*The following information is designed for a temperate southern hemisphere garden*
These planting notes come from my own experience of growing Chillies, Capsicums and Eggplants in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. However every garden is different, as is every season and every year. What may work once may not work again and what may not work the first time might be fabulous the next. It rarely hurts to try something so please treat this information as a very general guide only.
Chillies:
When to plant?: Seed can be sown under glass or indoors from August onward. The seeds need warmth to germinate, so if yours aren’t they are probably too cold so try again later in Spring. Seedlings can be planted out from about October (earlier if in a particularly warm area, later in a cool area).
How long does it take?: They should flower then fruit about 3 – 4 months after planting (possibly slightly longer if you sowed the seed early.)
How much space does it take up?: About 50cm square per plant if planted in the ground. You could grow a chilli plant in a pot as small as 15cm diameter.
Can I grow it in a pot? Yes they are perfect for pots.
Care while growing?: Fertilise after flowering and while fruiting. Don’t pot into too large a pot too soon, small increases in pot size work best for chillies. Harvest chillies regularly to encourage more fruit set. Prune lightly and pot up in spring if the plants survived the winter.
Harvesting?: Chillies can be eaten green or red, and different dishes will use them at different stages. They are hottest when ripest, which for most varieties is a bright red colour.
Saving Seed: You can save seed from any ripe chilli – either home grown or store/market bought. Be aware though that if the chilli was grown close to capsciums or other chillies the plants may have crossed and your plants will not come true from seed. For more information see the Saving Seed page.
More Info?: http://suburbantomato.com/2011/04/growing-chillies-in-melbourne/
Capsicums
When to plant?: Seed can be sown under glass or indoors from August onward. The seeds need warmth to germinate, so if yours aren’t they are probably too cold so try again later in Spring. Seedlings can be planted out from about October (earlier if in a particularly warm area, later in a cool area).
How long does it take?: They should flower then fruit about 3 – 4 months after planting (possibly slightly longer if you sowed the seed early.)
How much space does it take up?: About 50cm square per plant if planted in the ground. A 40cm diameter pot is about perfect for a capsicum plant.
Can I grow it in a pot? Yes they are perfect for pots. A 40cm diameter pot is about perfect for a capsicum plant.
Care while growing?: Fertilise after flowering and while fruiting. Harvest capsicums regularly to encourage more fruit set.
Harvesting?: Capsicums can be eaten green or red, and different dishes will use them at different stages. They are sweetest when ripest.
Saving Seed: You can save seed from any ripe capsicum – either home grown or store/market bought. Be aware though that if the capsicum was grown close to other capsciums or chillies the plants may have crossed and your plants will not come true from seed. For more information see the Saving Seed page.
More info?: http://suburbantomato.com/2011/05/growing-capsicums/
Eggplant
When to plant?: Seed can be sown under glass or indoors from August onward. The seeds need warmth to germinate, so if yours aren’t they are probably too cold so try again later in Spring. Seedlings can be planted out from about October (earlier if in a particularly warm area, later in a cool area).
How long does it take?: They should flower then fruit about 4 - 5 months after planting.
How much space does it take up?: About 50cm square per plant if planted in the ground. A 40cm diameter pot is about perfect for a eggplant plant.
Can I grow it in a pot? Yes they are perfect for pots. A 40cm diameter pot is about perfect for a eggplant plant.
Care while growing?: Fertilise after flowering and while fruiting. Harvest eggplants regularly to encourage more fruit set.
Harvesting?: Eggplants should be harvested when they are glossy and firm.
Saving Seed: If you want to save seed from an Eggplant you need to let it mature on the plant for much longer than you would if eating it. Eggplants which are fully ripened for seed saving are dull and quite hard. Because of the need to leave them on the plant to ripen it is not usually advisable to use seed from eggplants/brinjals/aubergines you have bought to eat.
More info?: http://suburbantomato.com/2011/04/eggplant/
