*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?: I sow my seed indoors from June/July onward. The seeds need warmth to germinate, so if yours aren’t they are probably too cold so try again later in Spring. Some varieties do take a while to germinate, Seedlings can be planted outside from about September/October (earlier if in a particularly warm area, later in a cool area).
How long does it take?: Different varieties take different lengths of time to crop. Some may crop in mid-late summer while others may take until late Autumn/early winter to bear fruit. In some cases you may not get significant crops until the plant’s second year.
How much space do they take up?: About 50cm square per plant if planted in the ground depending on the variety. You could grow a chilli plant in a pot as small as 15cm diameter depending on the variety, but 30-40cm pot will give them more room to grow and give you a larger yield.
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 many 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 in that instance your plants will not come true from seed. For more information see the Saving Seed page.
Some posts on chillies:
Chillirrific News (about overwintering chillies in Melbourne)
Bishops Cap/Scotch Bonnet Chillies
Capsicums
When to plant?: I sow my seed indoors from June/July onward. The seeds need warmth to germinate, so if yours aren’t they are probably too cold so try again later in Spring. Some varieties do take a while to germinate, Seedlings can be planted outside from about September/October (earlier if in a particularly warm area, later in a cool area).
How long does it take?: It depends on the variety. In general I find that capsicums tend to fruit in February and then all through Autumn in Melbourne although I get an occasional one from some varieties earlier if I have sowed seed early and it is a particularly warm season.
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 in that instance 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?: I sow my seed indoors from June onward. The seeds need warmth to germinate, so if thy aren’t germinating then they are probably too cold so try again later in Spring. Some varieties do take a while to germinate, Seedlings can be planted outside from about September/October (earlier if in a particularly warm area, later in a cool area).
How long does it take?: About 6-7 months from sowing seed to first fruits depending on the variety, climate and when you sowed the seed.
How much space does it take up?: About 50cm to 1 metre square per plant if planted in the ground, although you can under plant with other crops like basil. A 40cm diameter pot is fine for an eggplant, a 50cm diameter pot is even better.
Can I grow it in a pot? Yes, see above.
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.
Posts on growing eggplant:
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