🌱🌶️ 20,000 FREE CHILI SEEDS 🌶️🌱
Coming to Berlin Chili Fest Spicy Wings Edition on 12th & 13th December at Kalle? We’re giving away 20,000 chili seeds to the first 1,000 people through the door!
Free entry, free seeds, and a whole lot of heat. Get down early and grab yours.
Need help? ask on one of our chili community groups : https://chilifest.eu/community/
Growing your own chilis is one of the most satisfying things you can do in a small space. You don’t need a garden, a green thumb, or any special skills. You need a sunny spot, a bit of patience, and a willingness to get a little dirt under your nails.
Start Small and Start Early
Chilis are slow starters. Most varieties take 8 to 10 weeks from seed to a plant you can transplant outside, so in Berlin you’ll want to start indoors around late winter or early spring. Don’t worry if it feels early. A tray of seedlings on a windowsill in February is perfectly normal chili behaviour.
Sow your seeds about 5mm deep in seed compost and keep them warm. Chili seeds like it hot, around 25 to 30°C, which is why a spot on top of a radiator or near a warm window works well. Germination can take anywhere from one to three weeks, so resist the urge to dig them up to check.
Give Them Light
This is where most beginners go wrong. Once the seedlings appear, they need a lot of light, and a dim windowsill will make them stretch into long, floppy, sad-looking plants. A bright south-facing window helps, and a cheap LED grow light on a timer makes a huge difference if you’re short on sun.
Pots, Water and Feeding
Use pots with drainage holes. Chilis hate wet feet more than they hate being a bit thirsty. Water when the top of the compost feels dry to the touch, and skip the watering can if the soil is still damp. Once plants are growing well, a weak liquid feed every week or two will keep them productive.
Moving Outside
Berlin’s frosts usually don’t stop until around May, so wait until nights stay above about 10°C before moving your plants outdoors. Harden them off gradually over a week or so, starting with a few hours in a sheltered spot and building up from there. Sudden sunshine and wind can scorch young plants.
Pinch, Prune and Be Patient
When your plant is about 20cm tall, pinch out the top growing tip. It feels wrong, but it encourages the plant to branch and produce more fruit. Then sit back and wait. Many chilis take a long time to set fruit, and the first peppers can be a slow reveal.
A Word on Handling
Wear gloves when you’re handling hot varieties, especially when you’re cutting or deseeding them. Chili oil on your fingers and then in your eyes is a lesson nobody wants to learn twice.
Free Seeds at Berlin Chili Fest
Want a head start? We’ll be giving away a mixed bag of high-quality chili seeds as you enter the Berlin Chili Fest Spicy Wings Edition on 12th and 13th December at Kalle in Neukölln. Entry is free, so just swing by, grab your seeds, and get planting.
We’re also thinking about a future project where growers can identify the seeds they’ve got, so keep an eye out for that. Whatever you end up with, we’d love to see how your plants get on.
Happy growing, and see you in December! 🌶️
Need help? ask on one of our chili community groups : https://chilifest.eu/community/
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