Topic: Chilli growing time!

[Salvador Dhali]

Has anyone found growing Naga chillis (from seed) that they take aeon's to germinate?

I planted these very expensive seeds 25 days ago, and no sign of any anything at all, I prodded around with a cocktail stick, the seeds have done nothing!  :

At the same time I planted Prairie Fire & Red Demon - all coming on fine.  ;D

All seedlings on a south facing kitchen windowsill.

Is it too late to get some more and try again?

Cheesed off? Yes, putting it mildly 

They should have come up by now, but from experience I wouldn't write them off just yet.

Nature is a fickle beast...

[Terramamba]

They should have come up by now, but from experience I wouldn't write them off just yet.

Nature is a fickle beast...

Thanks SD! I will wait and not consign them to the compost just yet  I will threaten them with my wand  ;D

Fickle beast? B*tch!!!

[martinvic]

What temp are you keeping them at Terramamba?

From what I've read, most of those really hot chillis, like the Naga, need to be kept moist and at (constant) temps of at least 80 to 90 to germinate.

Martin

[Terramamba]

Hi Martin, they're probably reaching 73 during day time, and dropping to approx 46 at night. I do pull them back from the windowsill in the evening. But I'm guessing here the airing cupboard may be more constant, although possibly not up to 80? They've been moist, but do you think they'll still germinate?

Thanks 

[martinvic]

Hi Terramamba

First off I'm no expert, as I'm new to this chilli growing lark myself, but I have read up quite a bit on the net.
Not sure what type of Naga you have, but it seems most of the very hot chillis require similar care like this below.

'The Bhut Jolokia are extremely hard to grow and therefore not for the novice.
We want you to succeed, therefore please read how to get the best from your seeds very carefully and closely follow the cultivation advice.

Bhut Jolokia requires constant soil temperatures of between 75?F and 90?F for proper germination, optimally 80-85F. In the UK it is best to supply bottom heat with the aid of a propagation mat or propagator. The seed is unlikely to germinate without additional help in an average UK central heated house.
Soil based compost is best and should be fine and free-draining.  It must be kept moderately moist, but never being allowed to completely dry out and never allowed to become soggy. If excess moisture is provided the embryo in the seed will rot and they will not germinate.
The Bhut Jolokia can take between 20-35 days to germinate depending on the temperature provided, patience is required.   They also require a very long growing period, up to 160 days for full maturity
Sow from Feb onwards in the UK indoors with heat provided and lightly cover with vermiculite if possible to 1/4in depth.
Beware starting too early as the plants require good light levels as seedlings may become leggy.
The seed does not require light during germination; however, once the seeds have germinated you need to provide adequate light for the seedlings.  A bright draft free south facing windowsill will suffice to maintain healthy growth.
Beware over-caring for young seedlings and over-watering.  Allow the soil surface to dry and remove any excess water from trays to ensure roots do not rot.
If intending to move to a cooler conservatory or greenhouses in early summer gradually acclimatise the plants both to the higher light levels and temperatures.
Please note this variety is not suited to outdoor cultivation in the UK at any stage and will not appreciate unheated glasshouses in early spring until the weather warms.'


Yours may still germinate, so I personally would stick them in the airing cupboard (that's what I did with all mine) until they start to germinate, and then straight away put them onto the windowsill.

Hope that is some help.

Martin

[Terramamba]

Hope that is some help.

Martin

Hi Martin!

Thanks, big help, airing cupboard it is. It all seems very complicated. Shame the seed packet gave no precise instruction. Your advice looks impressive, and I'll be following it!

Many thanks.
Colette

PS yes bhut jolokia is the type I'm hoping to grow!

[martinvic]

Hi Colette

Glad to have been some help.

Another thing you can do is loosely cover your pot/tray with some clear plastic as this helps keeps the moisture in.

I found the surface (where the seeds pretty much are) dried quite quickly otherwise in my airing cupboard.

Make sure they aren't too wet though.

Martin

[976bar]

Hi All,

I planted my Chilli Seeds the 2nd week of February, and they are just beginning to break through the surface now (some 6 weeks later), so if you are thinking it's a waste of time, do give them longer.

I've planted, green finger chillies (hot), Green chillies (Medium), Jalapeno's and Green capsicum. I just put my seeds straight into trays of general purpose compost as always, after having dried them out and left them in a cold frame.

Just went into my larder and I forgot I had a pot with a whole bulb of garlic in and as the lid was on, every single clove of garlic has sprouted. I'm going to pot these this afternoon

[Bob_P]

My first time at trying to grow chillies from seed. Sowed a fair number of seeds collected from the bottom of two different bags of kashmiri type chillies, bought at my local Asian Grocers. They've been under an unheated propagator in the conservatory for the last three weeks, and to my surprise nearly all of them have sprouted.

The early sprouters are now on a tray in the open air, and are just starting to develop proper leaves, so will pot them on into individual pots in the next few days. All good so far, no idea of the actual type, and I assume thay came from Asia, so hoping they will do OK in the conservatory.

Going to check on my babies now  ;D

[mr.mojorisin]

my plants...growing nicely