Growing Chillies what type of soil????
Discussion
I've got myself some Jalapeno chillies growing in a propagator and I'm about to transfer them to some larger pots so they can go outside (in Scotland) under some plastic dome thingys.
Looking about on the tinternet some websites seem to suggest using quite alkaline soil for jalapeno's and other sites say use acidic soil for chillies?
Anyone here grow chillies? What type of soil do you use.
My topsoil is crappy clay based muck in which only weeds will grow.
I've got loads of peat type compost, and I've got ericaceous soil (for my blueberry plants)
Any ideas which is best?
Cheers
Andy
Looking about on the tinternet some websites seem to suggest using quite alkaline soil for jalapeno's and other sites say use acidic soil for chillies?
Anyone here grow chillies? What type of soil do you use.
My topsoil is crappy clay based muck in which only weeds will grow.
I've got loads of peat type compost, and I've got ericaceous soil (for my blueberry plants)
Any ideas which is best?
Cheers
Andy
I grow Chillies in pots (Essex clay sounds similar to yours, the good thing being it's water retention).
I just use potting compost with OK results. Maybe just mix some into the existing clay and see how it goes. Ericaceous compost on the other hand may not be ideal, though I'm not sure about this?
Quite often with these kind of things, unless you are growing 'show quality' plants there's a limit to how precious you need to be about 'em
I just use potting compost with OK results. Maybe just mix some into the existing clay and see how it goes. Ericaceous compost on the other hand may not be ideal, though I'm not sure about this?
Quite often with these kind of things, unless you are growing 'show quality' plants there's a limit to how precious you need to be about 'em
I have grown three types - Jalapeno, Cayenne and Dorset Naga - I grew mine in peaty compost - depends how strong you want the chillis. I have heard that the worse the soil, the stronger the chilli - obviously up to a point. My chillis weren't too hot - the nagas were the exception, next year I will be experimenting with different soil types, so will be more use then!
Good luck,
T
Good luck,
T
Simpo Two said:
andytk said:
I've got myself some Jalapeno chillies... Looking about on the tinternet some websites seem to suggest using quite alkaline soil for jalapeno's and other sites say use acidic soil for chillies?
It's jalapeno *pepper* isn't it?I've just stuck them in some normal compost in pots and put them under the plastic domes.
I don't care if they look like crap, just don't want them to die. Hopefully they'll survive our crap weather.
Cheers for the advice.
Andy
I have 8 pots of cayenne which are just flowering after planting them in the last week of feb.
Treat chillies the same as you would a tomato plant, mine grow in multi purpose compost and I check the water daily.
Cold is your enemy with chilli plants I have found so I bring them inside every night unless it is over 7c. They also need a good 8 hours of light but proper rest after that so no use having them under a street lamp at night etc as I found it stresses them.
I usually plant a few variities the main being jalapeno but it's just me eating them these days so I grow more for fun.
Treat chillies the same as you would a tomato plant, mine grow in multi purpose compost and I check the water daily.
Cold is your enemy with chilli plants I have found so I bring them inside every night unless it is over 7c. They also need a good 8 hours of light but proper rest after that so no use having them under a street lamp at night etc as I found it stresses them.
I usually plant a few variities the main being jalapeno but it's just me eating them these days so I grow more for fun.
I too have some pots of chilli plants and they are also beginning to flower, planted end Jan I think. Standard multipurpose compost, watered daily, kept indoors on a windowsill that gets the sun in the mornings.
I also decided to plant two peppers at the same time.. those are at least 18" high and still growing not sure what to do with those.
I also decided to plant two peppers at the same time.. those are at least 18" high and still growing not sure what to do with those.
Hello Andy, I grow chilli plants for a living and we use John Innes No.3 for all of our plants once they have germinated and have been potted on. I use peat based multi-purpose compost to germinate the seeds, but from that point on I switch to a soil based compost (JI No.3). It contains more nutrients than multi-purpose compost (although we do still feed our plants weekly) and it doesn't dry out as quickly. More importantly, if it does dry out, it is very easy to re-wet, which multi-purpose compost isn't.
The advantage of multi-purpose compost is that it's much cheaper than JI compost. For me at least, I find JI easier to work with, although that might be because I deal with a lot of plants. Good luck, whatever you decide to use.
The advantage of multi-purpose compost is that it's much cheaper than JI compost. For me at least, I find JI easier to work with, although that might be because I deal with a lot of plants. Good luck, whatever you decide to use.
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