Chilli Peppers

Cultivation work

After planting the hottest chillies you need to have them, avoiding a lack of water, providing a reinforcement of fertilization if necessary, cleaning the flowerbed and defending the plants from pathologies and parasites.

Supportive tutors

The chili pepper plant is quite robust, so it can also be grown without the use of braces, in some cases however (for example where there is exposure to the wind), a support rod is useful.

Weed control

During the whole life of the plant it is good practice to keep the parcel dedicated to chillies clean of spontaneous herbs. We must not do it in a maniacal way: pepper is a beautiful vertical shrub that does not fear competition from small herbs, but we must not let an excessive vegetative growth of weeds steal resources from our crop.

A good strategy to save time and effort is to mulch, covering the surface around the plants with cloth or even better straw.

Irrigation and fertilization

During the crop cycle, chilli peppers must not be subjected to dryness. For this it is useful to irrigate when needed, keeping the soil slightly moist. The recommendations are to avoid excess water and not to wet the leaves. During the fruiting phase, the water requirement is greater, as well as when the plants have just been transplanted.

A periodic fertilizer supplement is also appreciated, we can spread a few handfuls of pelleted manure or droppings, but also do a fertigation with nettle macerate or comfrey macerate.

For the most demanding, there are specific fertilizers for hot peppers, but I recommend checking that they are products allowed in organic farming, avoiding the use of chemicals in the garden.

Prune the chillies

During the perennial cultivation of chillies, it is useful to make pruning cuts, which can adjust the plant and keep it tidy and productive, it is not a demanding job, generally it involves some simple cutting and possible trimming of the branches. It is best to do this in winter or early spring. Talking about pruning in the abstract is never easy because they are operations that should be evaluated plant by plant, and how much to cut also depends on the variety.

The objectives in pruning are first of all to clean up (removal of sick, dry or damaged branches from the cold) and select a little to guarantee the plant lighting and air circulation between the branches (eliminating in particular the branches under the first node of bifurcation).

Biological defense against diseases

During cultivation it is also important to defend the peppers from the problems that can occur due to pathogens.Among the diseases, the peppers are subject in particular to problems of a fungal nature, which manifest themselves with brownish spots on the leaves, necrosis and rot.

Among the most frequent problems we mention fusarium, verticillium, alternaria and downy mildew.

Without detailing disease by disease, it is important to recognize when the chili pepper plant is sick, and to intervene in time by removing the affected parts and possibly treating with cupric products (allowed in organic farming). In addition to these, we also mention powdery mildew, recognizable because it manifests a dusty white patina on the leaves, to be contrasted with treatments based on potassium bicarbonate, in more serious cases sulfur.

To defend the peppers from diseases under organic cultivation the most important thing is prevention:

• Carry out crop rotation, avoiding growing peppers for several years in a row on the same land. Better not to follow other solanaceae with peppers (potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines).

• Work the soil well, ensuring rainwater and irrigation drainage.

• Do not overdo it with fertilizations, which weaken the plant tissues.

• Do not over water, creating excessive moisture and stagnation in the soil.

• Prune as needed, to maintain an illuminated and airy canopy with some thinning where necessary.

• Periodically distribute horsetail macerates or treatments with propolis, which have a strengthening effect.

Physiopathies

In addition to diseases, there are also problems due to an adverse climate or a lack of nutrients, which do not depend on pathogens. Here are the most common chilli pathologies:

• Fruit burn. A strong sun during the summer can burn the fruit, causing blackening of the skin. We can avoid the problem with shading nets or by spraying protective rock powders.

• Leaf yellowing. It can be due to deficiencies of a specific microelement or to an abnormal pH value of the soil. I recommend measuring the pH first, then fertilizing with a quick-to-absorb fertilizer.

• Drop some flowers. When the flowers fall without fruiting it is a big problem, if not solved you will lose the harvest. The cause may be in imbalances in nutrients, too much heat, lack of water or late frosts, usually at night.

Harmful insects

The most frequent parasitic insects that we can meet when growing chillies are:

1. Aphids.
2. Red spider.
3. White fly.
4. Corn borer.