If you like pot gardening and want to try a different challenge, or like spicy food and want to prepare your own fresh supply of chili peppers, growing chilies indoors might be for you! Chili can be grown indoors, but maybe the size of the plant and the resulting chili will not be as large as chili grown outdoors, or in a greenhouse. The key to successful chili plant growth is making sure it gets plenty of light, heat, and moisture.
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Part 1 of 3: Sowing Chili Seeds
Step 1. Fill the soil into the seedling box
Fill the seedling box almost full because the chili seeds don't need to be planted too deep. A good soil choice for chili is compost-based fertile soil. Since chili plants need good drainage, look for growing media that also contains vermiculite or pearlite.
Because chili plants will be placed indoors, you are free to determine the planting period
Step 2. Plant some chili seeds in a seedling box
Sprinkle two or three chili seeds into the soil in the seedling box. That way, you can ensure a successful chili planting even if some of the seeds don't germinate. Apply a thin layer of potting soil or compost over the chili seeds.
Your chances of success may be greater if you grow small varieties of chilies such as habanero peppers, cayenne peppers, or penguin peppers
Step 3. Water the chili seeds and keep the soil moist
After the chili seeds are planted, water the soil to ensure that the seeds and soil stick together well, as well as stimulate the germination process. As the chili seeds germinate over the next two or four weeks, keep the soil moist, but not soggy.
Step 4. Cover the seedling box
This step aims to maintain moisture and heat so as to stimulate the germination of chili seeds. You can cover the seedling box with a plastic lid, an upside-down water bottle that has the tip cut off, or wrap a clear plastic bag over the seedling box.
Although the chili seeds don't have to be covered, this will reduce the quantity of watering
Step 5. Limit light exposure to chili seeds
While the chili seeds are germinating, you should place them in a fairly dark place, but still get some light. Also, make sure the temperature in the place is always above 18 degrees Celsius. A shed or garage with windows is a suitable place. Place the chili seeds there until they start to germinate.
Step 6. Open the lid of the seedling box and transfer the germinated seeds to a bright window
After the chili sprouts appear, open the lid of the seedling box or wrap it in a plastic bag. Then, move the seedling box to a warm place near a window so the pepper plants can get plenty of indirect light, such as in a bathroom or a warm room with a glass ceiling.
Chili plants need bright sunlight for at least 6 hours a day. If none of the windows in your house are exposed to sunlight, you can use fluorescent lighting to help plants grow
Part 2 of 3: Moving Young Plants
Step 1. Allow up to two leaves to grow on the chili sprouts
Chili must be transplanted as it grows. The first transfer will be done after the chili sprouts have two to four leaves. So, monitor the growth of leaves on chili plants every day.
Step 2. Cut off weak young plants
Look at the chili plants to determine which are the largest and healthiest. Look for plants with larger, more numerous leaves and taller stems. Then, remove the weak plants, either by cutting the stems at ground level, or pulling them manually.
Instead of cutting the weak plants, you can separate them and then plant two chili plants
Step 3. Fill the soil into a small pot
The first time you do a plant transplant, prepare a pot with a width of no more than 7.5 cm for the chili. Fill the pot with high-quality fertile soil or a mixture of sphagnum moss and manure compost until it is about 5 cm high.
Step 4. Remove the chili plant from the seedling box
Place your hands on the base of the plant then turn the box over. Gently pull the plant and root ball out of the seedling box. Do this step carefully so that the chili roots are not broken or damaged. You can gently press the seedling box to loosen the soil and chili roots if necessary.
Step 5. Plant the chili in a new pot
Transfer the chili plant to a larger pot containing the soil you have prepared. Hold the pepper plant tightly in one hand, and add more soil to coat the root ball and stem. Add enough soil to cover the chili stem just below the first leaf.
Part 3 of 3: Caring for and Harvesting Chilies
Step 1. Keep the chili plant warm
Chili plants are native to Mexico so they thrive in warm climates. For your chili plant to survive indoors, you need to maintain a temperature of around 27 degrees Celsius during the day and around 21 degrees Celsius at night. Instead of maintaining this temperature throughout your home, you can keep your chili plants warm by:
- Put it in the greenhouse
- Install artificial light about 7.5 cm above the plant
- Putting plants on a heating pad
Step 2. Place the chili plant in a bright, sunny window
Once the chili plants are strong enough and transplanted for the first time, you can place them in a bright window that gets lots of direct sunlight. Chili plants not only need a few hours of sunlight each day, but the heat of the sun will also help keep them warm.
Step 3. Keep the potting soil moist as it begins to dry out
Water the chili plant so that the soil remains moist. Allow the potting soil to dry slightly between watering schedules. Chili plants like moist soil, but over-watering can also promote mold growth and cause it to rot. In addition, too much water can also affect the temperature of the chili plant so that it is not as warm as usual.
Step 4. Apply fertilizer every few weeks
Giving fertilizer will be beneficial for chili plants. Mix a balanced fertilizer with water then give it to the plants every two weeks. A balanced fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in equal proportions, for example 10-10-10 or 2-2-2. Fish and kelp emulsions or concentrated liquid fertilizers are some good choices.
In winter, chili plants will enter a dormant phase and stop growing, flowering, and fruiting. If you live in an area with cold winters, reduce the frequency of fertilization to once a month when this occurs, then continue fertilizing twice a month when the plant returns to its active growth phase
Step 5. Remove the chili plant once it is over the size of the pot
Remove the pepper plants once they get too tall and start to fall off. Fill a few inches of soil into a pot one or two sizes larger. Carefully remove the chili plant from the old pot and then transfer it to a larger pot. Hold the pepper plant tightly while covering the root ball and most of the stem with new potting soil.
For small varieties of chili, eventually your plant should be transferred to a 25-30 cm pot. Meanwhile, large varieties of chili may require a pot measuring 45 cm
Step 6. Harvest the chilies when they are bright and shiny
Chili plants will mature and bear fruit within three months of being first transplanted into pots. The size of chili is determined by the variety, which is between 2.5 cm to 20 cm in length. When harvesting, cut the stems just above the chilies with a knife or scissors.
