Aubergine, pepper and chilli share a strong taste for heat. That's why their sowing is done indoors, from February if you plan to grow them under glass and in March for outdoor cultivation in the vegetable garden.
How to succeed with your sowings and obtain healthy young plants?
This is a sowing sometimes feared by beginner gardeners because seeds need heat to germinate and are somewhat susceptible to damping off. However, if you follow a few simple rules, anyone can succeed.
- Sowing in a mini‑greenhouse or propagator
The classic method is to sow seeds in trays filled with a good seed compost. Sow seeds about 2 centimetres apart then cover them with a few millimetres of sieved compost. Water very gently, using a spray bottle… as a fine mist so as not to displace the seeds. To prevent damping off, then cover with a very fine layer of powdered charcoal.
The optimal germination temperature for these three vegetables is between 20 and 25 °C. Unless you live in an overheated flat, you will need to find the ideal spot. For these sowings, heated propagators (Garland, for example) are very handy but you can also use the top of or a place near a radiator. Personally, I put the trays on top of our masonry stove until germination.
Place sowing in warmth: in a propagator (Photo: Garland) or, as with me, on top of a soapstone stove
With chillies, be careful when handling the seeds and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards: contact with the eyes may cause painful irritation.
- The "Scottex" method, have you heard of it?
There has been quite a lot of talk in recent years about the "Scottex" method… which gets its name not from some obscure botanist but from a brand of kitchen roll! This sowing technique is a little like germination tests. It involves placing the seeds on a piece of absorbent paper, previously moistened (with hot water, if you like), and enclosing them in a glass jar or a plastic tray. The advantage of this method lies in the speed of germination: the time spent at heat is therefore shorter. Having tried the method one year, I found it effective but… you mustn't have sausage fingers when it comes to'placing germinated seeds into pots: the operation requires precision and a gentle touch!
The "Scottex" method
From potting on to planting out in the vegetable garden: precautions to take
Once young plants are well developed (at least two true leaves but don't wait too long), you can prick them out into pots. They still need warmth (normal room temperature is sufficient) but also light, otherwise they will become leggy. Place them on the windowsill and wait… at least until after the last frosts (usually after 15 May) before planting out in the garden. Initially, if you live in a rather cool area, provide light protection against night‑time cold.
Which varieties to choose?
There are many varieties of chillies, peppers and aubergines… For chillies, choosing them according to their heat level will save you from growing something your palate couldn't handle. And for aubergines, if your climate isn't ideal for growing them, opt for sturdy F1s such as 'Bonica' (as seeds or as grafted plants), early and easy to succeed with.
For my part, here is my small selection for this year :
- The chilli 'Penis', a new arrival in our collection… which I must test, if only to see my neighbours' faces (and a little that of my mother‑in‑law... the gardener is mischievous)!
- The pepper 'Purple Bell', very unusual, which will complement my 'Californian Wonder'
- The aubergine 'Rotonda Bianca Sfumata di Rosa' and the aubergine 'Ronde à œuf', alongside the traditional 'de Barbentane'.
And you, have you started sowing for the vegetable garden? Any tips to share?
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