6 Easy Ways to Grow Chilies, Abundant Results to Meet Daily Needs

Kapanlagi.com - For lovers of spicy food, chili is definitely a must-have ingredient in the kitchen. The high demand for chili often causes its price to skyrocket. As a result, growing chili in your own garden can be a solution to still be able to keep stock even when the price is high. Unfortunately, not many people know the correct way to grow chili so that it can grow well and have a bountiful harvest.

The steps to grow chili are actually not much different from growing other plants. However, growing chili still cannot be considered an easy task. There are several things that need to be considered, such as water needs, sunlight, fertilization, and being vigilant against pest attacks. Therefore, it is important to know how to grow chili along with the following tips in order to succeed.

Summarized from various sources, here is a review of how to grow chili to make it grow well and have a bountiful harvest.

1. Preparing Seedlings

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To plant chili peppers, the first step to take is preparing the best seedlings. The best chili pepper seedlings can be obtained from high-quality chili pepper seeds. Therefore, it is important to choose fresh chili peppers that are truly guaranteed in quality and then extract the seeds. After extracting the seeds, the chili pepper seeds should be dried under the sunlight until completely dry.

If you prefer a more practical method, you can directly buy chili pepper seedlings sold at agricultural stores. However, preparing the seedlings yourself can be more cost-effective. Additionally, you can ensure that the seedlings are from high-quality selected chili peppers.

2. Sowing Seeds

After preparing the seedlings, the second step in planting chili peppers is sowing the seeds. The sowing process can be done using small-sized polybags. For more detailed instructions, you can follow the steps for sowing chili pepper seeds below.

1) Prepare a sowing area, such as a polybag.

2) Fill the polybag with soil and organic fertilizer in a ratio of 3:1.

3) Then, place the polybag filled with soil and organic fertilizer in a sheltered area away from rain and direct sunlight for approximately 1 week.

4) After a week, soak the seedlings in warm water for 3 hours.

5) Place the seeds into the polybag with a depth of approximately 1 cm, then cover with soil.

6) Wait for the seeds to germinate.

7) Once the seedlings emerge, gradually introduce them to direct sunlight by exposing them to sunlight.

3. Process and How to Plant Chili

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Chili seedlings are ready to be transplanted after approximately 4 weeks. While waiting for that time, it's a good idea to start preparing the land for planting. Make sure the chosen land has fertile soil, humus, and rich in nutrients. You can also improve the soil by using fertilizer. In addition, make sure there is enough sunlight.

After four weeks and the land is ready to be used, start transplanting the seedlings. Do it carefully to avoid breaking or damaging the roots. You can also transfer them to a larger polybag, at least use a polybag with a minimum diameter of 30 cm or you can also use a used bucket with soil, fertilizer, and rice husk as the media. However, make sure the soil, fertilizer, and rice husk mixture has a ratio of 3:2:1.

4. Applying Fertilizer

The third way to grow chili is by fertilizing. As we know, fertilizer plays an important role in plant growth. The proper use of fertilizer will make the plants lush and healthy. The second fertilizer application can be done one month after the first fertilization. Furthermore, for each harvest, continuous additional fertilizer should be given.

For the fertilizer used, you can use organic fertilizer or compost or liquid fertilizer. The purpose of using compost fertilizer is to make the chili more organic. Meanwhile, for liquid fertilizer that has been dissolved with a ratio of 100ml per plant. If using compost fertilizer, give 500-700 grams per plant.

5. Chili Plant Care Process

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After being planted in the field or pot and given fertilizer, the next step is to carry out the care process. Chili plants must be watered every day. Especially during the dry season, the condition of chili plants can be at risk of dying. In addition, watering can also be done by using a drip system or soaking the beds. Bed soaking can be done every two weeks.

In addition to watering, it is also important to ensure whether there are other plants that interfere with the chili plants. If such plants are found, it is better to immediately remove them. Try to check and weed intensively. In addition, to prevent the growth of weeds, make sure the beds are always clean from interfering plants.

6. Harvesting Chili Plant Results

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When planting a plant, harvest may be eagerly awaited. Usually, chili peppers have started to bear fruit and can be harvested after 2.5-3 months since the seeds were planted. However, do not rush to harvest the results randomly. There are several things that still need to be considered in planting chili peppers.

First, it is advisable to harvest chili peppers in the morning. Chili peppers can be harvested by picking the fruit along with the stem. Before picking, make sure that the chili fruit to be picked is slim and densely filled. This type of fruit usually already has a spicy taste. On the other hand, sometimes large-sized chili peppers are hollow, so they also have less spicy taste.

The harvesting period can last for 6 months or even more. Meanwhile, the age of chili pepper plants can reach 24 months. This means that one chili plant can have a harvest period of 15-18 times. However, it is also important to know that the older the plant, the lower its productivity.

Those are some of the easy ways to plant chili peppers that can be done by beginners and guaranteed to yield abundant harvest. Hope it is useful and good luck!

(kpl/gen/psp)