How to Grow Chili at Home?

February 2022

Chilies are extremely easy to grow at home. All you need is a pot, soil, seeds, and water. Once you've planted your seeds, you just need to wait until they sprout and start growing. Then you just need to watch them carefully and harvest them when they reach maturity. Chilies are an essential ingredient in many dishes.

The best way to grow chilies is by planting them in pots or planters. They grow well in these types of containers. Also, they like to be watered regularly, so make sure you water them daily.

Once your plants have reached maturity, you can harvest them. Just cut the green chilies off the stems and let them dry. When they're completely dried, you can store them in glass jars or plastic bags. Many types of chillies can be easily grown at home.

If you'd like to learn more about growing chilies, read more about how to grow chili at home.

Step by Step Guide on How to Grow Chili at Home

Materials required to grow chili

Chilli seeds
Old newspaper
Planter or Pot or Ground to Grow
Organic Soil or potting mix

1. Collect Chili seeds

Cut open a chili at home and take out the seeds.

Collect Chili seeds

2. Prepare the chili seeds

Spread the chili seeds on a plate or old newspaper and let them dry for three or four days under the sun.

Caution: Avoid touching your face, especially your eyes, after handling chili.

Place chili seeds evenly on a newspaper.
Spray some water.
Fold the paper close.
Keep it aside for a week.
Regularly spray water over it.
Keep it moist and damp.
Keep it in a warm and humid place at home with an ambient temperature.
Seeds will germinate in a week.

An alternative method to prepare chilies:

Wet the green chilli seeds.
Sow them in organic soil at the depth of 1 inch and slightly sprinkle a layer of soil on top.
Water them once in two days.
Keep the soil moist.
Avoid direct sunlight or wind.
Seeds will germinate in a week.

3. Prepare the soil

Airy soil or porous soil is best suited for Chili plants.
Add a little bit of organic compost to the soil.
Keep the soil and organic matter moist.
Do not over-water it.
Water once in two days as necessary.
The seeds will germinate in 7-10 days.
You will see two small leaves.
Expose the seedling to 4-6 hours of sunlight daily.
You can grow chilli seeds in seed trays and once they germinate you can transplant them to a garden or a container.
Ensure the container has proper drainage holes.

4. Flowering

When chili pepper plants grow to be about 8-10 inches in height, they will start to bud.
Buds will blossom into beautiful white flowers in about 4-6 weeks.
Chilli flowers will fall off after 10 days.
You will then see baby chilli growing in the place of flowers.

5. Nourish the plant

Water the plant regularly and keep the soil moist.
Keep them in a sunny spot. Ensure ample sunlight of 4-6 hours per day.
Let the plant grow big. You can grow chilli in containers as well.
Bigger Chilli plants produce spicier chillies.
Depending on the variety of chilli peppers, it can grow up to 6 cms.
If you leave them long enough, the green chili will turn red.
Redder chilies are hotter peppers.

6. Harvest and Enjoy the crop of chillies

Homegrown chillies will be ready to harvest in about 8 to 12 weeks as long as there is plenty of sunlight and adequate water.
One Green Chilli plant can give you about 100 chilli pepper in a season which will leave you with an abundance of chili peppers.

Eight Most Popular Chili species to Grow in India

1. Bhut Jolokia, North East India

2. Kashmiri Chillies, Kashmir

3. Guntur Chilli, Andhra Pradesh

4. Jwala Chilli, Gujarat

5. Kanthari Chilli, Kerala

6. Byadagi Chilli, Karnataka

7. Ramnad Mundu/Gundu, Tamil Nadu

8. Dhani, Manipur

FAQ on How to Grow Chili at Home

Is chilli easy to grow?

Yes. Chilli is one of the easiest plants to grow at home.

Can I grow chilli indoors?

Not advisable to grow chilli indoors. It requires 4-6 hours of direct sunlight a day.

How to grow chilli plants faster at home?

Give chilli plants 4-6 hours of direct sunlight and adequate water. You can harvest your batch of chili peppers in 8 to 12 weeks. Ensure that they are growing in a warm environment.

Item added to your cart