Now we are at the end of 2025 and although I still have a bunch of ripe chilis on the plants, it is time to sum up the year. I chose to keep the same setup as previous year which is also the same as from 2023 without any changes. A short repeated description of that setup: 3 interconnected boxes (Harvy hydroponic cultivation that I drilled holes in the sides of) and a 25 liter water tank with a pump that circulates the water via timer (runs for half an hour 3 times a day). I add nutrients when I fill the water and measure the pH at irregular intervals.
This year's chili varieties
The solution worked well this year too. The simplicity of the system and how little you need to keep track of everything is very appealing. Once everything is prepared, everything takes care of itself, except for adding water and nutrients when needed.
Before I started growing, I took the entire system apart, mostly to make sure that all the gaskets were tight and of course to clean everything. It went well overall and I think the system worked fine right after cleaning. One gasket leaked a little right after assembly, but I think I hadn't tightened that particular connection very well so after an adjustment everything looked good again.
Another thing I tried to do more with this year was to prune the plant quite hard after it reached the desired size. This initially went quite well, but the problem is that it grows very quickly and sooner or later the plant is so big that it presses against the window, which then makes it difficult to prune in a sensible way. I did my best but in the end the plant was up on the ceiling anyway. :)
Seed sowing
I started sowing seeds very early this year. I had talked to a neighbor who was interested in growing a certain variety and we were able to share seeds from the bag she had bought. So I sowed some of these seeds and had a good look at them, but very few of these seeds took root. I ended up having all the seeds in the bag, but only one seed took root. Since this was the neighbor's seed, she got the only plant and I bought a new bag of seeds after searching a bit. These plants took root right away so I suspect the first seeds were old.
I then talked to another neighbor and we also exchanged seeds. This time I got 2 varieties that I wanted to grow. One of the varieties took off right away and grew quickly, the other I had to struggle with all the way to the end of the summer when a seed finally led to a plant.
So I had a bit of bad luck with this year's seed which gave me more headaches than I thought, but in the end I had 2 big plants and one that at least produced about 20 chilis.
Disassembling the system
When I got what I wanted out of 2 of the plants, I started to disassemble parts of the system for cleaning and to move one of the plants to soil.
The root system after about 8 months
After I cut the plant down to a stump, I took the opportunity to turn the entire plate upside down to show how much the roots grow in the system. It's really crazy how fast and big they grow if they get the right nutrition. The picture shows the first tub in the system where the pump is connected on the right side.
After last year, I now check the root system's growth throughout the year as there is a risk that it will find its way into the other boxes and possibly clog the system, which can lead to leaks. I therefore had no such problems this year, but considering how strong the root system was, it was absolutely necessary to check and fix this a few times during the year.
Chili varieties
Chiluacle Negro
Chiluacle Negro was the variety I struggled with the most this year. At first I had problems with the seeds as only one(!) took root at all and several were clearly damaged right in the bag. This lone plant that took root I had to give back to the neighbor who had lent me her seeds so I just had to start growing new plants again. The plant I gave to the neighbor was also stolen(!) from the courtyard after she had put it on a table and left it for a while.
But with healthy seeds the plant took root well and grew quickly. I got lots of flowers and later also chilis. What I disliked about the variety was that it was difficult to tell when the fruits were ripe. The color went from dark green to darker green and if you missed it, it was gone. I therefore did not get many edible fruits from this plant and the ones I did eat I did not like. So there will be no more of this variety in the future.
Sugar Rush Stripey
Sugar Rush Stripey, on the other hand, was a nice acquaintance. The plant grew really well and at one point I had a leaf that was almost twice the size of my hand! How I could forget to take a photo I don't know.
I also got lots of flowers and then fruits. These were initially really mild, but for some reason some of them were able to hide a spicy surprise. Over time they became more homogeneous spicy and I used them in cooking where they worked really well. I can definitely imagine growing this variety again.
Fish pepper
Fish pepper was the last variety I grew this year. Initially I had good results as the seeds I sowed did well, but for some reason the plant didn't want to grow. They were in the same system as the other plants, but something just wasn't right. When that happened I gave up on that variety and just pressed a new seed into a new seed capsule and then just hoped for the best. Oddly enough it did, but by then we were already in the middle of summer so the plant never got very big. I did get some fruit though and I think its size and heat can definitely be good for cooking.
This is the plant that I will be replanting into soil (after the last fruits have been picked) as I want to see how it handles an overwintering and then whether it does well next year or not.
Next year
I now have a number of perennial plants that still give me enough (more than enough, actually) chili. So next year I plan to grow just one variety and instead let the window growing consist of herbs and spices. I think it might be good to take a break from all the chili, but I always need fresh herbs.
