Hardening Chilli Plants
This is especially prevalent process that all chilli plants need to go through
As more often than not chilli plants are started indoors or in a heated greenhouse due to the climate of the UK
As a result of the improved environment they grow up in they need to be prepared for growing outside - if you plan to grow in doors for its life cycles it is still advised to go through this process as it will provide a bushier plant with more pods
Within the leaves there are cuticles which are a waxy compound that covers the plants leaves
This helps to control the rate of transpiration of water and helps to prevent the plant losing too much water - this aides the plant to circulate the water and feed around its system providing feed when and where it wants it
This waxy substance also helps to provide a barrier to any airborne bacteria, disease, rain or dirt particles that can damage the plant
By providing this process and ensuring that plant hardens up will speed up the process of growth and provide a much better crop
Plants from dry climates such as Chilli Plants don’t have an easy time of completing this process, where as they will happily grow the waxy substance and harden themselves up, evolving in dry climates has made the plants natural process take a little longer
So growing chilli plants in the UK it really needs to be encouraged to complete this process
When to do this?
The plant on the left is starting to grow its third tier of leaves, once they have formed a little bigger then I recommend you start to place your plants outside
Choosing the right day is very important, a sunny day is the first ingredient, not too windy - a nice gentle breeze is ideal
Spraying your plants with a fine mist during this time outside is also recommended as it is simulating rain without the harshness of rain drops which can be particularly damaging
On the first day just try a few hours at a time building up to a full day outside - Place out in the morning and bring back in the evening
This always depends on the weather at the time of course
The UK Weather is the UK Weather
At the early time of year when seedlings are grown and being in the UK picking an ideal week is near on impossible so I use a lacy cloth or a fibrous cloth that you will find in any decent nursery centre - very cheap to buy
This is used as you can see in the pics to cover the plants up and protect from rain drops, wind and insects
I place close to the house wall to help protect from the full force of wind and rain to start with and then take them out during the day and by the end of the week they will spend all day outside
If you don’t have space outside and will be growing indoors for its life cycle then not to worry about this as it will still occur naturally but will take a little longer
The cloth protects against the biggest destructive force at this stage - the wind!
