How to grow Chilli Pepper (Kıl Biber)

Capsicum annuum

Also called chili pepper, hot pepper, Capsicum

🥕 Vegetable 🌱 Grown each year

A Turkish chilli with very thin, long, slightly wrinkled pale green fruits and a sharp heat. It is usually picked green for frying, pickling or adding to salads, but can be left to ripen red. Upright, bushy plants crop best in a greenhouse or in a pot on a sheltered, sunny patio.

At a glance: Sow early February to early March, harvest from mid July.

When to sow, plant and harvest

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Sow indoors

Plant

Harvest

Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.

Growing Chilli Pepper (Kıl Biber): what it needs

Light: Full sun · 6+ hours a day
Watering: Water regularly so the compost stays evenly moist but never waterlogged. Pots may need watering daily in hot weather.
Soil: Fertile, well-drained soil or multipurpose compost · pH 6–7
Spacing: 40 cm
In pots: Grows well in containers
Feeding: Feed weekly with a high-potash tomato feed once the first flowers appear
Harvest: About 130 days from sowing
Hardiness: USDA zones 9–11
Difficulty: Easy

Step by step

Early February – early March · 10 weeks before the last spring frost
Sow Seeds Indoors
Sow in modules or small pots of seed compost in a heated propagator or on a warm windowsill. Needs 20–25°C to germinate.
7–21 days after “Sow Seeds Indoors” · Mid February – late February
Check Germination
Seedlings should appear in 7–21 days if kept warm. Thin to the strongest seedling per module.
14–21 days after “Check Germination” · Late February – early March
Pot On Seedlings
Move seedlings into 9 cm pots when they have their first true leaves. Pot on again into 1-litre pots once their roots fill the pot.
Early May – late May · 4 weeks after the last spring frost
Harden Off
Stand plants outside by day for 7–10 days once nights stay above 10°C, bringing them in at night.
Mid May – early June · 5 weeks after the last spring frost
Plant Out
Plant into a sheltered, sunny spot 40 cm apart, or one plant per 10-litre pot or grow bag station, and water in well. Greenhouse plants can go into their final positions from mid May.
21–35 days after “Plant Out” · Early June – late June
Start Feeding
Feed weekly with a high-potash tomato feed once the first flowers appear. Stake plants if they become top-heavy with fruit.
55–80 days after “Plant Out” · Mid July – early August
Start Harvesting
Pick the chillies green when they are 10–15 cm long, or leave some to turn red. Snip them off with scissors. Regular picking encourages more fruit.
60–90 days after “Start Harvesting” · Mid September – mid October
Finish and Clear
Pick all remaining fruit before the first frost. Bring pot plants indoors to keep cropping, or clear them.