- See competition to win one of seven sets of six chilli seedlings in our January newsletter - www.newsletter.sdcf.co.uk

We can now offer Chilli Seedlings through the post - for UK mainland delivery addressed! 

Advance orders can be place for two delivery periods:

Mid-March to Mid-April and Mid-April to Mid-May.

The seedlings available have been selected as sets of six and are shipped as seedlings with one or two sets of true leaves in Jiffy-7 plugs all ready to pot-on into pots. 

We currently have the following sets of six available:

Hot Six - Six very hot seedlings  (including Bhut Jolokia and five varieties of Habanero)

Tasty Six - Six varieties that are great to cook with.

Super Six - Six chilli plants we return to year after year.

Sweet Six - Six less-familiar sweet peppers - all with great flavour.

Stunning Six - Six really stunning chilli plants just right for a windowsill and adding some heat, flavour and colour into your cooking.

Extreme Six - Six Bhut Jolokia seedlings. If you have tried to germinate Bhut Jolokia in the past, you may have noticed they can be difficult - so why not start with seedlings.

Same Six - Six all the same; you choose.

The seedlings are germinated and cultivated in Jiffy-7 plugs and mailed in robust blister packs, with full care instructions. We recommend potting-on into John Innes No.1 or No.2 into 10cm pots and keeping the seedlings warm (20c -25c). 

Read more on our shopping page: Chill Seedlings.

How to identify your chilli plant species

If you are given a chilli plant of misplace a plant marker, this guide should help identify the species:
Pubescens (e.g.Rocoto)

• - Seeds Black

Annuum (e.g. Jalapeno)

• - Seeds tan colour
• - Corolla White (no spots)
• - Flowers solitary per node and filament NOT purple

Baccatum (e.g. Aji)

• - Seeds tan colour
• - Corolla has spots

Chinense (e.g. Habanero)

• - Seeds tan colour
• - Corolla white or greenish, no spots
• - Flowers two or more per node and filament purple

Frutescens (e.g. Tabasco)

• - Seeds tan colour
• - Corolla greenish, no spots
• - Flowers solitary per node

Growing Chillies From Seed. If you are thinking of having a go at growing chillies next year, here is a shopping list to get you off to a flying start.

Shopping List. A heated propagator or warming mat is a valuable tool for germinating chilli seeds - they like it hot! At the farm, we sow the seeds thickly in a soil-based seed compost and place the pots in heated propagators - we expect to see an erruption of shoots between 6 and 10 days later - some do take longer. A Jonh Innes soil-based seed compost is a good start for them. Plant labels, a water-proof marker pen and a few plant pots, and you're all set - apart from buying some seeds.

Recommend Chillies. Here is a list of easy-to-grow varieties that we have always found very willing. It tends to be a good idea to stick to well-known varieties - you will have a better chance of starting with good quality seed. My six-of-the-best would be:

• Santa Fe Gande - a 'yellow' chilli that ripens to orange - good for salsa 
• Cherry Bomb - ripens early and the fruits look amazing
• Hungarian Hot Wax - usually eaten green (or yellow in this case)
• Numex Twilight - a rainbow of colour and hundreds of 1"-long chillies.
• Ring-of-Fire - a very product cayenne type.
• Jalapeno - probably the most well know chilli - usually eaten green

What Else Do You Need? Chilli seedlings can get a little too leggy if grown-on after germination on a windowsill. A greenhouse is ideal, but you can also use a mini plastic greenhouse (less than £20) or a cold frame. 

What Next?
You'll find tips on growing from seed and general plant care here. We also send a printed copy of instructions with our mail-order seeds.