hotter conditions.
Chili plants prefer well drained, rich and moist soil. Dig ½ inch soil and plant only the roots. Water the plants immediately after planting.
As chili plants are heavy feeders use fertilizers and they also love to be fed with Epsom salt.
Avoid using higher amount nitrogen fertilizer as they can produce lush green leaves at the expense of fruit.
Water them adequately making sure the soil is not soggy.
Chili flower
Chili plants produce white flowers and eventually become chili. They are usually bee or wind pollinated if not they can be hand pollinated( a gentle shake of flowers either by finger, cotton swab or battery operated tooth brush).
Chili plants need support through staking or cages as they get heavier when bearing fruits and they may snap the branches.
It takes about 60 – 90 days to mature.
Chili harvest
Chili can be harvested any time when it is green in color and fully matured in size or can be left to mature as it turns red.
Harvest them upwards in the opposite direction of how its grown so that u don’t break the branch.
Continuous harvest helps prolong production.
Insects that enjoy chili plants are slugs,snails, aphids and white fly. Continual check can help to keep them away.