Most chillies start out green, and get hotter as they mature and turn red. So if you’re keen to maximise the heat, leave them on the plant as long as possible.
When it comes to heat, chillies are rated by a group of brave testers who then give them a Scoville Heat Unit from 0 right up to 2 million.
Capsaicin is the chemical compound in chillies that gives them the burn factor. So, a capsicum, which contains no capsaicin, has a Scoville rating of zero.
It’s important to choose a chilli plant with a heat level that you can tolerate. Here’s a guide to the main chilli varieties from mild to hot, and where they sit on the Scoville rating scale.
Mild
Anaheim — a versatile chilli, with a mellow flavour. (500 – 2500 units)
Hungarian Yellow — a crunchy banana-shaped type, around 15cm long. (1000 – 15,000 units)
Medium
Jalapeno — very popular, medium sized 5-10cm fruit. (5000 – 10,000 units)
Wildfire — a good producer that’s also banana-shaped. (10,000 – 20,000 units)
Manzano — thick-skinned round peppers, orange when mature. (12,000 – 50,000 units)
Hot
Cayenne — Long and thin fruit (30,000 – 50,000 units)
Birdseye — your classic Thai Chilli (50,000 - 100,000 units)
Very Hot
Habanero — these come in a variety of colours (100,000 – 350,000 units)
Bhut Jolokia or Ghost Pepper — from Northeast India (800,000 – 1.4 mill units)
Trinidad Scorpion — their pointed end resembles a scorpion’s stinger (1.4 million units)
And the World Record holder, coming in at 1.5 to 2.2 million units — is the Carolina Reaper.
Planting
Chillies grow well in garden beds, and are also perfect for a pot, basket, or window box. However, the yield is generally better from plants grown in garden beds.
Avoid planting chillies where you’ve previously planted tomatoes, potatoes, or eggplant as they may pass on bacterial diseases.
They love a rich fertile soil. Prepare your garden with some compost and sheep pellets and dig them through your existing soil. Then add a layer of vege mix.
Check the spacing on the back of the tag — usually 30cm apart will be fine.
Dig a hole, plant, and back-fill. Press the soil firmly around the base of the plant.
Water well.
Chillies also do well planted from seed, so check out the options in-store, and see our How to Grow from Seed Easy As guide.
When planting in pots and containers chillies don’t require a lot of root room, and as long as the soil is 20cm deep they should flourish.
Timing
Get the plants into the ground in November when it’s warm outside. The best times to plant are early in the morning or late in the day, so the plants aren’t exposed to the hot sun straight away.
Location
Chillies need full sun, and a sheltered position.
Watering
Keep the soil moist during the growing season.
Feeding
Use vege food in garden beds, and Novatec fertiliser for containers.
Pruning
At the start of the growing season or with newly planted plants, lightly prune new growth to encourage bushiness.
For most chillies the end of the season will be the end of the plant’s life, unless you can keep them in a glasshouse over winter.
Harvesting
Chillies take about 3 months to mature, fruiting from January to May.
Cut, don’t pull the fruit from the plant, and harvest them just before they look ready. This will encourage more flowering and fruiting.
Immature chillies can be picked and eaten before they are fully ripe — this will also help extend the plant’s cropping.
In the warmer regions of New Zealand chilli plants can keep producing into winter.
Chillies store well in the fridge, freezer, or even dried in a dark cupboard.
Pests and disease
Watch out for aphids and fruit fly, but on the whole, chillies suffer very few pests or disease. — Courtesy of Mitre 10
