Chili Peppers
Growing Chili Peppers
I've been enjoying chili peppers for quite some time, and a few years ago I decided to start growing them myself. This article documents my experiences with seed starting, growing, and processing various chili pepper varieties over the past few seasons. All growing is done in Limburg, Netherlands.
Growing Peppers
2026 Season (Indoor Seed Starting)
In January 2026 we started a new batch of pepper seeds. The setup has been upgraded to a larger grow box with dedicated slots for LED lights, a bottom heat pad, and an Aqara T1 temperature/humidity sensor. The same LED lights from previous seasons are still in use.
First batch of seeds planted:
- Jalapeño (mixed vendors and harvest years)
- Ghost Lite (from 2025 harvest)
- Giant Red Habanero (peperzaden.nl 2025)
- Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Red (peperzaden.nl)
- Tabasco (tabasco 2025)
- Thunder Mountain (peperzaden.nl 2025)
- Jalapeño (from 2023 harvest)
We will update with germination rates and progress later in the season.
2025 Season
Indoor Seed Starting
We started the season in the attic, where the temperature stays around 19 °C thanks to some always-running servers. Seeds were sown in [DCM Zaaien & Stekken potting soil] in 4×8 trays, with additional light from aquarium grow lights. Germination typically takes about 2 weeks.
First batch (early season):
- Jalapeño (from 2024 harvest)
- Carolina Reaper (from 2024 harvest)
- Ghost Lite (from 2024 harvest)
- Peperoncino (from 2024 harvest)
- Caloro (from 2024 harvest)
- Himo Togarashi (peperzaden.nl 2024)
- Jalapeño Early (peperzaden.nl 2024)
- Goccia d'Oro (Franchi 2024)
Second batch (early May):
- Habanero orange (Intratuin 2024)
Outdoor Growing
Most seedlings survived the indoor phase and were transplanted to the garden. Some varieties had very low or zero germination (possibly due to old or poor-quality seed):
- Jalapeño (2024 harvest) — only one plant germinated and went outside
- Caloro (2024 harvest) — none germinated
- Goccia d'Oro (Franchi 2024) — none germinated
All other varieties produced enough seedlings for transplanting. Unfortunately, a late frost in the second week after planting killed several young plants, especially Himo Togarashi and some Jalapeños.
The 2025 summer was unusually dry and sunny, resulting in very vigorous growth. Many tomato plants ripened early, and the pepper plants grew much larger than in previous years.
2024 Season (Outdoor Growing)
The 2024 season was very wet, which caused many tomato plants to succumb to disease. Peppers were more resilient, but growth was slower than in drier years. By autumn most plants were finishing, but still produced plenty of usable fruit.
Varieties grown (only those that produced fruit are listed):
- Jalapeño (from 2023 harvest)
- Carolina Reaper (peperzaden.nl)
- Madame Jeanette (from 2022 harvest)
- Peperoncino Tondo Rosso (mild, round peppers; source unknown)
- Ghost Pepper Lite (from 2023 Ghost Pepper harvest — see note below)
- Serrano (seeds from supermarket peppers)
- Cayenne (seeds from supermarket peppers)
- Caloro (white/yellow Jalapeño-like; source unknown)
Note on Ghost Pepper Lite — This is my own name for a plant that grew from a seed in my Ghost Pepper collection. It looked more like a bird's eye chili but had heat closer to a true Ghost Pepper. It produced very nice fruit.
Many other seeds were planted, but some failed to germinate or produce usable plants.
Processing Peppers
Harvested peppers are used in several ways:
- Fresh in salads, sandwiches, and other dishes
- Turned into sambal oelek-style sauce
- Pickled for sandwiches
- Dried for chili flakes or powder
Pickling Peppers
- Remove stems and slice peppers into rings or chunks.
- Sterilize Weck jars by heating them in the oven at 120 °C for 30 minutes.
- Prepare the pickling brine: 1 part white vinegar : 1 part water. For every 500 ml of liquid, add 1 tablespoon of rock salt. Heat until the salt dissolves.
- Pack the sliced peppers tightly into the jars, pour in the hot brine, and seal.
- Turn jars upside down until cool, then store in the refrigerator.
Drying Peppers
We use a food dehydrator at 50 °C. Drying time depends on pepper size and maturity:
- Ghost Pepper Lite: ~10 hours
- Jalapeño (often picked immature): ~24 hours
Once fully dry, peppers can be chopped into flakes or ground into powder. Another option (not yet tried) is storing dried peppers in oil for a spicy chili oil.
