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[name] => Pepper & Chilli Plants
[blogtitle] => Let's get you growing...
[blogintro] => If you're keen to grow peppers or chillies, have a read through some of the articles below.
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[post_content] => Here are a few top tips for those of you who are growing those more tender, heat-loving plants like cucumber, aubergine, peppers and tomatoes outdoors this summer (rather than in a greenhouse or polytunnel).
Choose the area in your plot that gets the most sun and is most sheltered from the wind so that they get the best conditions possible.
If you have a south facing wall that you can grow the plants in front of, the warmth reflected back from the wall at night will help your plants
Ideally, don't plant outside until late May/early June when the weather has properly turned to summer
Give plants a good start by adding plenty of nutritious compost when planting them out
Give these tender crops a feed - a tomato liquid feed will work well for most of them, or you can make a worm cast tea using our worm cast fertiliser. If you see leaves turning yellow early in the season, it's usually a sign that they are nutrient deficient, so a thorough watering and a liquid feed at this point will help. After that, give them a fortnightly feed once flowers start to form.
All these crops are 'fruiting' crops, and they need a lot of water. During dry spells, it's a good idea to water thoroughly a couple of times a week, making sure that the water actually does sink in (try digging a finger into the soil and check that it is moist underneath the surface to check.) If you're growing these plants in pots, they will need more frequent watering, every other day during dry spells, possibly even daily. Aim for consistently moist rather than waterlogged or dried out!
[post_title] => Growing heat-loving vegetables outside
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[post_content] => If you've still got some chillies growing in a greenhouse at the end of autumn then why not give them a prune and bring them indoors to overwinter. You'll be able to harvest for longer, and if they do well you may even get another crop from them next year! It works best with potted plants as you don't need to disturb their roots, but you can also try with plants that are growing in beds. Here's how:
If your chillies are growing in a bed, carefully loosen their roots using a fork and pull them up. Transfer them to a pot of compost that is large enough to hold the rootball and water them in well. (You can trim the roots down a little if you like)
Bring your potted chillies undercover to grow in the house in a consistently warm room that gets plenty of light during the day. (If your greenhouse is heated you can leave them in there.)
Once the leaves and stalks start to turn brown it's time to prune them. Harvest all your chillies first. You can either whizz them up with oil to make a chilli paste that will keep in the fridge, or you can freeze them whole ready to be cooked from frozen as and when you need them.
If your plant is growing on a single stem then simply cut that stem back to approximately 20cm tall.
If you have a bushy plant then cut each stem back to approximately 15-20cm, leaving 2 or 3 buds/nodules on each stem.
Water lightly once a week until spring when you can plant them out again for an earlier crop.
Overwintering chillies doesn't always work and some varieties do better than others. We have found that those with smaller fruits do better. Unfortunately sweet peppers (and the larger chillies) don't overwinter very well at all. But it is well worth a try and quite fun the next year if you succeed!
[post_title] => How to Overwinter Chillies...
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[post_content] => Some veg grow much better in a greenhouse or polytunnel than they do outside. These are the tender veggies like tomatoes, peppers, chillies, aubergines and okra. Basil grows well in a greenhouse too.
There are a few little things you can do to really make the most of your greenhouse and they are well worth doing both to keep pests at bay and improve your crops.
Don't try to cram too much in. It can be tempting to plant more than you have space for when the plants are young, but they need space to grow and thrive, as well as the air circulation to keep pest and disease at bay.
Give adequate space for roots. If you are growing in pots and containers, or in grow bags, make sure they are a generous size for the plant to form good root structures.
Keep on top of watering. This might sound obvious, but even one day of being too dry can affect your tomato crop, and it's very easy for soil in the greenhouse to dry out on a warm day. You should aim to keep the soil consistently moist for the best results.
Ventilate your greenhouse. On warmer days you'll need to open a window or two, or even the door to let the cooler air circulate and prevent plants from wilting.
Damp down in the mornings. Depending on what you are growing, damping down your greenhouse can help increase the humidity levels. This works wonders for plants like cucumbers. Splash water onto the floor (the walkway as opposed to the soil) and this will create a bit of humidity as the temperature increases.
Plant marigolds in amongst your veg. They will help to attract ladybirds which in turn will keep problematic pests, like aphids, down.
Hang sticky yellow fly traps. Aphids will land on them and alert you nice and early to their presence so that you can do something about them before they colonise your crops. You can cover anything yellow, e.g. a bucket, with vaseline and it'll do the same job.
[post_title] => Make the most of your greenhouse
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Let's get you growing...
If you're keen to grow peppers or chillies, have a read through some of the articles below.
Here are a few top tips for those of you who are growing those more tender, heat-loving plants like cucumber, aubergine, peppers and tomatoes outdoors this summer (rather than in...
If you’ve still got some chillies growing in a greenhouse at the end of autumn then why not give them a prune and bring them indoors to overwinter. You’ll be...
Some veg grow much better in a greenhouse or polytunnel than they do outside. These are the tender veggies like tomatoes, peppers, chillies, aubergines and okra. Basil grows well in...
Lovely strong plants ( your firm was recommended by my next-door neighbour, a much more experienced gardener than I am!) I was most impressed by your effective packaging. Though they had wilted in transit, the plants were in good shape, and have resurrected after a night in water. The various paper wrappers held them together safely. I will certainly use you again!
F.T
“”
I received my order yesterday, and I’m so happy with it. Despite it being in transit on the hottest day of the year, everything had been so well packed, that every plant was perfect. They are all so healthy, and so great that all the packaging was compostable. I feel it was excellent value and I’ll certainly be coming back for more in the future.
J.M
“”
Hello there, I just wanted to let you know that I really value your regular emails. It’s the only veg/gardening related email that I’ve kept when recently culling my inbox. In particular I’ve appreciated todays email With the article from your rocket gardener regarding slow growing sweetcorn. Advice about mulching and adding nitrogen for next year is super helpful. Please do pass my thanks onto your rocket gardener.
