Growing your own chillies has never been easier
Growing chillies has never been more popular. Now it really couldn’t be easier, as South Devon Chilli Farm has introduced a new service offering a range of seedlings which can be delivered direct to your home by post.
The seedlings are available in sets of six with 24 varieties in total to choose from:
‘Hot Six’ Chilli Seedlings
In this set of seedlings, there are six very hot varieties: Bhut Jolokia (over 1 million SHU), Orange Habanero (350,000SHU), Chocolate Habanero (600,000 SHU), Red Habanero (300,000SHU), Red Scotch Bonnet (200,000SHU), Big Sun Habanero (300,000SHU). All of these chilli seedlings respond well to warmth (25C is ideal.)
All of these 'habaneros' have the distinctive fruity flavour of habaneros and go a long way in cooking.
‘Tasty Six’ Chillli Seedlings
Six great varieties for the kitchen: Aji Limon (40,000 SHU), Jalapeno (6,000 SHU), Hungarian Hot Wax (2,000 SHU), Santa Fe Grande (5,000SHU), Cherry Bomb (6,000SHU), Ring of Fire (70,000SHU). All of these chillies are great for salsa, pizza-topping, chilli-poppers, BBQ and warming up many dishes.
‘Stunning Six’ Chillli Seedlings
Six stunning varieties for the windowsill and kitchen: Twilight (40,000 SHU), Prairie Fire (80,000 SHU), Apache (F1) (70,000 SHU), Peruvian Purple (60,000SHU), Etna (60,000SHU)and Super Chilli (F1) (40,000SHU).
‘Super Six’ Chilli Seedlings
This set is a selection of South Devon Chilli Farm’s favourite chillies:Twilight (40,000 SHU), Apache (70,000 SHU),Orange Habanero (350,000 SHU), Red Scotch Bonnet (250,000SHU), Cherry Bomb (6,000SHU)and Santa Fe Grande) (5,000SHU).
‘Sweet Six’ Chilli Seedlings
All of these plants would benefit from space in a greenhouse. With the exception of the Pimientos de Padron, all these varieties mature to a sweet pepper. The Padron peppers are very mild when small (when they are traditionally picked), but hotter as they mature to full size.
This set contains the following six seedlings: Pimientos de Padron, Corno Rosso, Pepperoncini, Sweet Banana,Frigitello and Topepo Rosso.
‘Extreme Six’ Chilli Seedlings
Bhut Jolokia chillies ripen to a bright red and have a Scoville rating over 1 million. This pack contains 6 Bhut Jolokia seedlings in Jiffy-7 plugs. This is the chilli used in South Devon Chilli Farm’s Extreme range of products. Bhut Jolokia seeds can be reluctant to germinate - this set will get you off to a great start.
‘Same Six’ Chilli Seedlings
In addition to the selections above, 20 different varieties are available in packs of 6 in Jiffy-7 plugs. The varieties available are: Orange Habanero, Red Habanero, Chocolate Habanero, Red Scotch Bonnet, Big Sun Habanero, Ring of Fire, Aji Limon, Hungarian Hot Wax, Santé Fe Grande, Cherry Bomb, Jalapeno, Super Chilli, Etna, Peruvian Purple, Apache, Prairie Fire, Twilight, Pimientos de Padron, Corno Rosso and Pepperoncini.
The sets of six are all available for a very reasonable £12 except for the ‘Extreme Six’ which consists of the mighty Bhut Jolokia seedlings and costs £18. For full details on the seedlings available visit South Devon Chilli Farm’s website: www.sdcf.co.uk.
The chilli seedlings are currently available for advance ordering for two delivery periods. Orders taken by 17thFebruary will be delivered mid-March to mid-April and those ordered by 24th March will be delivered mid-April to mid-May. If there’s enough stock, South Devon Chilli Farm will also be able to supply seedlings on demand from mid-March. All the seedlings are shipped in Jiffy-7 plugs in protective packs and full care instructions are provided.
If you are really passionate about growing chillies then plan a visit to South Devon Chilli Farm this year. Positioned in the stunning South Devon countryside just outside Loddiswell (not far off the A38), it makes a fantastic destination throughout the spring, summer and early autumn months. If you visit in spring you will learn lots about the early stages in the chilli growing season and may get to meet Steve Waters, their resident chilli expert.
During the summer and early autumn months the chillies are out in full bloom and, as well as being stunning, it is truly fascinating. There’s an on-site café where you can enjoy a mid-morning coffee or delicious lunch (some dishes are hot and some are not!). There’s also the farm shop that sells a wide range of local, Devon delights as well as a tempting array of chillies (powdered, dried and fresh), chilli plants and preserves, sauces and chilli chocolates. If you can’t make it down to the chilli farm itself, you can buy South Devon Chilli Farm products at a number of deli’s and farm shops nationwide and online.
Highlighting the current trend in growing chillies, this Devon chilli farm’s ‘One-Pot’ chilli growing kit (£6) gained the position of 26th best selling item out of an astonishing 13 million products on Amazon in the ‘Kitchen and Home’ section in the lead up to Christmas. South Devon Chilli Farm’s larger growing kit was listed as 58th out of over 300,000 products in ‘Gardens and Outdoors’.
Not only very ornamental, chilli plants also provide a supply of fresh chillies for the kitchen. The ‘One-Pot’ chilli growing kit contains everything you need to grow a beautiful and productive chilli plant on a sunny windowsill – no pricking-out or transplanting and no other items needed. The easy-to-follow instructions lead you through from sowing to harvesting. The kit also includes Chilli Focus liquid plant food to encourage strong growth and plenty of chillies. More seeds, growing equipment and plant maintenance products including an environmentally friendly/non-toxic aphid spray, are also available on the South Devon Chilli Farm website (www.sdcf.co.uk).
Competition!
Follow South Devon Chilli Farm on Twitter and tweet 'Jan13Comp' to their twitter tag (@SDCF_CO_UK) to enter. They will be giving away seven packs of six chilli seedlings in mid-March to seven lucky winners who will be picked at random from all entries received in January.
