It's up to you when you want to sow your chili seeds If you want to get a head start you can sow as early as December providing you can keep the seedlings/plants in a warm light place, such as a heated greenhouse or windowsill. You will need to maintain a surrounding temperature of approximately 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit) in order for the seeds to properly germinate.

Chili seedlings can often suffer from the fungal disease called 'damping off' you can prevent this by spraying the seedlings with chamomile tea once a week. Cinnamon can also be sprinkled on the soil surface.

You can sow your seeds in saved containers or the more expensive peat pots. You need to water your seedlings regularly, never allowing the peat pot to completely dry out. When your pepper seedlings are about 2 inches high, thin the plants to one seedling per pot.

After all chances of frost are past, you can now plant your seedlings in your garden, or transplant into a final pot. If you are planting out into the garden choose a sunny, well drained corner or row.

After the first flowers appear, feed every one or two weeks with a half-strength organic liquid tomato feed. You could also add some Seaweed extract (without added fertiliser) to the water once a week. This toughens them up a little and improves their resilience in the face of erratic watering.

Weeds will suck up all the nutrients from the soil. So remember to pull out all weeds whenever possible.

Do NOT over water or have standing water over a long period of time. Overwatering is just as bad as little or no water!