How to Grow Chili at Home

Fresh Chillies in Thailand

Chili is a food spice that is mostly used in Thai cooking and other Asian cuisine. The hot feeling in the mouth gives you good appetite and it is good for the heart. It contains anti-oxidants.

Chilies can be grown in the backyard so that they can be available each time you want to spice up your meal or make Thai food. There are over 25 varieties of chilies, Thailand has 6 different kinds. You can pick the one that you like to include in your meals.

They start as green and ripen as red. The smallest chilies are the hottest. The bell pepper chili is less hot. Some chilies ripen as red-brown. These are less hot too. The chili peppers vary in size and shape.

You can have different chilies to accommodate your cooking preferences. Furthermore, a chili garden can rock your backyard with their bright colors.

Thai hot peppers. Author: P. Miller (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You can grow chili from seeds. Chilies can grow into small bushes from half meters to two. Where can you plant the chili seeds? You can use a garden plot or you can use some pots.

Chilies easily grow in hot and humid temperatures. They need a lot of sunshine. Chilies need about 20 degrees Celsius in order to germinate. Then, it needs over 30 degrees for it to ripen. The hot sun can give chilies a good growing up.

In countries in the tropics, like Thailand, growing chilies happens all year round. However in cooler countries, chilies can be planted early in the spring.

The plant must be strong before the wet and cold season for it to grow healthy chilies. They can grow in different kinds of soil but it is advisable that you fertilize the soil.

Buy seeds or get seeds from those you used in the kitchen. Plant them and take care of them by watering once a day in the late afternoon.

Chilies do not need so much attention but when they sprout, you might want to put some three or four sticks guard to support the branches and to keep away stray animals. Control and pull out the weeds too.

When the chilies are ripe you can harvest them and voila, your own homegrown chilies for cooking your favorite Thai food.