Favourite Chillies from this Year
Favourite Chillies from this Year
Although it’s been a tough year for many of us humans, it’s been a fantastic summer for growing chillies. My chilli plants have been this summer’s saving grace, bringing moments of calm and helping to keep me sane as well as rewarding me with many kilos of hot chillies.
In fact, I am still picking in my greenhouse in mid November and even have new pods forming on some of my annumm plants. I’ve had a lot of nice emails over the past couple of months from people bowled over by the size of their harvests. I hope you’ve had a great chilli season too.
My favourite plants from the season have undoubtedly been my Wraith, Kashmiri and Volante.
Plant Early for a Big Harvest
Remember: Chillies are TropicalBy getting your chilli plugs and plants early from World of Chillies you can effectively DOUBLE your fruiting season.
Small plugs bought in late April will struggle to deliver. By buying chilli plugs from us in February or March (which have been grown with supplementary light and heat), you could begin cropping as early as June and have a huge harvest from giant plants by September.
You might be able to buy chilli plugs cheaper elsewhere, but it might turn out to be a false economy. When it comes to growing chillies in the UK, the earlier you start the bigger the crop. It's simply a fact of nature.
Although it’s been a tough year for many of us humans, it’s been a fantastic summer for growing chillies.
My chilli plants have been this summer’s saving grace, bringing moments of calm and helping to keep me sane as well as rewarding me with many kilos of hot chillies.
In fact, I am still picking in my greenhouse in mid November and even have new pods forming on some of my annumm plants. I’ve had a lot of nice emails over the past couple of months from people bowled over by the size of their harvests. I hope you’ve had a great chilli season too.
My favourite plants from the season have undoubtedly been my Wraith, Kashmiri and Volante.
Wraith
The Wraith is a superhot variety with a slightly cascading habit, enhanced by the many branchfuls of pods. With its gorgeous creamy white pods that almost glow in the sunshine, the Wraith really is a Beauty and the Beast sort of plant.
I actually can’t really eat superhot chillies, Habaneros are about my limit for heat. So you might think it's a bit weird growing them but I do find them awe-inspiring and I find the idea of growing something so dangerous in the greenhouse quite exciting.
It's fair to say that the Wraith delivered on harvest size with well over a hundred pods that were still coming at the end of November. If you still have pods ripening in your greenhouse, cut the branches and put them into a vase of water in the house like cut flowers.
Volante
Volante was a new plant for me and a bit of a surprise. Although it does produce chillies of heat, it’s more of an ornamental which is not something I usually favour. I was a bit sceptical the beginning of the season but really came to love Volante.
Volante is a beautiful dwarfing plant with a trailing habit that would make it perfect for hanging baskets. Pods start out a creamy white, ripening through a rainbow of colours. It's very difficult to pick chillies of such a pretty plant though.
In fact, when it came time to fill greenhouse in May, I found I did not have space for this plant. I decided to put it out onto my patio to give it a chance and I'm very glad I did. The plant was covered in multi-coloured pods all summer long and it outshone all of its floral neighbours.
Kashmiri
It turns out that you really can’t beat a Kashmiri for pure weight of chillies as this single plant produced well over a kilo of chillies. It is still trying to grow more even now in the middle of November.
The plant grew like a rocket from day one and was the first to fruit in my greenhouse. Kashmiri chillies are favoured for keeping their colour when dried, although to be honest I haven't tried this.
Pods are fairly mild in heat but make for a great dressing chilli and Ive been eating them chopped up raw on everything from noodle soups to salads. I've a good store of them in the freezer too.
Growing tips from World of Chillies
Chilli Problems
Chilli Blogs
Chilli Nutrients
Potting On Chillies
Chilli Pests
Chilli Diseases
World of Chillies was set up by Sarah Hunt in 2011 to promote chilli growing and the enjoyment of everything hot and spicy.
Chilli Plants
Tomatoes
Chilli Seeds
Delivery Info
About Us
Contact Us
Sign Up Chilli Club
Privacy
Terms & Conditions