Watering and feeding
Water little and often to keep the soil evenly moist, avoiding waterlogging and drought. Mulch the soil surface to help retain moisture.
Plants in containers need to be monitored regularly to ensure they don’t dry out.
Maintain a humid atmosphere in greenhouses by damping down twice a day during hot weather.
For a bumper crop, feed plants with a high-potassium liquid fertiliser weekly, once flowering starts.
Pruning and supporting
Chillies naturally branch into two or more stems with a flower bud at the joint. To encourage side-shoots on slow-growing plants, pinch out shoot tips once plants reach 30cm (1ft) tall.
Staking may be needed for large plants and those in growing bags. Several canes should be used per plant, as the stems are brittle.
Harvesting
Chillies are generally ready for harvesting from mid-summer into autumn if grown in a greenhouse. Fruiting outdoors should start by August.
- Pick fruits when they are green to encourage further cropping. Left on the plant, fruits will change colour and develop a hotter flavour
- If fruit is left to ripen on the plant, new flowers are not formed and this can lead to a reduction in the overall harvest of 25% or more
- Because mature fruits are more colourful and better flavoured, the smaller harvest of mature fruit is often thought to be worthwhile
- At the end of the season, chillies can be harvested and used fresh or made into pickles and sauces
- Chillies will eventually shrivel up and dry on the plant or can be picked and dried in an airing cupboard, then used as flakes in cooking