How to grow chiles on the Front Range

Rich Pecoraro of MASA Seed Foundation brings us this advice on growing chiles:

Chiles like fertile, well-balanced soil. If they lack in nutrients, the plant will not start off strong. And if it doesn’t get off to a good, strong start, oftentimes it’s hard to bring it back around. So make sure you have a good balanced potting soil when you start and get those plants started early enough inside. Keep them warm — somewhere between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you’re planting in a cup or a tray or whatever medium you’re going to use, oftentimes people will use a heat mat or something to keep a consistent temperature for the seed to germinate. MASA uses germination chambers, where they stack flats on top of each other, seal in the chamber, and put a heater in it.

And within three to five days, they take the trays out. They are pre-watered because the germination has already begun. To speed up germinaton, focus on making sure the seeds are moist. You can layer your flats or just make sure they stay warm.

You can cover your soil, your mat, or your flat.  Give them a few days at about 80 degrees, and you’ll see tremendous results once you get to the soil. It’s a long ways from there.

Don’t plant your chiles until after the weather warms. Don’t rush. Get them in after the 31st of May. The chili loves warm weather.

Drip irrigation is much better than overhead irrigation. You want the ground to stay hot and you want good water at the roots.

Another trick to make sure your soils are good again: as the chile is growing and it begins to flower, a good old trick is to use a little bit of Epsom salt. Chiles love magnesium when flowering. If you take one teaspoon of Epsom salt and you sprinkle it around at least six to eight inches off of the stem of that plant, that will really enhance the blooms, and it may in fact sweeten those fruits as well.

As the plant grows, don’t over water. Let it grow until it shows a little bit of a wilt. As it gets a little bigger, then give it a deep watering again. Too much water, too tall a plant. Too little water, stunted plants. Try to monitor that.

Lastly, enjoy those great chiles when they get knee high and even further up toward the waist! Happy growing!