Tip What to do with too many chili/habanero/jalapeno/peppers

[Lunai]

G'day everyone!

Early this year I planned on cultivating 7 different chili plants. Well only 3 grew out but holy moly did those grew well and 2 produced so much I didn't even know where to put them anymore

1st plant was the odd supermarket chili:

purchased some to use and saved some seeds not caring about F1 or something like that. And they grew just amazingly well

ended up with 10 adult plants, 5 on my small balcony (2,50m x 1,27m) much too close to each other in a long window container (1mX0,2mX0,2m) all crammed together. But with the balcony facing south (northern hemisphere) it got really hot in summer and they had the premiere place in the first row on the front so they got sun from rise to set-> those produced over the season about 2kg which is a huge amount considered the circumstances but I had to water 2-3 times a day...

The other 5 went to the garden of a good friend of mine, which turned out to be our shared garden, so they kind of came back to me. They ended up in a small greenhouse and he'll did those produce over the season surely up to 6kg and some are still hanging on the last plant

->> those turned out to be hotter than expected to be from store bought "mild" ones but nothing one can't handle (except my fiancé but ge can't handle chili in anyway, so... ) fruits about 5-10cm long

2nd plant that was also very pretty to look at was a Numex variety:
3 seeds sprouted and I kept all of them in a 3L Container together. Beautiful little bush that was really fell in love with it. Tasted good as well but with each a size of just 1-3cm, one of them was as hot as one of the first ^ from above in both cases it was always 1 chili per frying pan/pot (still plenty enough to make my fiancé sweat ) got about 1kg from those plants

3rd was/is the Jalapeno early:

that didn't work as well as the others but the seeds didn't sprout at first and then where 2 month late, but now I took the plant inside and it's still producing and ... well. Those are so hot... I can't eat them fruits have a size of 3-6cm and are much more fleshy than the others. There're just about 9 hanging on the plant. Had a 1mm slice of the point of the first red one on my toasted sandwich and he'll that bite shot through my mouth like a bullet... not repeating that again. Luckily I have two good volunteers, I mean friends, that really like hot'n spicy chili so they are not going to waste anyway.
No Pic of that one sadly

but what did I do with the pile of the first two?

● about 5 kg I gave fresh to my volunteers, I mean friends
○ about 1kg I used myself fresh
■ the rest got chopped and cooked and I did my very own hot sweet'n'sour chili sauce:

-Chili's chopped roughly (with seeds and all, just took the green stuff off and saved some seeds)
-about 3l of water
-2 soupspoons of white vinegar
-10 soupspoons of sugar
Cooked everything for 30 min and used a mixer/blender to break it down a but more.
Divided it in 2 parts.
added
-curcuma and a Indian curry powder to one part
-Paprika powder to the other (mainly for the color, to better differentiate between the two)
-Added some starch to both to make it a bit thicker

-And filled it boiling hot in pre prept glasses and voilà

We had a little taste test of that endeavour today at our barbecue
Verdict: potent, but good, but had to be mixed in with some curry Ketchup, not even my volunteers, I mean friends, ate it just by itself

That's for that. What do you do with your chili?

Cheers

 

[JP 1983]

Last year we got a modest harvest from my 3x chili plants (two grown from supermarket fruit seeds, one was bought as a seedling). My wife would use one or two here and there for her Korean dishes and what was left over I put on my east-facing (southern hemisphere) balcony window sill to sun-dry. After sitting there for about a month they were dark and crusty. Whacked them into the food processor and blitzed into a coarse powder - our first gochu garu (chili powder). We used it in our last couple of batches of kimchi - wow it was hot!

The only change I'd make is halving the chilies and scraping out the seeds prior to sun drying. Unfortunately my plants didnt survive my overwintering attempt this year so I'm starting again. Got two seedlings on the way from seed chosen from our mildest plant; my wife got some seed from a supermarket Korean ggwari chili but its been 7 weeks and no sign of life. I think they were F1s or otherwise infertile.

