Chillies

We have been eating plenty of chillies over the last few weeks. I didn't grow any new chilli plants from seed this year but instead had about 20 plants that survived over-wintering. In Spring I transplanted the plants from their pots into two large trough plants with fresh compost.

I have kept the chillies indoors on the kitchen island where they receive maximum sunlight. Chillies kept indoors need to be hand pollinated if you want to get any fruit so every few days I use a smaller artist brush to transfer pollen between flowers. I also feed the fruiting plants once a week with an organic tomato feed.

I have occasional problems with aphids on the chilli plants. It can be hard to get rid of aphids on indoor plants since there are no natural predators indoors. I use a fruit and vegetable insect spray as soon as I spot any infestation.