Harvesting Chillies & Storing Seeds

Our Gardening Angels love chillies - we've had some amazing success growing them in our greenhouse!

Check out our advice below, and then head to our Chilli Growing Essentials to stock up on everything you need for your best harvest ever!

Harvesting Chillies

Your chilli plant will produce ripe fruit 2–4 months after sowing. Harvest chillies as and when they ripen to encourage the plant to produce more chillies.

To harvest chillies cut them off the plant with scissors or a sharp knife. Chillies can be harvested when they are green or red, however, there are some varieties that will not turn red in our climate.

If your plant has unripe chillies, you can ripen them off the plant. Try placing them in a bag with a ripe banana as the ethylene given off the ripe fruit will encourage ripening. You can also drape a ripening cover over your chillies which will retain the heat and moisture needed to encourage your chillies to ripen more quickly.

Do you want bumper crops of chillies? Try growing your chillies in a Vivigrow Hydroponic Planter. Not only does this planter grow chillies in water instead of soil, making it envrionmentally friendly, but it constantly feeds your roots with highly oxygenated water for up to 4 weeks at a time. This in turn means huge harvests of chillies - enough to feed the entire family!

Saving & Storing Chilli Seeds

When you’re harvesting your chillies why not save some seeds from your favourite chillies and store them away in a Seed Storage Tin. Follow our top tips for saving your seeds:

Make sure the chilli is fully ripe before picking
Using a sharp knife cut the pod in half exposing the seeds
Scrape the seeds away from the flesh taking care not to damage the seeds
Dry the seeds in a dark, well-ventilated space
The seeds are ready to be stored once they no longer bend, store in an airtight container in a cool dark place until needed

If you are growing chillies in a standard plant pot then take care not to over water or let your plant dry out. Before the Autumn frosts, you can harvest the plants, remove the branches and hang them upside down so the fruit continues to mature.

Hanging Chillies

Drying Chillies

Drying your chillies is a great way to preserve your bumper harvests and perfect for intensifying the flavour of your chillies.

Air drying your chillies with a Chilli Dryer is an ancient and effective method of preserving your crops. Chillies can be hung up and dried in a warm, dry well-ventilated environment, but If you’re using a Chilli & Herb dryer you can also preserve your herbs, fruits & seeds.

Store your dried chillies in an airtight container such as a sealed glass jar in a cool, dark, moisture-free environment to help them retain their flavour and prevent mould growth.

Looking to increase your yield of chillis?

The Chilligrow Planter produces huge crops by keeping plants perfectly fed and watered (chillies are fussy about watering).

The planter has 3 pots each containing a FeederMat which pulls water up from the SmartReservoir to the plants exactly when they need it.

By pulling water up slowly the Chilligrow ensures there are always airgaps in the soil, which fuels more productive growth. Your plants will be bigger, healthier, more resistant to pests and will produce more chillies.

This planter has very loyal fans - look at the progress at Simpson's Seeds! But don't just take our word for it - try it for yourself!

Looking for some more advice about Chilli growing?

If you need any more hints or tips, we've got loads more information you might find useful.

Chilli Growing Troubleshooting Guide

Growing different varieties of Chillis

What else can you grow in a Chilligrow?

Alternative uses for Chillis

Overwintering your Chillis

Our Gardening Angels are here to help you grow strong, healthy plants with bumper harvests. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with any questions, drop us an email HERE. We’re always here to help!