Excess chili is also very nice smoked, dried & powdered, esp. sweet hungarian (paprika) varieties. We havent triedthat yet though.

 

[daveb]

I think this was a good harvest year for peppers, even my cross was extreme hot. i know the two peppers i crossed but the characteristics are no where near their parent plant moderate heat level, these were far beyond habanero for heat. the recipe sounds good i will have to try it

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

My peppers refused to germinate! Naughty peppers.

I'll try again after my holiday. I was trying to grow the fire & ice ones that Mark is growing as well. They don't seem to germinate very well and often already look very poorly when they first pop out form the ground. I'm hoping I just had a "bad batch" so I did buy a new seed packet recently and I'll try growing it in some seed-raising mix instead, to see how I go.

A friend of mine left their peppers on the counter for so long it'd basically fully dried just laying there. When she tried to cut it, it flaked and would probably turn into a powder if she'd used a rolling pin (or better yet, a mortar and pestle).

 

[KathrynJN]

This is my first year growing chili, and the two seed packets I bought were the fire & ice, and cayenne. My husband tried a yellow fire & ice and said it tasted like a capsicum, no heat at all. I didn't realise that they would eventually turn red, and I'm guessing the heat increases as they do. I'm yet to try a red one. The cayenne peppers and growing nicely but are still green so I'm waiting for them to redden up on the plants. But they did take a while to get growing from seed, so I understand your frustration Mandy.

 

[Lunai]

In our climate we normally start raising Chili in Jan/Feb. But with those plants that didn't want to germinate at the beginning of this year I kept trying throughout this whole season, and finally they sprouted! all of them!

there are:
Filius blue
Habanero Chocolate
Aji pineapple
Longhorn XXL

and I´m especially excited for the Aji charapita, which is said to be the worlds most expensive chili (well the fruits in dried form anyway)
It should be very sweet and reasonably hot at the same time. can`t wait for the next season.

Tip for germinating chili seeds easier:
Water them for at least 12-24 hours in cold camomile tea. That helps eliminate germs and spores and what-not else. And it helps soften up the outermost tough layer of the seeds so they can break through easier. Found out to be very helpful in this latest attempt. They need at least 25 degrees Celsius and a lot of light (I helped them during germination with a growing light in early morning and late evening to extend the light hours necessary)

 

[KathrynJN]

In our climate we normally start raising Chili in Jan/Feb. But with those plants that didn't want to germinate at the beginning of this year I kept trying throughout this whole season, and finally they sprouted! all of them!

there are:
Filius blue
Habanero Chocolate
Aji pineapple
Longhorn XXL

and I´m especially excited for the Aji charapita, which is said to be the worlds most expensive chili (well the fruits in dried form anyway)
It should be very sweet and reasonably hot at the same time. can`t wait for the next season.

Tip for germinating chili seeds easier:
Water them for at least 12-24 hours in cold camomile tea. That helps eliminate germs and spores and what-not else. And it helps soften up the outermost tough layer of the seeds so they can break through easier. Found out to be very helpful in this latest attempt. They need at least 25 degrees Celsius and a lot of light (I helped them during germination with a growing light in early morning and late evening to extend the light hours necessary)

Thanks for the chamomile tea tip Lunai. I'm guessing it would work on capsicums as well?

 

[Lunai]

Thanks for the chamomile tea tip Lunai. I'm guessing it would work on capsicums as well?

yes should work actually for all types of seeds that have trouble sprouting I guess

 

[daveb]

germination issues could be a couple things Mandy most people make the mistake soak a peat pot poke a seed in put clear cover over and put it in a window sill , results too bright and full sun = baked steamed seeds .... 70 to 90F (21 to 32 c ) max and 60 to 80 % humidity for peppers/tomatoes.
If the pepper seeds were some you saved from prior crop they may not have been ripe. pepper very finicky for seed ripeness , Vine ripen the fruit sample before harvesting to save seed , the flesh of the pepper if still firm crisp and snaps or pops when you go to open the pepper breaking it open in hand it is Not ripe , the flesh of the pepper should rip or tear like a soft piece of old leather not snap. Also with exception of some hybrid peppers and some rare peppers most are not ripe until they turn red.

