How to grow... Chillies & Peppers

Rocket Growing Guides

Habanero Chilli Pepper

These tasty vegetables do not like the damp or the cold. What they like is a sunny windowsill or a nice warm greenhouse. Chillies are surprisingly easy to grow and we’ve got loads of different types for you to try. Given plenty of sunlight and warmth, they will shoot up rather quickly – it’s not unusual to harvest 20 or more chillies from one plant.

  • Planting Tips
  • Growing advice
  • Chef's Corner
Choosing a site for growing veg

The right site

Chillies and Peppers grow much better in a warm greenhouse. Some of the smaller plants will do well on a sunny windowsill.

growing veg in pots and raised beds

Can be grown in....

Chillies and peppers are best grown in fresh compost in either growbags or pots.

Autumn Winter Large Vegetable Garden

How far apart?

Three to a grow bag or one to a pot. If you’re planting them in beds, the spacing is slightly dependent on the variety you choose, and we’ll advise you what’s best for your baby chillies and peppers when you receive them. If in doubt, 20cm is a good distance.

When your plants arrive....

Your baby plants will arrive carefully packed in straw. They may look a little tired from their travels. This is quite normal but, as soon as possible, carefully unpack them all.

Each type of plant will have an identification label to help you spot which they are. Lay them out into their respective plant types (e.g. lettuce, cauliflower, peas). Then, stand them upright, being especially careful with the ones that aren’t in bio pots. The roots may be dry, so give them all a good drink of water by submerging the roots for a few minutes in a container of clean water.

Now you are ready to plant your Rocket Garden. Try to do this within 24 hours of the arrival of your plants.

Looking after your plants....

Pinch off the tips of chilli plants when they’ve reached around 20cm in height – this will encourage the plant to produce more fruits! You’ll need to feed both chillies and peppers fairly frequently, especially before it starts to flower.

pepper

Watering them

Keep them watered thoroughly and give them a liquid feed every fortnight.

pepper

They need support

Give them a little support – train them up a bamboo cane.

pepper

Pinch off any growing tips regularly

When they reach about 20cm in height you can pinch off the growing tips of the plant. This will encourage a bushier plant with more peppers.

Watch out for....

  • Aphids
  • Whitefly
  • Spider mite

They're ready to harvest when....

The wonderful thing about these is that you can pick them at whatever stage you like – they’ll start out green and gradually change colour.  Bear in mind, that the more often you pick them, the more the plant will keep growing more!

Storage Tips

If you get a generous crop of chillies, try drying them out to keep you going over the winter.

Ways to cook

Sweet peppers are lovely in salads during the late summer and early autumn. And you really can’t go wrong throwing a few slices onto a pizza. You can makes some great relishes and pickles too. Chillies kind of speak for themselves – add them to anything for a little extra heat!

Recipe Ideas

Coming soon!

Types to try