Do you want to get a continuous harvest of chillies without having to use chemical fertilizers? There is a completely natural, simple method, within anyone’s reach, which allows you to cultivate healthy and productive plants throughout the season.
Cultivating chillies without the help of chemical fertilizers is not impossible, on the contrary. Just change perspective. No magic formulas, just a little more attention to what happens in the vase or in the garden. When the plants are fine, they say it clearly: the leaves become more green, the fruits sprout without asking for permission, and the perfume … what you feel. It happens to wake up after a rainy night and find them there, stopped, as if they were waiting for something. The ground is too compact, it seems almost suffocating. Then you take a garden fork, just move the earth, add a little compost. After a few days, the first signs: more alive leaves, some new flowers. It is as if the plant said “thanks”.
Here, everything starts from there. From those small gestures that seem to be nothing and instead they change everything. Who already has seedlings, would do well to take a look at the ground. If it is too wet or hard like a stone, better to ventilate it and feed it a little. Often this is enough to restart flowering.
Affiliated plants for a natural crop of chillies
There are those who say that sun and water is enough to grow chillies. True, in part. But there is a trick that few really consider: choose the right compagnie. Some plants, if placed next to the chillies, work like silent allies. Take the basil, for example. He keeps aphids away and, it seems, makes the fruits even tastier. Calendula? An explosion of color that attracts good insects and removes the annoying ones. Tagete is a small shield against the nematodes, those worms that ruin the roots. And then garlic and onion: discreet, but effective, they keep unwanted guests at bay with their pungent smell.
The beauty of this approach? A small plant community is created, where each plant does its part. The soil remains cooler, humidity is preserved better and the whole environment becomes more harmonious. Less stress for chillies, more fruits to collect.
Feel plants with simple ingredients
Who said that expensive bottles or mysterious sachets are needed to feed plants? Often the solution is already there, at hand. Maybe while preparing the coffee or cleaning the barbecue. Small daily gestures that become precious for those who cultivate with love.
- Coffee funds: collected by the morning mocha, they are perfect for giving a push to the ground, especially for chillies.
- Crumbled egg shells: Let yourself be dry and then chopped, they give precious football to the roots.
- Ash of wood: After a barbecue, don’t throw it away. Shoot it at the base of the plants to stimulate flowering.
- Nettle: There are those who prepare it at home, patiently, and use it to give energy during growth.
All simple but effective methods. And do you know what surprises? At first they seem to do little. Then, almost suddenly, the leaves become more green, the flowers increase, and the fruits … they arrive without asking for anything. Nature does not need shortcuts, only real attention.
The continuous harvest of chillies starts from pruning
There is a mistake that many do: let the plant grow as it wants. But chillies, to produce well and for a long time, need a guide. A small pruning every now and then can make wonders.
Cut some dry branches, remove the flowers that seem too crowded, reap the ripe fruits without waiting too much. All gestures that push the plant to continue flourishing, not to “rest” too early. Yes, because the more it collects, the more the plant produces it. It is a sort of natural stimulus: take off the old fruits, and she makes new ones.
Then there is another advantage: with less dimensions, the air circulates better. And if the air circulates, diseases struggle to take root. No mold, no rot. Only chillies, one after the other.
One last thing: some varieties are simply more generous. The Cayenna, for example, or the Thai Dragon, continue to produce for months if treated well. Choosing the right type, based on the climate and space, is already half of the work.
Nature is not in a hurry, but does not forget. Each gesture made with care translates into a stronger plant, in a richer harvest. And even if every season is different, every growing chilli is a small victory.
A story that is written day after day, with hands dirty with earth and eyes attentive to the sky.
Photo © Stock.adobe
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