Crops › Chilli Pepper (Mild)
How to grow Chilli Pepper (Mild)
in the UK
Sow January to March, plant out April to June, harvest July to October. About 90 days from seed to plate.
Mild chillies are a cracking thing to grow on your plot, honest. They add a lovely warmth to your cooking without blowing your head off, and there's a real satisfaction in picking your own colourful peppers. They do need a bit of warmth, mind, but they're well worth the effort.
Sowing
Right then, you'll want to sow these little beauties indoors from January right through to March. They need a proper bit of heat to get going, so aim for between 18 and 25°C, maybe with a heat mat or on a warm windowsill above a radiator. A bit of grow light helps too, especially if you're starting early in the year when the days are short. Sow them about 5mm deep in small pots or seed trays, giving them a bit of space, like.
Growing on
Once your seedlings have a couple of true leaves, prick them out carefully into individual small pots. Keep them warm, mind, at least 15°C. Before planting them outside, you'll need to harden them off gradually for a week or two, then get them into a greenhouse or a real sunny spot on the patio in a container after the last frost, which is usually mid to late May up here. Give them about 45-60 cm spacing if they're in the ground.
Looking after it
These plants are thirsty and hungry beasts once they get going, so water them regularly and give them a good feed once the first fruits start to form. Pinch out the growing tips when they're about 20-30 cm tall; that encourages a bushier plant and more fruit, you know. Make sure they don't get cold, they really don't like it.
What goes wrong
Slugs aren't usually a big bother with chillies, but aphids, red spider mite, and whitefly can be proper nuisances, especially in a greenhouse. Keep an eye out for them, give the plants a good spray with water, or just squish the little blighters. Healthy plants are always stronger, like.
Harvest
You'll be picking your first chillies about 90 days after sowing, usually from July through to October. Pick them when they're a good size and colour for the variety. If you end up with a glut, you can bung them in the fridge for a week or two, dry them out for long-term storage, or just chop them up and freeze them.
To be honest, I always try to grow a couple in containers by the back door, even if I've got a greenhouse full. That way, they get a bit more shelter and I can easily nip out to grab one for tea.
Dates for your plot
Type the first half of your postcode and the plant-out advice shifts to your area's typical frost dates.
Varieties, and whether the club would grow them again
| Variety | Club verdict |
|---|---|
| Poblano Dark green, mild Mexican pepper. Great for stuffing or roasting, a proper classic for anyone wanting a taste of Mexico. | No club votes yet |
| Anaheim Long green mild chilli. A versatile one, good for slicing into salads or adding to stir-fries, and it gives a cracking yield. | No club votes yet |
| Shishito Japanese mild frying pepper. Perfect for a quick fry-up with a bit of soy sauce, mostly mild but you get a surprise hot one now and then. | No club votes yet |
| Banana Pepper Yellow sweet mild pepper. These lovely yellow peppers are super for pickling or adding a sweet crunch to sandwiches, and they're dead chuffed in a pot. | No club votes yet |
| Cubanelle Italian frying pepper. A sweet, mild pepper that's brilliant for frying or grilling, especially good in Mediterranean dishes. | No club votes yet |
| NuMex Big Jim Very large mild chilli. If you want a proper big chilli for stuffing or roasting, this one's for you, and it gives loads of them. | No club votes yet |
| Pepperoncini Greek pickling pepper. These small, tangy peppers are just perfect for pickling, bringing a Mediterranean flavour to your plate. | No club votes yet |
| Carmen Sweet Italian frying pepper. A lovely early cropping pepper that's great for frying or eating fresh, with a really sweet flavour. | No club votes yet |
| Padron Spanish tapas pepper, mostly mild. Fry these quickly with a bit of salt for a cracking tapas dish, though watch out, one in ten might be hot! | No club votes yet |
| Cherry Bomb Round red mild pepper. These little round beauties are fantastic for stuffing or pickling, and they look great in a pot on the patio. | No club votes yet |
| Sweet Heat Almost no heat, sweet flavor. For those who want all the flavour of a pepper with barely any heat at all, this one's a winner and crops early too. | No club votes yet |
| Fooled You Looks just like a Jalapeño but without the kick, making it perfect for those who like the shape but not the fire. | No club votes yet |
| Mulato Isleno Mexican mild drying. A traditional Mexican pepper that's ideal for drying, giving you a deep, rich flavour for your cooking. | No club votes yet |
| Aji Dulce Caribbean mild aromatic. This one brings a lovely aromatic, fruity flavour without the heat, perfect for Caribbean cooking. | No club votes yet |
| New Mexico Joe Parker Mild green roasting. A cracking choice for roasting or grilling when green, giving a lovely smoky flavour to your dishes. | No club votes yet |
Votes are members rating varieties in their Seed Tin, one vote per gardener. Tap a variety for the full page and where to buy.
Buy Chilli Pepper (Mild) seeds
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Cook the harvest
Crisp, golden fritters packed with fresh sweetcorn and generous strips of mild chilli, served with a cool, sharp lime crema. These come together in under 30 minutes and work brilliantly as a weeknight supper, a lazy weekend brunch, or a snack that disappears fast. The chilli gives every bite a gentle warmth and a lovely grassy flavour that sweetcorn was made for.
25 min · easyA deeply savoury Italian-style ragu where a generous pile of mild chillies is slow-cooked with pork mince, tinned tomatoes, and red wine until it becomes a glossy, silky sauce that clings to wide ribbons of pappardelle. The chillies melt almost completely into the ragu, lending sweetness, body, and a lingering warmth rather than heat. This is the kind of pasta you make on a Sunday afternoon when you want the kitchen to smell extraordinary.
110 min · mediumThis is the kind of autumn casserole you make when you have a glut of chillies and want something that feels properly substantial. A full half-kilogram of mild chilli peppers are cooked down until they collapse into a thick, sweet, smoky sauce that coats tender white beans and good pork sausages. It needs only some crusty bread alongside to be a complete meal.
75 min · mediumSliced mild chillies form the backbone of this quick shakshuka — not just a garnish but a proper base ingredient cooked down with tomatoes and spices until they are silky and full of flavour. Eggs are cracked in and cooked until just set, then finished with crumbled feta and fresh herbs. On the table in under 30 minutes, straight from the pan.
28 min · easyWatch for, and grow alongside
Companions: basil, onions, tomatoes
Questions people ask
When do you sow Chilli Pepper (Mild) in the UK?
Sow Chilli Pepper (Mild) from January to March. Plant out April to June, after the last frost.
How long does Chilli Pepper (Mild) take from sowing to harvest?
Roughly 90 days, with the harvest July to October.
Which Chilli Pepper (Mild) varieties do gardeners grow again?
Club members rate every variety they grow. This page shows the grow-again votes for Poblano, Anaheim, Shishito, Banana Pepper and more.
Track your Chilli Pepper (Mild) from packet to plate
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.
Allotment keeper in the North East of England, the voice behind the Tony C Smith YouTube channel, and the gardener who built GrowMore CookMore. Club numbers on this page update as members log their plots. Last updated 3 September 2026.