First time UK chilli grow.

Hi, 
 
 
New to the forum and this is my first season trying to grow some chillies. I started with about 8 Habanero seeds and 20 Cayenne seeds back in mid-march and I tried to germinate all of them for insurance that at least a couple would grow. I didn't realise the majority would germinate!! Anyway, I ended up leaving them to pick out the strongest of the bunch.
 
Here's them after a few weeks transplanted to individual propogator/windowsill greenhouse on 18th April:
 

 
 
 
So I had to get rid of a few more of the weaker ones because I simply don't have room for them in a small flat.  
 
A few weeks later they are now in individual pots (photo: 2nd May):
 

 
 
 
Gave two of the Cayennes away and this is what I'm left with as of the 16th of May:
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
So far so good considering the growing conditions. They are mostly being kept indoors on a south-facing window because it is still too cold here in the UK at night. I am giving them as much outdoor time as possible but I have a VERY windy balcony so it is less than ideal. Hopefully as it gets into the warmer months this will die down a bit, although unlikely. I have got one of those mini greenhouses which I stick them in from time to time to get maximum daylight hours and fresh air but currently its difficult getting consistent conditions. They seem to be standing up to the abuse quite well though. 
 
The Habaneros would be a bonus if they grow since they were planted a bit late (at the same time as the Cayennes- as a bit of an afterthought) but really as long as I get some fruits from any of these plants I'll be pleased. I've been doing a little experiment with the Cayennes. One has been FIMmed quite early on (the one with stakes) and has thrown out a lot of lower side growth nicely. I have since topped one of the stronger plants as well as removing the lower long leafs on one plant to try and create a bushier growth. Since I'm limited on space it'll be interesting how I can keep these on the small side but still get a good crop. Not sure why some of the Cayennes are doing better than others, but with the smaller ones I may just experiment later on and keep them as miniature as possible.
 
Anyway, hope to give updates every couple of weeks as a progress log for a first time grower. Also, Hi to anyone in the UK, I welcome any tips with how to deal with our less than ideal weather :-P.
 
 
Thanks 

 

[Runescape]

Plants are looking pretty damn good, dude. Awesome username btw...

 

[HurtsGood]

Looks like a great start. Good luck on finding nice warm non windy weather.

 

[Bhut_Trolokia]

Looks nice, give them lots of sun and water and a tad of warmth and nutes.

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

Thanks!
 
I'm feeding them Chilli Focus weekly and will be upping the concentration soon as per the instructions on the bottle. One question I have for anyone that could help: A couple of them seem to be drooping their 'heads' at night and then perking back up in the day. Is this a natural occurrence or is it a sign of something else? Is it simply a sign that they need staking now (they are approx. 10 inches tall)?
 
Thanks for any help  

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

Ok, so with lots of new growth at all the nodes I decided to up the ante and prune back the larger leaves. Because I'm limited on space this should hopefully boost lateral bushy growth over leggy vertical growth, especially since they are cayennes! Just hope I haven't overdone it. On a plus not it seems to have stopped the drooping since there are no leaves to droop lol. I left some of the top leaves on a few of them to encourage them to still pull the energies all the way up through the plant.
 

 
Previously topped and FIMmed ones looking good with loads of side growth:
 

 
 
Mr FIM:
 
 

 
 
Toppy the Top Cat:
 

 
 
All the lovely precious leaves
 

 
 
And two of the buds which I culled like a psychopath:
 

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

First flowers coming out to play 
 

 

[Runescape]

Awesome flowers, cant wait to see pods!

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

Little update.
 
All of the flowers so far have set fruit. Got about 3 or 4 on each plant. Counted a total of about 125 buds spread over the 6 Cayennes. Hoping a lot of them will bud into flowers. Can't believe how quickly the fruit is setting after pollination and how quickly they are growing. It's so fun seeing a measurable difference waking up each day! I had them outside in the warmer weather for a couple of days but because of the larger difference in day/night temperatures it seemed to halt the flowering process with no buds blossoming. Since moving them back indoors another 7 have opened up :-D.
 
Here are a few pics:
 
06/06/2014
 

 
 
First chilli's being born 06/06/2014:
 

 
 

 
 
Same pods the next day!!:
 

 
 

 

 
 
 
Overnight these pods have grown another 2-3cm in length and are now resembling chillies! Needless to say I'm quite excited that this little experiment has worked so far. They probably will remain quite small when fully grown due to them being in relatively small pots but not bad for an experimental windowsill project.
 
Thanks for the comments 

 

[nzchili]

looking good mate, just goes to show you don't need lights to grow chilis indoors!  

 

[LS929]

That's exciting and congrats on growing nice plants in the window!

 

[Dreamweaver]

Nice window sill grow...maybe add an oscillating fan to help em beef up...other than that keep doing what you're doing

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

Just got back from the shops with a fan and then read your response!! great, hopefully it will beef them up and keep them cool on the windowsill which got up to a scorching 42C (107F) today and I got worried as the leaves curled a bit haha.
 
5 Days after the last pics they have come on leaps and bounds, really started to accelerate in number of flowers and pods.
 
Same chilli from the previous pic 5 days later:
 

Problem now is I'm running out of room as they are bushing out quite a lot!!
 
Update on the Habs. One of them appears to be stalled and I'm kind of thinking of leaving it outside to see how it gets on and what will be will be. The other one has regained some vigour and is starting to put out some buds so with any luck I might even get a chilli or two off it :-D

 

[dogshow]

Looks like an good grow you got there - ! 

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

Thanks everyone. Just a question about the chillies themselves. This pepper in the last picture is perhaps the straightest/most uniform of them all. The others, whilst similar in size, are a lot more 'crinkley'. Is this normal for cayennes, and is it simply a matter of genetics, or could environmental factors lead to less plump and 'straight' pods?

Basically, they look like they are coming through more like this:
 

 
 
As opposed to this:
 

 
 
Wish I had more info on the specific variety, but the seed packet simply said Cayenne 

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

Hey, Just wanted to ask a question if anybody can help. Got looots of juicy pods setting on all the cayennes. Also had a lot of flowers open on the habanero, but unfortunately can't get any pods to set. I've been hand pollinating with a q-tip but when the flowers open on the hab it seems that there is no pistil/stigma for me to brush the pollen onto. Wondering if anyone knows why this might be. Ultimately a few days after opening the flowers are all dropping off and the base of the stem :-(.

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

First pods turning red:
 

 
How long can they stay on once fully red before they need to be harvested? Just want maximum flavour and heat.

 

[nzchili]

Im pretty sure a ripe pod will hold on for weeks before it wants to drop off by itself.
 
I also believe peppers are at their hottest just before they are fully ripe - and the heat drops away as they over ripen..
Thats only what I have read though

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

Cool, Thanks!