Fruity and totally delightful Aji Delight are thick walled, 7-10cm long red chillies that are packed full of flavour with the merest hint of warmth (500-2000 SHU).  Slice into salads or use instead of peppers in your dishes to explore their depth of flavour.  Vigorous plants will give a good sized crop.   Price for 10 seeds. 

SOW: from mid-April to end of May, indoors in a warm soil in trays or modules barely covering the seeds as they need light to germinate.

GROW: when they reach the 2/3 leaf stage they can be planted into a greenhouse or hardened off and put outside in a warm sheltered spot.  You can grow them in the soil, in a container or in a grow bag.   Aji Delight will continue to produce lots of bullet shaped thick fleshed chillies until the first frosts.                                                      

EAT: slice into salads or use instead of peppers in your dishes to explore their depth of flavour.  Chillies freeze well.

Bishops Crown – ‘wrinkle hat’ is the best description I have ever come across for these three-sided lobed lovelys. Plants can grow tall and need space for their branches.  Slower to mature (start them early) the flavour is both spicy and fruity – the fruitiness developing as they ripens. Super fresh or cooked: their paprika-ish aroma is perfect for seasoning vegetables and making into chili powder or chilli flakes.  Their heat level is very dependent on their growing conditions and can range from 5000 to 30,000SHU     Price for 10 seeds

SOW: early, January or February is best as these are slow to mature. Start indoors in a warm soil in trays or modules barely covering the seeds as they need light to germinate (can take 10-21 days, warmth at 21C can help).  There are three words to bear in mind: waterlogging, cold, dead.  Apart from that have fun!

GROW: when they reach the 2/3 leaf stage (at around 10cm tall) they can be potted up. Wait until June before moving plants outside (harden off first) against a sunny wall out of the wind or in a greenhouse (remember their homeland is Barbados).  Bishops Crown can grow tall, be prepared to use canes, and a branching habit means that they need a bit of sideways room too. After the first flowers appear, feed every week alternating between liquid seaweed & a weak tomato feed.  These are slow to mature ad most often turn a rich orange-red rather than deep red

ENJOY: the heat level depends on the individual plant, the location and the growing conditions and generally fall in the medium to hot range… think salsas or hot sauces or drying for spicy chili flakes or powders.  Or you can pick them, stuff with cream cheese and grill or bake – delicious.

Enjoy a sweet, fruity, almost smoky flavour with just a little heat and a strong aroma.  Biquinho Red can be really prolific, it is perfect for using in salads, sauces, casseroles, pizzas… pop them in whole for a burst of flavour.  These little fruits, with their a distinctive ‘beak’, reach 500-1000 SHU   Price for 10 seeds

SOW: indoors from March to end of May, in a warm soil barely covering the seeds as they need light to germinate.

GROW: when they reach the 2/3 leaf stage they can be planted into a greenhouse or hardened off and put outside in a warm sheltered spot.  You can grow them in the soil, in a container or in a grow bag.   Biquinho can take 4 months before the fruits start to ripen to bright red, happy plants are prolific until the first frosts.                                                      

EAT: ready to use in salads, sauces, casseroles, pizzas… pop them in whole for a burst of flavour.  These are also a good choice for pickling or freezing

Scoring 1000-5000 on the scoville scale this is a mild to medium variety, if you take all the seeds out then you can be assured of it being mild. That heat comes in a sweet, juicy and succulent, thick walled fruit. These grow in ample amounts on plants that reach 30-90cm tall, pick them when they ripen from green to yellow. Price for 10 seeds.

SOW: from mid-April to end of May, indoors in a warm soil in trays or modules barely covering the seeds as they need light to germinate.

GROW:  when they reach the 2/3 leaf stage you can plant into a greenhouse or harden off and grow outside in a warm sheltered spot.  They are happy in a container or you can fit 3 or 4 plants in a grow bag. Caloro plants will grow 60-90cm tall

EAT: scoring 1000-5000 on the scoville scale this is a mild to medium variety, if you take all the seeds out then you can be assured of it being mild.  Chop up finely for topping cheese on toast, add some heat to an omelette, make spicy tomato sauce…

Cayenna is a classic long-slim chilli pepper, it is quite fast growing and the fruits are hot (70,000-80,000SHU).  You can use them fresh or dried to make cayenne pepper.  Harvest them when green or red but don’t leave them on the plant too long as this will slow down other fruits from forming. 

SOW: from January to March, indoors in a warm soil in trays or modules barely covering the seeds as they need light to germinate (can take 10-21 days, warmth at 21°C can help).  Water the soil, not the foliage, too much moisture will rot the seed & seedlings.  When they reach the 2/3 leaf stage (at around 10cm tall) they can be potted up. Keep potting on as you wait until June before moving plants outside (harden off first) where they will flourish in a sunny, sheltered position on a south facing wall, in fertile, well-drained soil or grow bag or grow them in the greenhouse 

GROW: chilli plants are self-fertile and generally pollinate themselves you can help them particularly if they are inside (use a paintbrush to gently sweep the inside of the flowers, going from one flower to the next, transferring the pollen).  Water well and allow the surface to dry between times. They can grow tall so pinch out the growing tip to create a smaller bushier plant that will only need a small stake and produce earlier fruit.

