Anyone else grow their own chillies?
We’ve just planted the 2026 crop, ranging from mild/sweet Anaheims (2500 Scoville) through to Naga Jolokia, better known as Ghost Peppers (1,000,000 Scoville).
Usually have a batch of general purpose Birds Eyes on the go as well, but seem to have misplaced those seeds.
Still got a few takeaway tubs with dried chilli from last year, can make any dish spicy to varying degrees!
I used to. Had so many off a plant it was ridiculous - I could never use most of them but it was fun all the same.
I did lean to wash your hands after cutting them up before taking a pee fairly quickly to 
We have great success from our greenhouse, so much so we tend to grow batches every second year as the frozen and dried ones last a long time
Last year we grew Lemon Drop, AciKil and another large red one I can’t recall-they dried really nicely anyway.
Forgot, a really fun one called Apple Crisp produced vast numbers last year. Very mild, but lovely flavour in all sorts of things.
Bruce
Yes, a Birds Eye plant (for example) in a south facing windowsill (with cane supports) will go a bit mental in terms of yield!
We never use everything we grow, it’s just fun to tend them really.
The whole thing was kicked off by Santa providing this type of kit a few years back - still grow those varieties, plus others.
The absolute hottest varieties we don’t eat, those go in chilli oils.
I sowed mine in trays in January, kept them on a windowsill as they need warmth to germinate.
Trying a wide variety this year.
Just this morning I repotted the first batch, which are now in the greenhouse - fingers crossed we don’t have a frost, but I still have loads indoors, just in case.
You are far more organised than us!
Bit late with the germination this year, but we will still get a crop.
There was a hard frost here this morning, but not a concern as the seedlings are all inside.
Bit worried about my toms, they’re mostly still in trays, should’ve potted on by now. Hope they’re not too leggy already - will have everything in over Easter. 
I love the San Marzano toms, in trays below.
SWMBO had a large tunnel thing, but it was basically destroyed by the last big easterly.
So we’re windowsill gardeners for now, until we decide on a greenhouse/potting shed type solution with more robustness (and perhaps additional fencing, segmenting garden, to provide protection).
Ha ha. I once dropped round to my friend Keith’s house to find him with his willy in a basin of cold water. We still chuckle about the chilli willy incident over 40 years later. He followed it up with chilli eye, but that was far less amusing.
I’ve been lucky with storms etc., the garden is fairly sheltered and the greenhouse is well fixed to the ground.
I have four raised beds, empty now except some garlic at the moment. I put onions in pots this year, bit of an experiment - they’re all going into a bed over Easter, plus my lawn is desperate for a cut.
Gonna have to balance the garden and the hifi this weekend!
Good luck with your chillies.
BTW. I did not sow any bird’s eye this year, good crop last year. I might put some in!
Cheers.
Tony
….well that’s what he told you!!!
Different strokes….
First cut for ours yesterday, just in time for the yellow storm warning and deluge coming this weekend. You’ve just reminded me I promised to take all those bags of grass to the recycling centre today.
I actually hate cutting/scarifying lawn, only for the dog to trample it. I don’t enjoy gardening, nor would I ever term myself a gardener.
But I do enjoy growing things in pots 
And like a nicely pruned tree.
I put a small pear tree in 3 years ago, not huge growth and a just few pears, but it’s gone mad over the last year, doubled in size, full of blossom, hundreds of buds…
I think it was initially shaded by a fence, but once it got above it, it exploded. Hoping for a decent crop 
Grew Aji Limon last year. Perfect heat and very different chilli flavour. Good for fish dishes.
Grew too many, so vacuum-sealed and put into freezer. They’ll last a good 3 years like this.
Three varieties of tomatoes. Spinach, beetroot, cucumbers (for pickling), sugar snap peas and I am not sure what else germinating on one side of the greenhouse. There’s some potatoes in bags too.
Outside there are cabbages, shallots, leeks, more potatoes too I think.
To be entirely transparent it is all by Mrs Ws fair hands.
Bruce
Great looking chillies, I bet they taste good too!! 
Haven’t done it the past couple summers, but for a number of summers I have grown different varieties, from the more “mild” varieties up to ghost pepper, chocolate scorpion & carolina reapers.
Started mine indoors, 2nd Feb, in a heated propagator, Shishito (careful how you say that), Aci Sivri and Golden Bullet (free with the other seeds). No idea what they are like as I tend to grow a couple of different varieties each year and just choose what sounds good from an online seed supplier. I moved them to the greenhouse (unheated) a week ago and potted them up a couple of days ago. I’ve about 30 plants but will probably only keep a max of 6 plants, the rest will be given to friends and neighbours. I also have tomatoes on the go (started later) and I’ll have a cucumber or two. The greenhouse will probably be full with that lot.
Or putting contact lenses in. Eye watering 