Now tomatoes and cucumber if the seeds are saved from a prior growing season and not properly handled can fail to start right off, the gell coat that surround tomato and cucumber seeds contain a anti germination chemical that inhibits them from growing while still in the fruit and they wont sprout until it breaks down. Planting them the gell coat starts to ferment and dissolve allowing them to sprout , this is also the reason why soak tomato and cucumber seeds a few days to ferment and dissolves this gell coat before drying on a sheet of paper or paper plate (not a paper towel) before storing for next season seeds should have a bright clean clean color not a muddy off tone which can indicate the seed gell coating present.

here is a simple reference for some optimum seed germinations

Also camomile tea has been used for centuries in poultices and has know anti fungal properties and was used in many herb references for yeast infection, oral thrush, or some form of ringworm and many other uses. so good tip to reduce some chances of seeds getting fungus from over watering

 

[Lunai]

germination issues could be a couple things Mandy most people make the mistake soak a peat pot poke a seed in put clear cover over and put it in a window sill , results too bright and full sun = baked steamed seeds .... 70 to 90F (21 to 32 c ) max and 60 to 80 % humidity for peppers/tomatoes.
If the pepper seeds were some you saved from prior crop they may not have been ripe. pepper very finicky for seed ripeness , Vine ripen the fruit sample before harvesting to save seed , the flesh of the pepper if still firm crisp and snaps or pops when you go to open the pepper breaking it open in hand it is Not ripe , the flesh of the pepper should rip or tear like a soft piece of old leather not snap. Also with exception of some hybrid peppers and some rare peppers most are not ripe until they turn red.

Now tomatoes and cucumber if the seeds are saved from a prior growing season and not properly handled can fail to start right off, the gell coat that surround tomato and cucumber seeds contain a anti germination chemical that inhibits them from growing while still in the fruit and they wont sprout until it breaks down. Planting them the gell coat starts to ferment and dissolve allowing them to sprout , this is also the reason why soak tomato and cucumber seeds a few days to ferment and dissolves this gell coat before drying on a sheet of paper or paper plate (not a paper towel) before storing for next season seeds should have a bright clean clean color not a muddy off tone which can indicate the seed gell coating present.

here is a simple reference for some optimum seed germinations

View attachment 7999



Also camomile tea has been used for centuries in poultices and has know anti fungal properties and was used in many herb references for yeast infection, oral thrush, or some form of ringworm and many other uses. so good tip to reduce some chances of seeds getting fungus from over watering

Thank you verry much for the detailed information that should help loads as I go into the next germination season

 

[Briztank]

Not gonna lie I am extremely jealous! My mates Mrs made her excess into 'chilli jam' which preserves very well and has a long shelf life. If you'd like I could get the recipe, the most expensive part she's said was capsicums for the mix.

 

[Lunai]

Not gonna lie I am extremely jealous! My mates Mrs made her excess into 'chilli jam' which preserves very well and has a long shelf life. If you'd like I could get the recipe, the most expensive part she's said was capsicums for the mix.

would love that recipe

 

[daveb]

some where here i have a hot pepper jelly recipe also i will have to find. i've tried a number over the years each with its own characteristic, also need to find my jalapeno chili cheedar bread recipe i think it is in my recipe box in kitchen

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

I'll definitely give it a shot!

The seeds were all store-bought - same packet Mark bought. But after germinating they behaved very stunted and stayed in a very odd, curled position. Nothing I did helped. So fingers crossed I get it right this time!

 

[daveb]

I'll definitely give it a shot!