After the first flowers appear, feed every weekly alternating between liquid seaweed & a weak tomato feed

EAT: fruits will take a few weeks to develop and a further couple weeks to ripen. Don’t leave them on the plants as this will slow down the production of more fruits.  Chillies really give dishes a kick and a lift. They are fundamental to chilli but also in curries.  You can always cool your dishes with yoghurt or sour cream!

Reaching about 13cm long, and slim at 2cm thick, these are chillies to pack a burst of heat in sauces and casseroles. Each one is a bit wrinkled and thin skinned and thus ideal for drying. The plants are compact (60cm tall) yet produce in abundance. Hot, hot but not too hot! Price for 10 seeds

SOW: from mid-April to end of May, indoors in a warm soil in trays or modules barely covering the seeds as they need light to germinate.

GROW: when they reach the 2/3 leaf stage they can be planted into a greenhouse or hardened off and put outside in a warm sheltered spot.  You can grow them in the soil, a container or a grow bag.  Chillies will be produced until the first frosts. 

EAT: these chillies can register between 20,000 & 40,000 on the Scoville scale.  They mature from green to fiery red, getting hotter all the time. They can be used fresh (will keep up to 3 weeks in a fridge) for sauces and casseroles.  Dry & grind into powder or freeze them.

Cayenna is a classic long-slim chilli pepper, it is quite fast growing and the fruits are hot (70,000-80,000SHU).  You can use them fresh or dried to make cayenne pepper.  Harvest them when green or red but don’t leave them on the plant too long as this will slow down other fruits from forming. 

SOW: from January to March, indoors in a warm soil in trays or modules barely covering the seeds as they need light to germinate (can take 10-21 days, warmth at 21°C can help).  Water the soil, not the foliage, too much moisture will rot the seed & seedlings.  When they reach the 2/3 leaf stage (at around 10cm tall) they can be potted up. Keep potting on as you wait until June before moving plants outside (harden off first) where they will flourish in a sunny, sheltered position on a south facing wall, in fertile, well-drained soil or grow bag or grow them in the greenhouse 

GROW: chilli plants are self-fertile and generally pollinate themselves you can help them particularly if they are inside (use a paintbrush to gently sweep the inside of the flowers, going from one flower to the next, transferring the pollen).  Water well and allow the surface to dry between times. They can grow tall so pinch out the growing tip to create a smaller bushier plant that will only need a small stake and produce earlier fruit.

After the first flowers appear, feed every weekly alternating between liquid seaweed & a weak tomato feed

EAT: fruits will take a few weeks to develop and a further couple weeks to ripen. Don’t leave them on the plants as this will slow down the production of more fruits.  Chillies really give dishes a kick and a lift. They are fundamental to chilli but also in curries.  You can always cool your dishes with yoghurt or sour cream!

Chiang Rai – this Thai variety has a rich fruity-florally flavour and at a medium 5000 Scoville this flavour is enjoyable without reaching for a glass of milk! They ripen faster than other Thai varieties and can bear ripe fruit after just 10 weeks from planting out.  The chillies are long (10-12cm) and slim, easy to slice up and add to your meals!    Price for 10 seeds

DID YOU KNOW

• There are at least 80 different varieties of Thai chillies: many are hot or very hot so Chiang Rai is particularly tasty with a medium heat allowing you to appreciate the flavour! 
• Thai peppers are typically ground from fresh pods to add heat to curry pastes to add both spiciness and alluring colour to recipes.
• They are also perfect for garnishing hot and spicy dishes, and cooking them into all manner of foods... get creative!
• Chiang Rai chillies are named after the most northern city in Thailand
• They are also known as ‘Big Thai’ Chilli

Chinese Wraith – clusters of hot, hot, hot chillies, with sour & citrus tones, hang on surprisingly compact plants. Both earlier and more productive than any other super hot choice, they ripen to pale yellow and may turn a creamy white.  Their flavour makes them a good choice for pickles and sauces too. Their flavour makes them a good choice for pickles and sauces too. Heat 70,000 – 200,000++

Price for 10 seeds

This is a Capsicum chinense and its parentage traces back to a ghost chilli originating from Naga Morich. The name Naga derives from Nagaland in Northeast India where they are popular.  Traditionally they are used green (for general use or pickles & sauces) but in Europe they are normally left to ripen on the plant.  

Under UK conditions the heat level would be expected to be in the range of 70,000-200,000 but in the best conditions they can be hotter… Naga chillies (of which this is a descendant) have measured 1,000,000SHU

Don’t let this little chilli fool you: it is one of the hottest in the world at around 425,000 Scoville Units. The fruits have a unique rich flavour which develops as they mature from bright green to chocolate brown, they will keep producing into the early winter with protection. Just remember that Habanero Chocolate is HOT – you have been warned!   Price for 10 seeds

SOW: from mid-April to end of May, indoors in a warm soil in trays or modules barely covering the seeds as they need light to germinate.

GROW: when they reach the 2/3 leaf stage they can be planted into a greenhouse or hardened off and put outside in a warm sheltered spot.  You can grow them in the soil, in a container or in a grow bag. 

EAT: with caution unless you are a heat lover – drink some milk to cool your mouth! Chillies can be used fresh, dried or ground into powder.  They also freeze well.