Grow your own chilli peppers

What’s not to like about chillies? They’re fabulous, fiery and addictive. Besides being the main ingredient of salsa, chillies can be added to salads (mild varieties), sauces, pasta, pizza and anything else savory. For those with a sweet tooth, chillies can be folded into jellies, spooned over ice-cream, and whipped into chocolate sauce.

Fresh chillies are high in vitamins A and C as well as minerals. The chilli’s heat comes from the capsaicin that is contained in the seeds and white fibrous membrane. Capsaicin causes the brain to release endorphins into the blood stream, creating a natural high similar to that which athletes experience. That’s what makes chillies so addictive!

Grow your own chillies

The best way to enjoy chillies and experiment with their different strengths is to grow your own.

Chillies like full sun, well-drained soil and regular watering, especially when flowering so that they don’t drop their flowers (which means no fruit). Most chilli peppers are fairly compact, bushy plants that look great in pots or as a decorative border in the veggie garden, especially when the fruit turns red, orange, purple or yellow according to the variety. The fruit should be ready for harvest within 120 to 160 days.

Hotness index

The general rule is that the smaller, narrower and darker the chilli, the greater its pungency. But there are exceptions because growing conditions can affect a chilli’s hotness. Even chillies from the same bush can vary in intensity. The tip of the chilli is its mildest point, so if you want to test a chilli for hotness, cut the tip and taste it cautiously.

The human tongue can detect as little as one part per million of capsicum. The amount of capsicum in a type of pepper determines how hot the taste will be. The Scoville Heat Units (SHU) scale was developed in 1912 by William Scoville to rate the preserved heat of hot peppers. The SHU rating identifies parts per million of capsicum in a pepper.

Here’s a general pungency guideline:

Mild

‘Hungarian Hot Wax’ has long fruits that ripen from pale yellow to gold and red. Excellent for pickling, canning, frying, and stuffing.

‘Cubanelle’ has rounded fruit that has a touch of sweetness. Use it to make spicy sauces or add to savoury stuffings.

Medium

‘Chinese 5 Colour’ starts off purple, turning red, yellow, and orange before ripening as a cream-coloured pepper. These peppers are sweet, hot and spicy, and can be used at any stage.

‘Shishito’ has slender green fruits with a fresh peppery flavour. Good for grilling or slicing into a salad.

Strong

Thai red is known for its heat and almost citrusy flavour. Thai chillies are used in all forms of Asian cooking to add heat without overpowering flavours.

Very Strong

‘Carolina Reaper’ is a small, rounded pepper, the same size as the Habanero, but hotter and with an underlying fruity heat.

‘Scotch Bonnet’ has a heat rating of 100,000-350,000 Scoville units. It  is used in hearty West African and Caribbean-styled recipes recipes like rice and peas, rondón, saus, beef patties, and ceviche.

‘Trinidad Scorpion’ is regarded as the hottest pepper in the world. The initial pleasant and tender fruit-like flavour quicky becomes very, very fiery. Use extreme caution when handling these fruits and keep away from children.

Growing chillies from seed

Sow seed into small 10cm pots to allow seedlings to grow into sturdy plants before being transplanted into a bigger pot or into the ground. Chillies don’t have a fail-safe germination rate so increase the odds by planting three seeds together.

Seeds will germinate within seven to 20 days (depending on variety) and the soil must be kept moist during germination. When the first true leaves appear and are big enough to handle transplant the seedlings into bigger pots or into the soil spaced 40cm apart.

Before planting, prepare the bed by digging in compost, super phosphate or bone meal and a general fertiliser like 2:3:2.

If you are planting the chilli in pots, use normal commercially available potting soil. Note: pots should not be smaller than 20cm in diameter – bigger is better.

Growing on

Water the chilli plants regularly, especially those in pots daily. When it is very hot, increase this to twice a day.

Watering is critical because if chillies wilt they tend to drop their flowers and that means no fruit. A thin layer of organic mulch will keep the soil moist and increase the humidity.

Feed the chilli plants monthly with any liquid fertiliser such as Margaret Roberts Organic Supercharger.

Watch out for aphids and spray the plants use an organic spray like Margaret Roberts Organic Insecticide or Ludwig’s Insect Spray.

Harvesting

The heat increases as the chilli ripens. For less heat pick green or as the colour is changing.

Regular picking encourages the plant to continue flowering.

Using and handling chillies

Never touch your eyes or mouth if you have handled hot chillies. Wear gloves and if possible have a separate chopping board for chillies because the juices stay in the board and can affect other foods.

For more information, visit Kirchhoffs, or Raw Living.

Article and images supplied by Alice Coetzee. 

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