Chilli 'Chocolate Habanero' Seeds

Chilli 'Chocolate Habanero' - Pack of 10 Seeds
Capsicum chinense

Sow: January to April
Harvest: August to October
Height: 60cm+

Take longer to reach maturity than other varieties of Habanero, but worth the wait if you like your chillies hot -  425,000 - 477,000 SHU!

Chocolate refers more to the colour than the flavour, which is slightly smokier than other forms. Well suited to drying. 

Sowing instructions: 

Chillies are best started under cover early in the year. Start in Jiffy 7C pellets (available here) or seed trays, then pot on into 7cm pots, and again into 9cm before planting out in late spring/early summer.

The seeds need heat to germinate. Usually the warmth of a sunny windowsill is enough, but you can also place them in an airing cupboard with a bag placed loosely over the top (make sure you remove and keep somewhere bright when they germinate) or use a heated propagator if you have access to one. 

Seeds germinate in 14-28 days.

Growing instructions:

Best grown in a greenhouse or polytunnel, but can also be grown in open ground in a warm, sunny position. Pinch out the growing tip when plants reach 30cm to encourage them to bush out. 

Chillies are hungry plants, feed every two weeks with a high potassium feed.

Probably the best know of all Chillies. Falls into the "Hot, but not too hot" category with 2,500 to 10,000 units on the Scoville scale.

Average 20 Seeds 

Harvest: July onwards  
Height: 140cm+

Indoor Cultivation (Greenhouse/Polytunnel)  
 
Sow seeds from mid December to late March. Ideally sow in individual cell trays, coir plugs (handily, we sell these here) with one or two seeds per plug, or in a pot with a gap of a few centimeters per seed. Once sown cover with a thin layer of vermiculite and keep somewhere warm – chilli seeds need a temperature of around 18-25°C to germinate, so ideally you're looking for a sunny windowsill or heated propagator.  
 
Keep the growing medium moist, but not too wet; the seeds should germinate in around 14-28 days – as a general rule of thumb the hotter the chilli the longer the germination time. Once the seedlings' true leaves begin to appear pot on into 7cm pots in a good quality compost. Pot on again in 9cm pots when the plant has outgrown the 7cm pots and then finally into either a 30cm pot/grow bag or directly into the soil of your greenhouse/polytunnel. If planting in the ground leave a gap of 60cm per plant.   
 
Pinch out the main growing tip when the plants reach 20-30cm in height. This will encourage them to branch out, and become more sturdy.  
 
Outdoor Cultivation  
 
Sow seeds from early February to late March. Ideally sow in individual cell trays, coir plugs (handily, we sell these here) with one or two seeds per plug, or in a pot with a gap of a few centimeters per seed. Once sown cover with a thin layer of vermiculite and keep somewhere warm – chilli seeds need a temperature of around 18-25°C to germinate, so ideally you're looking for a sunny windowsill or heated propagator.  
 
Keep the growing medium moist, but not too wet; the seeds should germinate in around 14-28 days – as a general rule of thumb the hotter the chilli the longer the germination time. Once the seedlings' true leaves begin to appear pot on into 7cm pots in a good quality compost. Pot on again in 9cm pots when the plant has outgrown the 7cm pots and then finally into either a 30cm pot or grow bag. They'll need to be somewhere warm and sheltered, so a sunny, south facing patio should do the trick. 
 
Pinch out the main growing tip when the plants reach 20-30cm in height. This will encourage them to branch out and become more sturdy. 

A vegetable no patch should be without – plants produce leaves throughout the year and the bright colours add interest even in the depths of winter.