Help! Can I grow chillies?

[squashedalmondcroissant]

Ok so I really want to grow some chilli plants, I’ve bought a bunch of seeds but I have a couple of issues:

I don’t have any sunny/south facing windowsills.

I don’t have a lot of space indoors as the house is quite small and cluttered.

Boiler is in a very small cupboard in the kitchen so that space is not useable and we don’t have an airing cupboard.

I do have an allotment and polytunnel but it’s unheated and there’s no power at the site - polytunnel needs the roof replacing after the big storm so it’s out of action for the moment. I tried planting chillies in there last year but they didn’t grow and the seeds just rotted away, was very sad 😞

Do I have a hope in hell of being able to grow chillies? I’m toying with the idea of getting a heated propagator but will this actually work? Especially with a lack of light in the house?

Any help/advice appreciated!

I got a heated propagator with grow lights for Christmas so am going to try them in that. I have tried them just in a heated propagator on window sill and they were fine though.

Yes, you can grow chillies but not in January! Propagate the seeds in April, plant out in your polytunnel in June.

I grow them in an unheated greenhouse in the NE of Scotland, 900 metres above sea level. (also tomatoes, courgettes and peppers. I usually buy my chilli plant from the garden centre to get a good start (I grow the other things from seed). You get loads of chillis off one plant, so you don't need too many, maybe one or two of different varieties and hotness.
they do need to be under cover of some sort, they are frost tender . Have you seen those mini greenhouses, just an upright frame with a polythene cover, that you can stand stand against a house wall ,and are really cheap. Places like Lidl’s and B&Q sell them.
feed them well, but don't overwater!!!!

Really? All the advice I’ve seen says to start them in Jan/Feb as they need a really long growing season? Even the seed packet says Jan/Feb!

I am over-wintering my chilli plant from last year (spent all the time in a greenhouse which doesn’t get all that much sun) beside a north-facing French window. Seems happy.

So yes, you can!

@FizzingAdaI think overwatering was part of the problem before, as well as being too cold 😞 I think I got over excited and because it was my first time having a polytunnel and we had a really warm spring I didn’t want them to dry out!

If it's a cold night you can always lay a bit of fleece across the plants for extra warmth.

What specific types do you want to grow? Do you have a cold frame?
I'm a novice, but have done a few things.

-Bought some habanero seedlings from Morrisons 5yrs ago. 1 plant survived. I cut it back each year and bring it into the house. Come spring, it sprouts, regrows and fruits again! The freezer is full of the fruit.
-I've grown chilli from seed, mainly padron but this year we tried scorpion chilli, slim jim and smaller one (can't recall the name). The scorpion took SO long to germinate and growth was SO slow. It was in the greenhouse all summer, but got bigger and bigger. By Autumn we moved it indoors into a bright, heated room. It then flowered and we only picked the fruit last month! I've never grown it before, so maybe that is normal!
-I've found germination hit and miss, but a heated propagator will help
-I too was going suggest fleece around the plants to keep heat in

Generally speaking, the hotter the variety, the longer it takes to fruit. Look for a 70-90 day one, rather than 110-130. Padrón could work well, you could sow in Feb/Mar that way.

They really don't like wet conditions, sounds like that was your main error. You can leave them without water for much longer than you think. They need a few weeks of heat to germinate (I put them on a table next to/over the central heating). They will get leggy without enough light, but if your polytunnel is over 10 degrees, it'll be good enough.

I grew chillies on my north facing kitchen windowsill.