Are you holding a spicy Habanero in your hand? Then cut them open! With the seeds you will discover inside, you can start your own cultivation. In this text you will find out what you need to know to be successful.
How do I successfully grow Habaneros?
To grow habaneros, sow the seeds in sterilized potting soil in mid-February. Prick out when two pairs of leaves are present and plant in a bed or pot from mid-May. Water regularly, fertilize if necessary and harvest after about 70-100 days.
Sowing
You can sow the seeds fresh or dry them first. What is important is to find the optimal time for sowing. This is only possible outdoors from mid-May. It's too cold for the chili beforehand. But waiting until May costs valuable time that the plant will miss later.
You have to act as early as mid-February. Find a bright place in the house that is at least 22 °C warm. There you can sow the seeds in a large pot.
- Use sterilized potting soil
- Cover seeds with a little soil, press lightly
- Keep soil moist throughout
- Cover pots with foil or glass pane
- ventilate occasionally until germination
Pricking
As soon as the seedlings have two pairs of leaves, the strongest specimens are planted in their own pots in loose soil. You continue to stay in the house in a bright and warm place. If the outside temperature is above 8 degrees Celsius, the pots are allowed outside for hours to harden off.
Prepare the bed
Find a free spot in the bed that is illuminated by the sun for many hours every day. Prepare the bed for planting by mid-May. Loosen the soil, remove weeds and incorporate a good portion of compost.
Plants
- Dig a sufficiently large planting hole. The root ball must fit in well without roots bending.
- Take the chili out of the pot and place it, including the potting soil, in the prepared hole. The root ball should be about 1 cm below the bed surface.
- Fill the gaps with soil.
- Plant the next chili plant, about 40 cm apart.
- Afterwards, water all the chili plants well.
Tip
If you don't have a garden, you can also plant the habanero in a large pot. However, the need for care is higher here.
Care
Habanero plants need regular water, but should not be too wet. While the nutrients from the compost last for several weeks, you can later fertilize with nettle manure in an ecologically friendly way. It doesn't require much more care.
Harvest
Depending on the variety, maturation takes around 70 to 100 days from sowing. You can tell when you can start harvesting by the changed color of the fruit.
Tip
You can dry excess habaneros and preserve them that way. And don't forget to save seeds for the following year.
