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Garden Tips
Chili plants
grow well in warm and sunny tropical climates, with loamy soil,
abundant organic matters and plenty of well-drained water. They do not
survive well in cold climates.
In Tropical Climate,
the sowing of seeds can be on any day
the whole year round. Water once a day, gently, without displacing
them. Sprouting takes place within one week! Transplanting could be
done after four weeks when the seedlings are about three inches
tall. They start bearing fruits around three months time.
To avoid
infection, ensure plenty of sunshine and use of fertile
soil, so that
the plants grow healthily. That leaves less room for infection to be effective.
This is
similar to a healthy person being not so easily attacked by sickness
Care
should be taken
not to over-expose
the plants to sunshine,
either! Though
plenty of sunshine pose a very conducive climate for growth, too
much of it can burn the leaves causing sunscald. This will greatly
reduce the fruit yield. To reduce sunscald effect, make-shift shades
could be set up to cut down the sunshine.
In Cold Climate,
chili plants grow very slowly and generally
requires a long growing season. Chili plants need a minimum temperature
of 17 C to thrive. Do not sow seeds outdoor during cold
spells. Only six to eights weeks before the end of winter spells should
one start sowing seeds indoor, and transplant on the onset of spring.
It is best to warm up the soil by covering the soil with a sheet of
black plastic, thick layers of newspapers, or by burying garden wastes
around the roots.
Increasing Chili Yield |
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The number of chili pods borne by a chili tree will, at one
stage, reach its maximum.
Therefore;
to increase the yield
during this maximum fruiting seasons, keep harvesting
the fruits before they ripen fully on the plant and drop on the
ground.
This would stimulate more
flowering and fruiting while the fruiting mechanism in the plant try to
maintain its maximum yield again.
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See my harvest: A one-day harvest
from my garden
with two healthy chili plants
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Make sure the
plant is healthy by manuring frequently.
As an alternative to chemical fertilizers, garden wastes could
be used. They can be withered leaves, grass, dead snails, prawn
shelves and food remnants.
Dig circular
tunnels around the roots,
put in the garden wastes, then bury them with soil.
Make sure not to hurt the roots. Constantly
replenish the tunnel with new wastes to ensure good
supply of nutrients to the plants
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The Solanaceae family
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cherry pepper |
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tomato |
eggplant |
red habanero |
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Chili pepper is one of the
vegetables in the nightshade family, which also includes cherry pepper, tomato, eggplant, habanero, bell peppers and
white potatoes. Do not rotate planting
them on the same soil within a short period.
Do not plant chili plants on the
same spot,
the soil needs ample time to restore its fertility. |
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Take great
efforts to avoid infection. Chili leaves are highly
susceptible to fungus, viruses and aphids. They also host a
delicious meal to the garden snails!
Chili plants are
susceptible to aphids attack
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Once infected, at the very initial stage, carefully bend the
twigs and dip the leaves in a basin of solution made up of one
teaspoonful of salt and one tablespoonful dish detergent. Make
sure that both sides of each leave are dipped.
Do it twice a
week to ensure effectiveness. It may sound tedious, but in
actual fact, it only takes 2-3 minutes to dip the whole plant,
twig by twig.
Haha.. I am only giving my humble advice on a home grown level, basing
on my years of
chili planting experience.
This method proves healthier and more economical
than using pesticide sprays. It is effective if you put in this
extra effort! If you do not want
to go through such hassle, then you need to spray with
pesticides/fungicides. Otherwise, you just have to uproot the infested
plants, discard before they spread to other chili plants.
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