Which chilli varieties should I grow?

Hi,

I became interested in gardening this year, but it was too late to plant most crops. Nevertheless I have some herbs growing and I planted some beetroot at the end of July. I look forward to learning a lot from this forum.

Next year I would like to grow a couple of different varieties of chillies, a quite hot one and a mild or medium one. I would appreciate some suggestions for which varieties I could grow, and some tips for growing them. They would started off indoors in a heated propagator, then moved outside when the weather gets warmer. Also, when is the best time to sow chilli seeds?

 

My first venture was with Padron, some mild but some hot..ish. Very prolific and gave me the taste for growing more. This year I bought an electric propagator and raised in March, Scotch Bonnet, Habanero and Patio Fire. Some were slow to germinate so I'll try February next year. They are coming along but like my tomatoes they have been slow whereas last year had perfect conditions.
I'm sure someone with more experience will come along with more information shortly.
Welcome and enjoy the ride.
Rob

 

For hot there are loads of varieties. I'm growing habanero this year and they are reasonable sized fruits. Last year my grafted naga plant had really small fruits but that may have been doen to me.

Medium, I don't think you can go wrong with jalapeno as it has plenty of flesh. Great for pickling too.

Mild, I'm trying big jim this year which is supposed to be mild and good for stuffing.

World of chillies website has lots of info and chillies sorted into hot, cooking etc. They also sell plug plants so if you don't want a glut of chilli plants, they are not a bad option to buy from.

 

If you are really keen you could grow them indoors all year round in a sunny window. When I lived in a flat with no garden I grew birds eye chilli (hot)and scotch bonnet (very hot) successfully on my kitchen table. I harvested the seeds from fresh supermarket chillies. Now that I have a garden I put plants outdoors in summer and bring them back indoors in winter. If grown year round you'll get multiple crops off the plants. The plants I have out doors now are 2 years old ancho grand which are very mild like a pepper.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I'm in Outer London, I don't know of any chilli festivals near me. I think I will definitely grow jalapenos, plus another variety.