Six of the Best
Five of the Best Chilli Plants
If you're a fan of hot food, you can't do better than grow your own chilli plants. All you really need is a warm windowsill to create a healthy crop of these lovely looking fruits.
If you have a larger space in a conservatory you can really go to town, and grow a variety of these plants as perennials. And once they've cropped you can treat them in a number of ways. Hang them up in bunches to dry for a stylish display. Alternatively pickle them or preserve them in oil - perfect for pizza and they also make ideal Christmas presents!
Growing your own fruit or vegetables is always extremely satisfying, and the end products make fantastic home-grown gifts. You don't need a huge garden or unlimited time on your hands to grow your own fruit and veg. For more information and advice on cultivating your own produce, see Fruit Garden and Fruit and Vegetable Garden. And for books on the subject, check out Grow Green and Get Fruity!
So read below for our selection of the five best chilli plants and remember to have some thirst-quenchers nearby!
These peppers might look small, but they certainly make up for size when it comes to flavour! One bushy plant will give you a non-stop summer crop of literally hundreds of mini, extremely hot peppers. For continued cropping, pick the fruit as soon as they start to colour and ripen off the plant. And if you fancy preserving the crop, plop them in a jar of olive oil to create your own chilli oil.
Available from: Thompson & Morgan (UK) Ltd, Poplar Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk IP8 3BU. Tel: (01473) 688 821.
This chilli pepper is a new breed and is absolutely beautiful. It grows to form minature bushes with purple stems that rise to about 25cm (10in) high and are covered in erect little peppers which start out fluorescent purple, and later ripen to a whole range of reds and oranges, making an even more spectacular display. The plant is probably best grown under cover, except in the southand looks great in a pot on the patio.
The Vida Verde Seed Collection is a private collection of vegetable varieties selected for earliness and productivity, and also for flavour and cooking qualities. Many are old hierlooms, and all are non-hybrid, so seed can be saved for future years using the instructions supplied, thus helping preserve these special varieties.
Available from: Vida Verde, 14 Southdown Avenue, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1EL.
This highly decorative plant produces a useful kitchen crop. Its strong green foliage is delicately marbled with cream and the pendent green fruit, reminiscent of fish, are emblazoned with stripes of orange, brown or red. Looks fantastic on a patio or in the conservatory.
Available from: Plants of Distinction, Abacus House Needham Market, Suffolk, IP6 8AS. Tel: (01449) 721720.
Growing your own fruit or vegetables is always extremely satisfying, and the end products make fantastic home-grown gifts. You don't need a huge garden or unlimited time on your hands to grow your own fruit and veg. For more information and advice on cultivating your own produce, see Fruit Garden and Fruit and Vegetable Garden. And for books on the subject, check out Grow Green and Get Fruity!
So read below for our selection of the five best chilli plants and remember to have some thirst-quenchers nearby!
Prairie Fire Chilli £1.99 (30 seeds)
Great for: a gorgeous bush and red hot cropThese peppers might look small, but they certainly make up for size when it comes to flavour! One bushy plant will give you a non-stop summer crop of literally hundreds of mini, extremely hot peppers. For continued cropping, pick the fruit as soon as they start to colour and ripen off the plant. And if you fancy preserving the crop, plop them in a jar of olive oil to create your own chilli oil.
Available from: Thompson & Morgan (UK) Ltd, Poplar Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk IP8 3BU. Tel: (01473) 688 821.
Bolivian Rainbow Chilli £1.45 (20 seeds)
Great for: an unusual patio plantThis chilli pepper is a new breed and is absolutely beautiful. It grows to form minature bushes with purple stems that rise to about 25cm (10in) high and are covered in erect little peppers which start out fluorescent purple, and later ripen to a whole range of reds and oranges, making an even more spectacular display. The plant is probably best grown under cover, except in the southand looks great in a pot on the patio.
The Vida Verde Seed Collection is a private collection of vegetable varieties selected for earliness and productivity, and also for flavour and cooking qualities. Many are old hierlooms, and all are non-hybrid, so seed can be saved for future years using the instructions supplied, thus helping preserve these special varieties.
Available from: Vida Verde, 14 Southdown Avenue, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1EL.
Chilli pepper "Fish" £1.50 (25 seeds)
Great for: a decorative plant with a tasty cropThis highly decorative plant produces a useful kitchen crop. Its strong green foliage is delicately marbled with cream and the pendent green fruit, reminiscent of fish, are emblazoned with stripes of orange, brown or red. Looks fantastic on a patio or in the conservatory.
Available from: Plants of Distinction, Abacus House Needham Market, Suffolk, IP6 8AS. Tel: (01449) 721720.
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