Turn Up The Heat with Chillies this Winter Growing Season!!!
From mild to extremely hot, chillies add zest and zing to any meal! Be it Meditarranean, Mexican or even pure South African Rainbow Sensation-cooking - I am sure that we have all experienced the zing of the chilli sting!
You may have also heard of the Scoville Scale and Scoville Heat Unit (SHU), which were named after Wilbur Scoville in 1912. This is used for measuring the chilli pepper’s pungency and heat, which is attributed to the capsaicin found in chillis, a compound that likely also accounts for many of their health benefits. The high content of vitamins A and C, have long been valued as a powerful immunity booster.
Growing chillies can be quite tricky and drive you to tears, to say the least. Temperature is very important and a stable germination temperature of between 25 to 28 degrees celsius should suffice, but be sure your seedlings are not subjected to temperatures exceeding 36 degrees celsius, which could hamper root and shoot development.
Did you know that chillies and bell peppers (capsicum) belong to the same species and cross pollinate promiscuously with one another? If pollen from a hot pepper fertilizes the flower of a sweet pepper, all of the hot pepper genes from the father plant go into the embryo and the seed. The fruits will all be edible but you never know what you'll get in terms of heat and sweetness.
To prevent cross pollination, you would need to plant different varieties approximately 90 meters or more apart, which might not be practical. When space is limited and isolation by distance is not possible, you can physically isolate plants from each other through the use of isolation tents or blossom bags.
If you're looking to start out on your chilli growing journey, be sure to check out Grant's Blog, Chilli Growing Addict...But Not a Chilli Head', in which he describes his set up with a few helpful tips and tricks. Then have a look below at some of the multiple varieties of chilli seeds we stock - from mild to extremely hot, we've got you covered!
And if you're still undecided then take advantage of our SPECIAL Chilli Collectors Chilli Pepper Pack, which includes 15 varieties and a total of 165 Fresh Seeds - Was R569, NOW ONLY R399!!
What are you waiting for...Bring on the Heat!!!
~ Sweet Peppers - Capsicum annuum ~
Bell peppers are part of the capsicum species; they are called sweet peppers because they lack the spicy, capsaicin property that is in other peppers like jalapeños. They have a high juice content and are firm, crisp, and crunchy. Red Sweet Peppers are the sweetest and have a nice flavour when grilled. They are firm, crisp and crunchy. Yellow Sweet Peppers have a sweet taste and high nutritional content.
Tinkerbell® Series
1. Orange 2. Purple 3. Red 4. Yellow
* * * * *
Sweet Mini Pepper Series
1. Orange 2. Chocolate Brown 3. Red
* * * * *
Pot Pepper Snack Series
1. Orange 2. Yellow
Other Sweet Peppers include California Wonder Sweet Green Pepper, Kavango Sweet Golden Yellow Bell Pepper, Capsicum Paprika, Orange Sun Sweet Bell Pepper and Sweet Point Pepper Red F1
~ Mild to Moderate Chillies ~
Generally speaking mild to moderate chillies range from 100 SHU to 50,000 SHU. Jalapenos rate at about 5,000 SHU, so that should give you an indication of the heat if that's all you can handle.
1. Aji Fantasy Peach 2. Ancho Grande 3. Bishops Crown 4. Blue Christmas
5. Brown Egg 6. Cherry Bomb Pepper 7. Chile Tepin 8. Chilhaucle Negro
9. Chinese 5 Colour 10. Facing Heaven 11. Hangjiao Solar Flare Space 3 12. Jalapeno
13. Kashmiri 14. Thai Birds Eye 15. Long Slim Cayenne 16. Malaysian Explosive Ember
17. Monkey Face Yellow 18. Pimenta Barra Do Ribeiro 19. Tabasco / Tobasco (SOLD OUT) 20. Rajah F1 Hybrid
21. Jalapeno Grande (SOLD OUT) 22. Serrano 23. Long Cayenne 24. Uyababa
Some of the names might sound quirky and fun, but don't be fooled...some of these chillis can certainly bring the heat!
~ Hot to Extreme Chillies - Capsicum Chinense ~
Generally speaking hot to extreme chillies range from 50,000+ SHU.
The Carolina Reaper was previously rated as the world's hottest chilli pepper by Guinness World Records, according to 2012 tests, averaging 1,569,300 SHU on the Scoville scale with peak levels of over 2,200,000 SHU. 
1. Carolina Reaper - the worlds HOTTEST Chilli Pepper 2. Carolina Reaper - Yellow
3. Carolina Reaper - Mustard 4. Carolina Reaper - Chocolate
In 1999, the Habanero was listed as the world's hottest chilli but it has since been displaced by other peppers. Their heat, flavour and floral aroma, however, make it a popular ingredient in hot sauces and other spicy foods.
1. Giant Golden Habanero 2. Peruvian White Lightning
3. Pink Habanero 4. Saffron Habanero
Below are just a few of the over 50 varieties of Hot to Extreme Chilli Seeds we currently have in stock:
1. Bhutlah Cheesehead Chocolate 2. Borg 9 3. Caramel Bhut Jolokia 4. Cheiro Roxa
5. Malaysian Goronong 6. Condor's Beak 7. Coyote Zan White 8. Jamaican Hot Yellow
9. JPN 7 Dark 10. M O A Scotch Bonnet 11. Naga Viper 12. Pink Murupi Moruga
13. Scotch Brains 14. Thor's Thunderbolt 15. White Devils Tongue 16. White Fatalii Pepper
Others include the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Red (World's 2nd Hottest Chilli), Dutch Reaper Red Chilli, Carribean Antillais, Big Brown Kathumby Chilli and MORE!!!
Important to Note:
Chilli peppers can be tricky to germinate and especially so with the rarer super hot varieties - patience is needed as they can take up to 40 days to germinate in ideal conditions. We also recommend that a heat pad is used when germinating chillies of the Capsicum chinense species. All of our chillis are grown in isolation to avoid cross pollination. As chillis are rampant cross pollinators it is not uncommon for variances to appear in the fruit as chillis can cross pollinate with fruit from plants a few houses or kilometres away. The only way to ensure with 100% certainty that cross pollination does not occur is to use pollination bags on each flower when the plant starts to bud and before the flowers open.
AND NOW THE GREAT NEWS...
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From 9am, Tuesday 9th April '24 until midnight, Monday, 15th April '24, we are offering 15% off ALL Small Packs of Hot Pepper Chilli Seeds - While Stocks Last!
Please Note: This EXCLUDES Bulk Chilli Seed, Sweet Pepper / Piquante Pepper Seed & The Chilli Collectors Chilli Pepper Pack.
NOTE: Discount is calculated at checkout. E&OE
