Chilli Seeds online

Food & Drink, Events and Entertainment
1
Any chilli fans here on the forum? Does anyone grow their own chilli plants? I already have some little plants growing, but I'm looking to expand into different chilli varieties, so I need some seeds. Can anyone recommend an online chilli seed supplier who might still be operating at the moment, either in Switzerland or outside?

2
I'm not sure that specific chilli stores are considered a basic necessity and I would assume, that they're closed. This being said, I'm aware of some forum members who also enjoy their food experience twice and might be able to help you out with some seeds.

3
I buy some seeds from these guys - they sell chili and tomato, including tomatillo seeds. Just a quick look at their website suggests they are open for business - based in the Netherlands.

Pepperseeds.eu

4
https://www.saemereien.ch/chilisamen...tgut-bestellen

Deliveries might take a bit longer due to the crisis.

https://chilibaron.ch/kategorie/chilisamen/page/2/

Just discovered this retailer, so no personal experience yet.

https://www.sowseeds.co.uk

OH had been ordering from these folks for years now. Recommended, but I don't know what is happening with goods transport from the UK these days.

Garden centers are closed, however many are trying to develop an online option. If you have a favorite garden center, contact them to see if delivery is an option.

5
There are a few others in CH that I buy from, I will look.

We just started some.

Tom

6
These guys are reliable: https://www.beatheuberger.ch/

Tom

7
I was also searching for plants / seeds this weekend and came across a couple of websites. I haven't tried buying from either yet so can't vouch for them.

The delivery charges seem quite high .. depends on how much you really really want some chillis I guess or if you can make up a larger order. Anyway, I'm not here to tell you what you can or can't afford . Hope the below helps.

For seeds, there are some here...

https://www.pflanzen-shop.ch/258-paprika

If you don't mind buying plants...

https://www.baldur-garten.ch/unterka...se/detail.html

My local Migros also still sells seeds for the time being, not sure how well stocked they are with chillis though.

8
I know these guys, they're fantastic and their chilli plants are great. Not 100% sure they are open now though

9
https://www.pepperseeds.eu/ is another one

10

These guys are very good for seedlings too. We were there stocking up on hot sauce just before the shut down and the guy said they were hope to be able to sell the plants online for home delivery from April.

For seeds, if i buy an exotic chilli i usually save them for planting next year. Works quite well with the chillis we used to get from the market. Never label them though so its very exciting!

11
Do you guys have luck with growing chillies on your balcony? We finally got a place with a properly sized balcony and are ready to have a taste of home.

12
Yes, I normally grow some on the balcony, and some in the gardens (the gardens are 5 or 30 km from home, depending on which, the better one is 30km).

Tom

13
My success varies from year to year. If you‘re somewhere like Ticino, results are likely more consistent. If we have a hot, sunny summer like last year, then maybe (I’m in Winterthur and have a terrace in full sun).

You need to start them indoors, about now. I have a little Gewächshause that I bought a few years ago by Romberg - mine has a heating pad and a light - but you may just need a bright, warm window.

14
I grow year round, but only one strain of Capsacin Gambiensae. It's similar to a habernero, but much more fruity in taste.

These are grown mainly indoors (winter) and outdoors in summer. I have had mixed success with soil indoors, but they seem to flourish in hydroponics.

Happy to share a few seeds, I just harvested a largish crop in preparation to plant in summer

15
Check seedaholic.com too

16
Some good suggestions for sources, ebay is another too if people have accounts.

I plant seeds in small pots, put them on a plastic tray and then put a glass salad bowl on top as a temporary greenhouse and place it by a south-facing window. The seeds germinate within about 10 days.

They like hot, sunny weather but watch out when you take them outdoors for the first time as the leaves can get scalded by UV rays. Like a British tourist on a beach holiday you need to gradually expose them to the sunlight.

17
I live on the 'dark side', where we have less sun and cooler temps. Nonetheless, we manage a pretty good crop each year.

We start seeds early, around January, under glass with a grow light and warming pad. The grow light is needed because we don't have a dog-safe sunny window, and the warming pad because I keep a cool house. We have to make do.

We also buy seedling starts, usually from Meier. So half the plants are from seed, half started commercially. That gives us a pretty good chance in our not-so-chili-friendly microclimate.

We plant the chilis in dark colored planters, sitting on our dark granite patio against our dark granite terraced wall. The surrounding dark stone retains heat, so even if we don't have sun all day we at least give the chiles a heat boost.

OH made a glass green-house topper for each of the planters, to protect the starter plants in case of a late cold snap. Also have plastic tents ready to put up over each planter in case of mid season hail, another regular occurrence in our area.

Planters keep slugs (more or less) at bay as well.

These are all measures that can be scaled to a balcony, by the way.

A fair amount of work, sure. But worth it.

(In these self-isolating times, my stock of dried and pickled chilis makes me happy.)

18
Thanks everyone. As someone mentioned, most places are of course closed due to the corona virus - some of the links mentioned say they have suspended ordering. I FB messaged pepperseeds.eu - no response - and southdevonchillifarm.co.uk - they told me they are still sending out seeds, so fingers crossed for the international mail service from UK to CH. Postage to CH seems reasonable at GBP5 for the 10 packs of seeds that I ordered, although they (slightly annoyingly) don't remove the UK VAT from their prices for sending to CH.

Hi Spinal, I'd be interested in seeing details of your setup for hydroponics. I've never tried this before...

19
I use what's called a Deep Water Culture (DWC), it's the least stable in terms of nutrients, but also the easiest/cheapest to setup.

Chillis seem VERY tollerant to fluctuations in PH and nutes, so they thrive in this.

What you need:

- plastic bucket with lid (ideally black or another opaque color)

- air pump (aquarium store)

- nutrients (most weed growing stores in CH will have ample supplies. I use the flora-series, floraGrow, florabloom and flora...something).

- little basket with some rock wool (aliexpress if you have time, otherwise weed grow stores have them too)

Method is very simple:

- make two holes in the lid - one for the basket and one for the air pump

- fill bucket with water, add some nutrients, put air pump stone in the water

- add seeds to the basket in the rockwool, put in the second hole and forget for a week or so

Every now an then (depends on how big the plant is) add water + nutrients.

That's pretty much it. The concept is simple - plants needs water + air + nutrients. The air pump oxygenates the water so that they don't drown.

I harvested (read killed) everything the other week in preparation for summer, but I may have some pics somewhere.

I actually started with one of these:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3282...archweb201603_

three years ago. I don't recommend them as the air pump is missing a pin... but if you have a hot glue gun, it's easy to correct the design flaw and the kit is a good starting option (and it's silly cheap). Also, the bucket is quite small, and I found that it was too cramped for more than 1 plant... 6 wouldn't fit there. That said, the size is perfect to fit on a windowsill.

EDIT: Here's a howto video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1hIOCaIA_o

He uses clay balls instead of rockwool, but it doesn't really make a difference. Anythign that allows the roots through while holding the seeds/plant would work.