Why do you grow chilli peppers?

[Jayman]

Another reason I grow mine is because the bigger the gardens the less grass to mow.

The top of my yard does nothing but grow lots of grass, it really is a pain to mow. Hopefully I can get enough plants to fix this problem. Mind you I will probably need more like the +300 pots Gas has to fill it.

Try 300+ pots over here! (The math... 100+ plants... two incremental pot ups and final size pots.)

And depending on how you start your seeds, don't forget the cost of electricity! Heat pads, grow lights, etc. (And not forgetting the cost to buy such equipment either)

And then there's the cost of fertilizer, bug sprays, etc.

Personally, I myself don't consider growing chillies a cheap hobby...

Buy your pots from Flower Power and it will be. The first of the rectangular boxes cost me $40, yes I'm stupid for buying it. So if you buy 150 (two plants per box) of them that's $6,000 thanks. From now on I'm only buying the cheap black ones, need to go see how cheap I can get them from kmart or somewhere like that.

 

[Jayman]

You have found Ball chillies?? Up here in Brissy we are limited to "red", "green", Birds Eye and the rare green Jalapeno at Woolies.

Check out weekend markets and stuff--you can sometimes score at them. There's this bloke at my local markets that grows and sells Pimentos de Padron. I also get some nice Thai chillies from time to time, and I've seen orange and red Habs.... that sort of stuff. Haven't been in aaaages but was getting some really nice Jalapenos at one stage from the organic markets too.

Been in the freezer for quiet awhile.

 

[Omri]

Green cherries?
Anyhow, I actually think it's just easier using pots when only planting a couple hundred plants or even a little bit more. you can move them around and those pots will be of use the year after that as well.

 

[gasificada]

Buy your pots from Flower Power and it will be. The first of the rectangular boxes cost me $40, yes I'm stupid for buying it. So if you buy 150 (two plants per box) of them that's $6,000 thanks. From now on I'm only buying the cheap black ones, need to go see how cheap I can get them from kmart or somewhere like that.

Screw K-Mart, hit up Big W instead.

Last year when I went and had a look at K-Mart, they were trying to charge some ridiculous price for pots--well, the 30cm black ones anyway. I think they were around $7 each or something, I can't remember. But anyway, found better 30cm ones at Big W for like $4 or something. And I don't know how many litres the K-Mart ones hold but the Big Dub ones look like they have more room in 'em too! I dunno, I could be wrong... and with *that* price difference you'd hope the K-Mart ones were bigger!

Dunno what the situation is this year though as thankfully still using the pots I already own. Probably should start looking around though considering I'm growing more plants this season....

EDIT:

Oh yeah, for some reason they cost a little bit more, but it's probably a better idea to go for coloured pots. I learned the hard way that chilli plants really don't like their roots all hot... and that black pots REALLY suck up our hot Aussie sun!

 

[Jayman]

Oh yeah, for some reason they cost a little bit more, but it's probably a better idea to go for coloured pots. I learned the hard way that chilli plants really don't like their roots all hot... and that black pots REALLY suck up our hot Aussie sun!

Yeah black pots will also make them look skinny too.

Thx for the tip, will look for white or something, I will give big W a look too.

@ Omri, thats what I was thinking, another lesson learnt lol.

 

[Justaguy]

don't know about down under but around here I like to swing by the nurseries around time to pot up. Some just pitch what they are coming out of. Last year I got a pile of the 6 per cell starters I used. Have enough for the next 2-3 years if I don't reuse them.

 

[fubarhouse]

I'll make another post tomorrow, but a major part of it for me is to grow something exotic, keeps you motivated, interested... If you grow the same kind of basil year in year out, where's the interest? Tomatoes and capsicums are my favorite. Love grape tomatoes, but got some massive Italian tomatoes for this season, rich red color, so unbelievably tender, I already have so many plans for them!!

