Sweet Peppers and Chillies

You do not have to live in the Med to enjoy tasty home-grown peppers. Pepper plants laden with fruits look fantastic. Their need for a warm sunny spot makes them ideal candidates for a south-facing patio or window sill.

Sweet Peppers

• Mohawk. This sweet pepper produces plenty of smallish fruits, which are green and then ripen to a strong orange colour with a sweet flavour. They look great in salads and are delicious when roasted.
• Unicorn. These chunky plants produce elegant fruits that are green turning to red when ripe. The flesh is not as thick as some but they have a really tangy flavour.
• Gypsy. The slimline, slightly tapered fruits have a fairly thick wall and a lovely flavour. The peppers are orange or red when fully ripe, and quite small but there are plenty of them and they ripen early.
• Carnival. This produces large quantities of good-sized fruits in a wide array of colours - red, orange, yellow, green and purple-black. Succulent with thick flesh.

Chillies

• Joe's Long Cayenne. Visually a real stunner, this variety is a prolific fruiter, draped with finger-like chillies that are good eaten green or red. They are not too hot and the fruits are very long - 20-25cm (8-10in).
• Apache. These are tough plants that fare well outside. They thrive in pots and, at only about 45cm (18in) tall, are truly dwarf. The fruits look pretty and are green ripening to red. The heat is medium.
• Habenero. These small fruits look innocent enough, starting out green and ripening to a fairly pale orange-yellow colour, with an almost wrinkled appearance. The flavour is very hot.
• Lemon Drop. This variety crops heavily, bearing large numbers of long and pointed yellow fruits. The plants are less sturdy than most.

Growing Tips

• Peppers hate poor drainage - wet feet can be the death of them. Although they need a good supply of moisture, make sure the compost is well-drained. Add some grit if necessary.
• Chillies tend to become hotter if they get lots of sunshine and warmth while ripening, so use this to your advantage depending on your tastes.
• Sow the seeds early. If you have a frost-free greenhouse, conservatory or very sunny window sill, you can sow as early as late january and they will grow away without risk of frosting.
• As soon as the first flowers start to appear, feed regularly with a high-potash liquid feed.
• Watch out for blossom end rot (caused by erratic watering), red spider mite and gey mould.
• It is worth pinching out the growing point of a chilli plant to make it bushier and more compact.
• On taller plants you will need a cane for added strength and support, especially if you are growing them in containers.
• Many pepperswill crop well outside in a sunny sheltered spot, but for best results, grow them in a greenhouse or conservatory.