I think it was 3 plants Chris. I've still got some in the freezer now.
They can be over-wintered and re-started in the Spring but I've never tried. I sow seed early March. A friend sowed seed last november (!!) and kept them indoors over winter and he says the plants are doing well and much bigger than the spring sown seeds. I've not seen the plants though.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Chillies are like toms, technically perennials but grown as annuals. They can be overwintered but a lot of the plant's energy will have been expended in the first year. They don't recharge over winter so the second year will be less productive. Better to start again.
Chillies are like toms, technically perennials but grown as annuals. They can be overwintered but a lot of the plant's energy will have been expended in the first year. They don't recharge over winter so the second year will be less productive. Better to start again.
True that chillies are perennials usually grown as annuals in the UK. Not quite the same for tomatoes, which are basically annuals unless certain types in optimum conditions.
Simply not true about plants 'expending energy' and being 'less productive' in second year. In fact, if you can get them to survive, and treat them right, exactly the opposite.
Common varieties from the C. annuum species are generally fast growing and probably not worth overwintering in the UK unless you have room and no other plants to give more priority to. But the hotter chillies from the C. chinense species generally have a longer growing season, and if you can get them through the winter, they will be ready to really take off the following spring and you will have much larger plants and a much heavier crop.
Other varieties from the C. baccatum and C. pubescens species are more cool tolerant, so will both grow better outdoors, and have more chance of surviving the winter.
The difficulty with overwintering is getting the right conditions for them to survive, and some varieties/species will do this much easier than others.
@raisingirl Yes, I agree. The C. pubescens varieties of chillies are a lot happier in cooler conditions and also more likely to be able to overwinter for a few years.
They're a brilliant chilli choice for our conditions, and I won't be surprised to see them growing in popularity. Here are some of mine from last year, they're a cross between two C. pubescens varieties so I've called them Turbo Alberto. They still had fruits on them indoors at christmas time. If they do well again this year I'll save some extra seed and have it available to share.
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I've still got some in the freezer now.
They can be over-wintered and re-started in the Spring but I've never tried. I sow seed early March.
A friend sowed seed last november (!!) and kept them indoors over winter and he says the plants are doing well and much bigger than the spring sown seeds. I've not seen the plants though.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Simply not true about plants 'expending energy' and being 'less productive' in second year. In fact, if you can get them to survive, and treat them right, exactly the opposite.
Common varieties from the C. annuum species are generally fast growing and probably not worth overwintering in the UK unless you have room and no other plants to give more priority to. But the hotter chillies from the C. chinense species generally have a longer growing season, and if you can get them through the winter, they will be ready to really take off the following spring and you will have much larger plants and a much heavier crop.
Other varieties from the C. baccatum and C. pubescens species are more cool tolerant, so will both grow better outdoors, and have more chance of surviving the winter. The difficulty with overwintering is getting the right conditions for them to survive, and some varieties/species will do this much easier than others.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
They're a brilliant chilli choice for our conditions, and I won't be surprised to see them growing in popularity. Here are some of mine from last year, they're a cross between two C. pubescens varieties so I've called them Turbo Alberto. They still had fruits on them indoors at christmas time. If they do well again this year I'll save some extra seed and have it available to share.