 

[POTAWIE]

I grow them so I can and eat them and enjoy them along with all my other fruits and veggies. For me peppers are also one of the easiest plants to start early indoors under cheap floro lights

 

[megamoo]

I grow chillies to impress females













































it doesn't work

 

[PIC 1]

I started growing my veg. gardening back in the early 80's. During that time the "Thai and Schezwan" scene was becoming popular, that's when everyone owned and used their "Wok's" and "Fondue Pot's".
The craze back then was the hot and spicy, whether it was " Hot Thai Noodle" or " Spicey Raclette".
I recall having two woks going at the same time, .....Ha, now I don't even own one.
I started to grow various Thai, Bird, and small Schezwan type peppers.
Used most fresh but sun-dryed the extra's which helped through the winter.
Back then the "Orange Hab" was considered a "ferocious" type pepper.......lol
I remember growing them, the pod was smaller and crinkley looking.
Since then I've always had a craving for the heat.....I use to carry various bottle's of hot sauce in the glove compartment in my car.........strange but true....now a days every resturant has some type......just may not be my type.

Greg

 

[MrChilli]

I have to agree with 99% of the previous replies. Also, because I can :-) - same as a dog and his nuts I guess. Plus I have a father who refuses to say anything other than "hmm, that's got a nice bite to it" regardless of the SHU rating!

 

[Justaguy]

I grow chillies to impress females

it doesn't work

That should help

 

[gasificada]

I grow them so I can and eat them and enjoy them along with all my other fruits and veggies. For me peppers are also one of the easiest plants to start early indoors under cheap floro lights

Yeah, I use cheap fluoros too. Unfortunately though, regardless of how much they cost to run, they still cost something. Throw in heat mats, etc, and it really starts to add up.

It doesn't help one bit either that the cost of electricity seems to go up--significantly--every few months here either....

 

[physicsman]

Well last Xmas I got one of these:

At the time I had a small grow tent to overwinter my cactus. I also had a Venus flytrap that was loving the LED grow light I picked up for the tent so I naively decided to re-pot it (Im no green thumb by any stretch). Since my pepper plant in a can (bhut jolokia) hadn't sprouted a thing I decided to use soil in the can as filler for my flytrap about a week later two little bhut jolokias came up in my flytrap pot so I transplanted them. Long story short. Now I have this in my living room:

And now, Im going to add these:

to the new grow tent:

 

[highalt]

Why I grow chili peppers:

Started growing flowers from seed when we moved to our new house a few years ago to save money on landscaping. This led to harvesting/collecting/purchasing more seeds, as I became obsessed with having one of everything. Then, I decided to grow a small veggie garden to save on produce, and teach my kids where food really comes from. This led to canning - pickles, salsa, etc., which led to expanding the veggie garden, more harvesting/collecting/purchasing of seeds. In an effort to get just the right heat level on my homemade salsa, I began expanding the number of varieties of peppers I grew. A couple years ago, I hosted a pepper seed swap on another gardening forum, and through researching all of the pepper seeds people sent in, I discovered just how many varieties of peppers there really were. Blew my mind!!! So now instead of being obsessed with growing every kind of flower there is, I've transferred that obsession to peppers. Now if only I had more space! I may have to start replacing some of those flowers with pepper plants.

 

[Justaguy]

I always say you are not out of space until you are growing on your roof.

 

[Spice 8]

For one I love growing things. Second chili plants are the perfect pet and requires no cleaning up except for fallen leaves, but something you can eat. Where I live people are kinda backwards and think the only chilies that exsist are Orange Habs, Jalapenos, green and red chile, yellow wax, pequin and bell. So I love to grow the exotics. Chilies are one of the only things you can grow that contain alkaloids that produce a "high" legally and a health benefit too. I also like to grow a variety of different peppers for different occasions I make salasa alot, hot sauces, powders, you name it. Growing your own saves a lot and its a great learning tool as well. If you dont have a green thumb, you automtically earn one by growing chilies ans chilies are quit difficult to grow.