Capsicum baccatum
Aji Chili
Common names: Aji Pepper, Peruvian Pepper, Capsicum baccatum
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 50 cm, rows 70 cm
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Sowing
- Feb–Mar
- Harvest
- Aug–Oct
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 5 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Retama · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Aji chili, botanically Capsicum baccatum, originates from the Andes and the lowlands of South America and is especially at home in Peruvian and Bolivian cuisine. The plants grow 1 to 1.5 m tall and form loosely branched growth. The cream-white flowers with yellow-green spots on the petals make it recognizable among chilies. The pendent, often slender pods are 5 to 15 cm long depending on the variety and turn yellow, orange or red. The flavor is fruity with a hint of citrus, and the pungency ranges from medium to hot. The best known is 'Aji Amarillo', the golden-orange pod used in Peruvian sauces. In Central Europe, Aji chili succeeds in pots on a sunny balcony or in a greenhouse, and outdoors only in warm summers. From sowing to the first ripe pods often takes six to seven months, so it is best started early.
Care instructions
Sow Aji chilies as early as February, as they need a long time until harvest. After the Ice Saints in mid-May, plant them in a full-sun, warm and wind-sheltered spot. In containers they need at least 15 liters, preferably more, as the plants grow large. Support the shoots early with a stake, because the weight of the pods would otherwise snap them. Pinch out the first flower at the first fork so the plant grows bushier. Water evenly and in the morning, avoiding waterlogging but also not letting the root ball dry out completely, as both cause buds and flowers to drop. Rinse off aphids with a strong jet of water; ladybirds and lacewing larvae help with this. Cut the pods with their stalks as soon as they have fully reached their variety color, and harvest everything before the first night frosts.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingFeb–Mar
HarvestAug–Oct
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 18 °C, ideally 28 °C
- Days to sprout
- 10 to 21 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 0.5 cm
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, well-drained, nutrient-rich, loamy
Aji chillies grow best in humus-rich, loose, nutrient-rich soil that holds water without becoming waterlogged. In the bed, mix in mature compost before planting. In a pot, use a stable-structured, free-draining compost and put a layer of expanded clay pellets on the bottom as drainage so that excess water runs off. The pH should be slightly acidic to neutral.
The aji chilli belongs to the nightshade family and shares diseases and pests with tomato, pepper, aubergine and potato. Leave a four-year break for this family on the same bed. It does well after legumes, lettuce or onion-family crops. In a container, change the compost every year.
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Months
May–Aug
Aji chillies are heavy feeders. Work mature compost into the bed before planting or mix it into the container compost. From the first flowers in June, give an organic liquid fertiliser or diluted nettle feed every one to two weeks, slightly more often in a pot than in the bed. When the fruits ripen in August, let the feeds taper off. Too much nitrogen produces lots of foliage but few, late-ripening pods.
Overwintering
Aji chillies do not tolerate frost and stop growing below 5 °C. Harvest all the pods and bring containers indoors in autumn before the first cold nights. If you want to keep the plant, cut it back by about half, overwinter it bright at 10 to 15 °C and water only sparingly. In February it sprouts again; then pot it on into fresh compost. Dry the seeds from ripe fruits and store them cool and dark.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
You propagate aji chillies from seed. They germinate slowly and need a steady 25 to 28 °C for it; then it often takes two to three weeks. So sow in February, 0.5 cm deep, in seed compost on a bright, warm windowsill or in a mini greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots at the first true pair of leaves and pot them on once or twice until May. Before planting out after the Ice Saints in mid-May, harden them off for a week. You collect your own seed from fully ripe fruits. Aji varieties readily cross with each other via insects, so the seed only stays true to type if other varieties stand far away or you cover individual flowers.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
mint family (Lamiaceae)
particularly well establishedYou will find that basil next to tomato and pepper improves taste and keeps whiteflies and aphids away.
For example LavenderThymeBasilRosemarySageHyssop and 43 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
borage family (Boraginaceae)
Borage attracts pollinators and is supposed to keep tomato pests away from the nightshade family.
For example BorageCommon comfreyLacy phaceliaForget-me-notLungwortSiberian bugloss and 2 more species in the catalogue
Source: organic greenhouse companion planting practice
Rather not
gourd family (Cucurbitaceae)
You should avoid planting potato and cucumber together because they share disease pathogens such as leaf and brown rot and stand in each other's way as strong feeders.
For example CucumberPumpkinCourgettePickling cucumberButternutHokkaido and 15 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop-rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Aji Chili yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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