Answers to the most important questions
Getting to know the plants
Before we do anything else, we need to get to know these plants: where they come from, what family they belong to and in what conditions they grow best. We've given more than 10 years of our lives to getting to know the world of heat and adapting to these plants.
Exotic hot peppers come from other climate zones, from countries where it's warm and sunny all year round. Our four seasons make growing them in Bulgaria not exactly easy, but by no means impossible. You need to know their botany, what they like and how they grow, and to grow them with love and patience.
Peppers are light-loving plants: they develop faster and give more fruit when they grow in light and warm weather. So arm yourself with knowledge and give them warmth, light, water, peat, fertiliser, patience and love.
From seed to harvest
Exotic hot peppers develop more slowly and have a very long growing season, so the best time to sow in our climate is from 20 December to 20 February. You can sow until the end of March too, the peppers will simply fruit later.
Soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours. Use a fine peat mix for vegetables and don't sow too deep, about 0.5 cm. Cover with peat, press down, water generously with lukewarm water and cover with thin film for a greenhouse effect. Keep warm, between 20 and 25 degrees, and don't water until the seedlings come up.
After about 15 days, when the plants show, lower the temperature to 18 degrees, remove the film and give them light. Seedlings do best at 18-25 degrees. At 2 to 4 true leaves, prick them out into bigger pots, one plant each. After another 15-20 days, feed with a multi-nutrient fertiliser.
After about 6-8 weeks the seedlings are ready to be transplanted into containers, a greenhouse or the garden. Plants use the most nutrients during peak fruiting, and that's when they need fertiliser most.
At technical ripeness the fruit is green but already has a pronounced flavour and the shape and gloss typical of the variety. At botanical ripeness it also has the variety's typical colour, flavour and full heat.
Overwatering leads to root rot, while a lack of moisture makes the leaves dry out and drop. The most dangerous pests are aphids and spider mites.
What to avoid
When the leaves turn yellow and drop, you're giving more water than they need.
You'll get plenty of leaves and flowers, but no fruit.
Hot peppers are self-pollinating. In dry, warm rooms, mist them with water for faster fruit set.
Our seeds
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