I grew cayenne pepper plants in 2009 for the first time and, since that first trial was so successful (12 weeks after sowing them they had produced over 70 cayenne chilli peppers in my humble tiny balcony), I want to share my experience and tricks in this article.
First of all, why cayenne peppers? (and not another kind of peppers)
- They are very easy to grow (you only have to worry to water them often and place them in a sunny place)
- They are quite hot. Ideal to prepare spicy dishes like Hungarian Goulash soup, Spanish cold Gazpacho soup or making hot pickles.
- They grow fast. 8 weeks after sowing they begin to produce chillies
Cayenne peppers grow only from seed. If you have no patience you can buy grown chilli pepper plantlets or even mature chilli plants in garden centers or flower shops, but I recommend you to start from seed. It is just nicer and cannot compare.
I have not spoken of patience with no reason. You need to be patient. Very patient. Chilli peppers can take up to one month to germinate, but I am going to give you a very good trick in order to spare you such a long wait.
Hot peppers like it hot.
I'm going to be a bit more explicit and I'll explain you about my experience the first time I grew cayenne peppers.
I sowed the peppers in April in a small plastic container indoors. The temperature at home was about 20°C. Every day I checked the container for any sign of green tiny stems sprouting. A week passed by. Two weeks passed by. Nothing sprouted.
One day I put the plastic container on the upper part of the fridge, which as you know is a warm place. There was a temperature of about 24-25°C. Only 12 hours later the first plantlets emerged from the soil.
And now, what?
Your chillies are germinating. From now on you have to keep them at a very illuminated place. They need plenty of light. If you keep them in a dark place they will grow badly and will become weak plants with a future as dark as the room you kept them in. I show you a photo of my tiny two-leaved chilli plantlets. As you can see they are exposed to plenty of light.
Transplantation
I recommend you to transplant your chilli plantlets to the definite place when they have at least 4 leaves. However, transplanting them when they still have only 2 leaves is also possible if you do it very carefully. Transplant them in a rich soil; keep in mind that they will need plenty of nutrients in order to produce your coveted fiery hot chillies. After the transplantation water the plantlet and ensure that it is completely moist. If you don't make sure of this, I assure that after 24 hours you will have a dried dead chilli baby and only because you did not give it some more water.
From now on, the only thing you have to do is to ensure that they get enough water to develop properly. I assume that you have transplanted them in a sunny place. They should get at least 4 hours of direct sun every day.
The cayenne pepper plant can grow up to 60 cm high and produces tiny white flowers. These flowers will swell to become cayenne chillies.
If you treat your cayenne pepper plants well, I promise you that after 8 weeks (if not before) they will start producing chillies like these underneath.
Enjoy your growing!
