Not Too Hot Too Handle

THOSE of you who have kept sheep know that they’re seemingly born in search of ill-health; if you’ve tried growing chillis, you might be forgiven for thinking that they’re the vegetable equivalent. Although not quite so intent on bringing about their own demise as our woolly friends, chillis are certainly tricky to get to flourish.

- Mark Diacono

To grow them well, you have to start them off early and provide them with plenty of heat, light and a fortnightly feed. Although the steps in guiding them from packet to plate are particular, if you follow them, you’ll be rewarded.

As ever, it’s crucial to take time over choosing your varieties. Not only does the heat range from barely a tickle at 500 Scoville Heat Units (SHUs) to the genuinely dangerous at more than one million SHUs, but the range of flavours, aromas, colours, shapes and degrees of productivity make the work you do over a glass of wine with a catalogue the key factor in your reward in summer and autumn.

The ideal way to choose well is to try before you buy. A few homegrown chillis from friends is a good place to start, otherwise, try Sea Spring Seeds (www.seaspringseeds.co.uk), which usually sells fresh chillis from its excellent range from midsummer into autumn.

Otherwise, you’re in the hands of catalogue descriptions and recommendations and I’ve included some below for you to investigate.

It’s useful to know that chillis fall into two main types. First, vegetable chillis are large, thick-fleshed and typically mild. They’re usually early to mature and are therefore among the easiest to get to fruit.