Chilli Peppers Progress

The heatwave start to the summer was ideal for getting chilli peppers started. The mixed weather that has followed is alright if the plants are big enough to stand heavy rain. Ideally the weather will improve again (as last year) and gardeners can look forward to another good year for chilli peppers.

Early Jalapeño is a reliable chilli pepper for European conditions. It matures early and changes colour from green to red as it gets hotter. The Bulgarian carrot, originally from Hungary, is highly regarded for its crisp texture and bright orange colour once ripe. Hot and spicy but not unpleasant.

The Hungarian Hot Wax chilli is a very reliable producer of medium hot fruits. Fruits should be picked while yellow to encourage more fruit. The Ring of Fire chilli works well in European conditions producing bright red hot fruits. With a good summer these can be very hot but generally they are spicy and not burning.

Sweet Nardello is originally from Italia but developed in the US. Also called the Jimmy Nardello, this pepper grows well here and is highly regarded for rich flavour. The Nepali chilli produces many very hot small peppers which change colour from yellow to orange then red as they mature. Handle with care.

While the hot start to summer was a good help, recent rain has brought out the slugs and snails. They like some chilli peppers and leave others alone. Chilli peppers planted in soil beds are rather vulnerable to slugs while those in pots can be better defended. Simply moving the pots around can deter slugs (who repeat visit), or moving wounded plants to a safe windowsill allows recovery.

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