Chilli Piri Piri
Chilli Piri Piri (also known as the African Birds eye) is a tall, elegant plant with an abundance of 2.5cm long fruits ripening from green to red. The fruits are great in cooking (green or red) and dry very well when ripe. Bush grows to around 1.5m tall.
Hardy plants, prolific producers and still tasty when green. Originates from Guyana Africa. 100,000-225,000 Scoville Heat Units.
I recommend adding some black plastic on top of the soil at planting to keep soil temperatures higher. This really helps in a cool climate.
Sow – Start on a heat mat or indoors in August, plant out after risk of frost and soils warmed (early November in cool climate). Can start earlier if planting in a hot house. Lay black plastic on ground and plant into an X cut-out if planting outside. They need consistent warmth in Tasmania.
Spacing – 50-70cm.
Capsicum fruits have been a part of human diets since about 7,500 BC, and are one of the oldest cultivated crops in the Americas, as origins of cultivating chili peppers are traced to east-central Mexico some 6,000 years ago. They were one of the first self-pollinating crops cultivated in Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America.
Germination: Optimal Soil temperature is 24 to 30 C (around 10 to 20 days to germination, longer at lower temps)
