I wasn’t planning on growing any chillies this year, but for Christmas I received a gift set with three packets of chilli seeds and various spices and thought it would be a waste not to have a go at growing them. So in late January I sown a packet of Anaheim and a packet of Cayenne in the hope to have some fresh chillies come summer time.

I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting many to germinate, probably one or two out of each packet, but within a couple of weeks I had about two dozen seedlings popping their heads through the soil. Result! I left them to grow on until the beginning of March, where I selected a dozen of the strongest seedlings and potted them in to 3 inch pots. I left them on the kitchen windowsill for another month and then moved them on to my parents greenhouse.

Last night I went up to check on them, and I noticed the first few flower heads forming on the plants. I’ve been told by some people to cut them off as its a little too early while other people say leave them on. I think I’ll leave them on as surely this is a good thing. Apart from giving them plenty of heat and light (sunny kitchen window), I’ve done nothing else to get them to this stage and I’m really impressed on how well they have grown.

First flowers on the chillies. May-13