The seeds were all store-bought - same packet Mark bought. But after germinating they behaved very stunted and stayed in a very odd, curled position. Nothing I did helped. So fingers crossed I get it right this time!

hmmm normally plants that have that stunted curl growth can be cause by a few things

Did you use a different mix of potting soil or different source of water ?? couple things that can affect ph. what was temperature where they were growing , any breeze fan or ac that could have chilled them or dried them out to fast. and this one will sound wierd to you any plants near that were started from fruit cuttings aka pineapple tops or other bromeliads near where they were started or in bloom. ethylene gas from some plants can stunt growth of others. different light source or were they in a window?
So a few things to thlnk about to trouble shoot not all the reasons for stunted growth two most common is temperature and water . so think if you had any major changes since the last ones started

the one i got a good chuckle on was a friend a number of years ago started some seedlings called me one day my plant look terrible come help me . they had 2 small 25 or 30 watt cfl grow light bulbs and i forget the K spectrum now , using distilled water , plastic cups for pots and re-using some old potting soil. went home got an old aquarium 2 foot light that had the 5500K grow-lux bulbs some jiffy plugs and a couple gallons of water from my spring out back. started fresh seds and week and half later strong vibrant plants.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

@daveb they were in the same conditions as all my other plants/seedlings. We get water from a bore and I use Searles Premium Potting Mix, which has always given me great success in the past. It's not gone below 20 degrees Celcius in the past however long (maybe at night 15 at the veeery lowest, but average around 20 I'd say) with day temperatures usually around 32 degrees Celcius, up to 38 at most so far. I've started them in fresh pots on their own. I've had 3 separate "groups" started that were all under slightly different situations. This be light and water. Regardless, all of them came up stunted and usually die after a while - or they just... stay at that point and never seem to grow even a tiny bit...
They were all grown outside on the patio under cover, were there is little wind.

Next time I'll try planting them in seedling soil that I have laying around, to see if that changes my results. Even though I've actually had better results with the premium mix, maybe these ones are the exception. All other seedlings (that didn't die during my holiday because they were forgotten to be watered) are doing really well.

Haha oh no! Thankfully it all got resolved with your friend

 

[daveb]

just tossing out some thoughts but the 15 lowest to 20 as average isnt bad at all the 32 is on the high side thought for young seedlings , dont forget the opposite extreme too hot on young seedlings can also have same affect on growth as too cool.
I usually try to keep peppers and tomatoes both in the 22 to 25 C range until first couples sets of true leafs with 5000k - 6500K mix light or straight 6500k this pushes strong hearty growth if all three sets had issue i would possible look at something in the potting soil you used or just a partial batch of seeds that didnt get handles proper and got a contamination

 

[Lunai]

@daveb they were in the same conditions as all my other plants/seedlings. We get water from a bore and I use Searles Premium Potting Mix, which has always given me great success in the past. It's not gone below 20 degrees Celcius in the past however long (maybe at night 15 at the veeery lowest, but average around 20 I'd say) with day temperatures usually around 32 degrees Celcius, up to 38 at most so far. I've started them in fresh pots on their own. I've had 3 separate "groups" started that were all under slightly different situations. This be light and water. Regardless, all of them came up stunted and usually die after a while - or they just... stay at that point and never seem to grow even a tiny bit...
They were all grown outside on the patio under cover, were there is little wind.

Next time I'll try planting them in seedling soil that I have laying around, to see if that changes my results. Even though I've actually had better results with the premium mix, maybe these ones are the exception. All other seedlings (that didn't die during my holiday because they were forgotten to be watered) are doing really well.

Haha oh no! Thankfully it all got resolved with your friend

just saw a vid where it was suggested that in a warmer climate one might have to shade the pots themeselves, to eliminate the chance of the roots getting cooked.

 

[Lunai]

But we're getting a bit carried away here

Would love to see some of those recipes ore other suggestions to cope with too many chili.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Cheers all! Yes I have to usually keep them shaded regardless as otherwise they dry out too fast.

Fun little thing for chillis; I worked at a pizzeria. Sometimes we added a little thinly sliced chili all over the pizza (remove the seeds). It was such a boost in flavour, and by removing the seeds it wasn't too spicy either. It was absolutely lovely and would really give your pizza that boost that'd make people wonder what you did to it as it was amazing.
We would also sometimes use the sliced chili to stir in with shoarma (shawarma in some places) or doner meat. It's just so good.