Growing and caring for chilli plants

[bergs]

Hi, I'm trying to over winter my Chillies. Last season they were all coming on strong when Autumn came. I thought that if I tried to keep the plants alive it would give me a head start this season. I'm in Victoria (cool temperate).

I have googled it, but it's mainly British and American area guides. I trimmed them back fairly harshly and located the potted ones in a sheltered spot in the garden and backed the watering right off. They are a mixed variety.

So far one is showing signs of shooting. There has been a fair bit of die back which I have now trimmed off. The weather is not far away from getting a bit warmer, so the hopefully, they will take off again and give me earlier crops.

I had preserved (pickled) quite a few but stocks have run out.

Has anyone else had any success in over wintering Chillies? If so please share your methods with us.

Thanks and Cheers🍻Bergs

[Jason]

Great work @bergs. Love your passion for growing chills!

I would be interested to hear from the wonderful @Noelle about how best to get a jalapeno plant through the winter in Melbourne. I just left last year's plants alone and they came back this year very well, albeit their fruit seemed to start a little late. Perhaps I should have given them a little protection, especially from frosts?

I'm also interested in whether any pruning is recommended, and if so, how to do it. The first year I grew jalapenos I tried pruning at the end of the season and the plants didn't bounce back in the spring, so I've since left my plants alone. 

Thanks,

Jason

[bergs]

Hi @Jason ,

I think in Melbourne would be the same rules as in Geelong.

I try to move the chillies in pots to the warmest spots, which down here would preferably be a north facing aspect out of the cold winds. Hold back the watering as they are dormant, just make sure they don't dry right out. I think it's best to leave them as they are until they start to show movement in around spring and then tidy them up. In our cold winters you don't want any new shoots being affected by the cold and frosts. A small frame of some sort made up of what all gardeners have lying about for makeshift repairs etc. could be used to make a cold frame over the ones in the ground. As you would have seen in my photos the Manzano was left to its own to fend of the cold last winter, when we were away for 4 months. The back corner of our veg garden is probably the windiest and coldest spot around and it survived really well. It has produced up to 1.5 kgs and I would guess there would be around 2 kgs still on the bushes (2).

[Noelle]

Hi @Jason 

Have top completely agree with the way @bergs is keeping chillies going over the winter months - it's completely the right way to go.  Protection from cold winds, frosts and winter squalls is important so the warmest place outdoors or on a veranda that you can find will be the best.

[chefyash]

i had a lot of Rocoto in auckland,and apparanelty they are still growing fruting, but now im in sydney with no access to Rocotos. where can i buy the seeds from. i could swap for Reaper seeds, because i have a bunch of those, .

[bergs]

Hi @chefyash 

You will find that you can get Rocoto Chillies from the garden centres when available.

They have black or dark seeds.

If you Google them you will find suppliers.

Two years ago I bought a Manzano Chilli from Bunnings and it has grown to about six foot tall and has over wintered very well.

The only problem is that it's taking up three beds in the patch.

It grows on the mountain slopes in South America so can combat the cool conditions and be over wintered quite well. It's in the coldest spot over winter and hasn't been affected by the cold.

I was away for a couple months and have only been home a couple of weeks and was amazed that the bush still had ripening fruit to pick.

I have got over 5 kgs off it now.

It has started to shoot at the bottom so I will try to move it to another spot in the garden so I can reclaim part of my veggie patch.

It may not survive the upheaval.

Here is the last of my chillies for this season

Yellow Manzano,Thai & Super, large red are mild out of a mixed punnet.

[mich1972]

Oh I love growing Chilli’s !!!!! I got my Carolina Reapers through two winters ( Perth ) they were sad looking , yellow and not very happy. I kept adding Lupin mulch around the base to keep the soil warm. As September came I pruned them back and liquid fed them with Charlie Carp fortnightly. Once it started getting warmer they had taken off again. I was happy I got two years out of them. 
This coming spring I will plant new fresh ones and start again. As you are in Victoria and the weather is colder, maybe growing some of you Chilli’s in pots and have them in a Greenhouse through the colder months ? Good luck from one Chilli lover to another 😊😊

[MitchellM]

I've got a couple of plants which I think are on their 4th year now. I'm pretty sure one is a Bhut Jolokia and the other a Trinidad scorpion Butch T cross. I really only keep them as they were both at stages the hottest in the world. I've had the Trinidad growing since before it lost the record to the Carolina reaper. The two cross pollinate and I get a lot of chocolate brown chillies which is fun.

Normally I would cut them back before over wintering them but this year I didn't as they have only now stopped fruiting. This thread reminded me so I've just given them a trim to improve branch structure for this year.

They are really only for show and I find Habaneros a much better chilli for cooking. 

 

 

[chefyash]

I used to prune my chillies and use frost cloth for some of them except the rocotos which thrived even in the cold. This year's I've been able to even propogate and have chillies survive under a mini greenhouse.( Coke bottle cut in half and put over the top).

[laidbackdood]

I grew a carolina reaper last year...in fact it was its second year......the first year i didnt get any fruit and last year it covered in flowers but it didnt set one fruit......i have heaps of different chillis as well.......so was at a bit of a loss as to why it didnt set fruit.......its still alive through Perth winter and i hope again......any tips to help it set fruit please?

[mich1972]

 

 Our Carolina Reapers overwinter, yellow, straggly and still fruiting 🌶🌶😊 These two I will prune back and feed. I had a couple more but they didn’t make it through.