Organic Pepper Seeds - Hungarian Hot Wax

Hungarian hot wax peppers are a perfect choice for the UK climate. Fast growing, attractive and a prolific producer of medium heat peppers, use our Organic Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper Seeds to grow compact plants with versatile, manageable chilli peppers. GMO-free to help you grow amazing, natural Hungarian hot wax pepper plants on the windowsill or in your greenhouse.

Beautiful, fast-growing and compact, you will be picking medium-hot peppers all season long with these Hungarian Hot Wax growing on a windowsill or under lights inside. This plant gives thick and waxy fruit and is usually preferred when green at around 5-6 inches long. Leave to ripen red for a sweeter flavour, or remove seeds to reduce the intensity; these chillis are extremely versatile and a favourite here at Grow Sow Greener. Try them grilled, pickled, dried or stuffed, or spice up your favourite dish with their excellent flavour. Unlike some of our other options, they won't blow your head off!

• Pack size: 10 seeds
• Type: Hot
• Scoville Rating: 2,500-8,000 SHU (mild-medium)
• Time to germination: 7-21 days
• When to sow inside: January – March
• When to sow outside: March-May
• Spacing: 30cm +
• Soil preference: Fertile, well-drained
• Light preference: Full sun
• When to harvest: August – October

How to grow Organic Hungarian Hot Wax peppers from seed

Peppers belong to the same family as aubergines and tomatoes and should be grown in much the same manner. Chilli and sweet peppers are extremely similar; however, chilli peppers do appreciate slightly warmer conditions. They need a long growing season and are cold-sensitive, halting the plant's growth, reducing its vigour, resistance to pests and disease, and its yields. As such, for a successful experience, we recommend growing peppers under glass. Our greenhouse's north wall is blockwork, which absorbs and emits heat, a great environment for the pepper plant. This can easily be replicated in an all-glass greenhouse by stacking a few concrete blocks or stones.

Sow organic Hungarian Hot Wax Seeds shallowly and aim to keep the temperature between 21 and 24 degrees. However, once germinated, pepper seeds can tolerate somewhat lower temperatures. After germination, place on a sunny windowsill or under LED lights to grow on and develop in 8cm thin-wall pots before planting out in late spring, pot and all. We especially love this variety's compact nature and flavour and highly recommend growing close to hand in a sunny kitchen window or under lights. We start our pepper seeds under lights in February before interplanting them in greenhouse borders with our aubergines and sweet peppers. Generally, this variety is harvested green; however, you can harvest red for a slightly sweeter flavour. Should autumn catch you out, cut the plant at the stem and hang somewhere warm and sunny to finish ripening.

Chilli Pepper plants enjoy a stake or cage for extra support, especially when fruiting; however, this isn’t completely necessary. Whilst fairly drought tolerant, peppers will thrive with even, consistent watering. They are generally very low maintenance and easy to grow.

What to feed your pepper plants

Pepper plants enjoy free-draining soil loaded with plenty of organic matter. As they are heavy feeders, add a few handfuls of fish, blood and bone meal with some volcanic rock dust and some kelp powder to give them a rich, balanced and diverse diet for strong organic growth and cropping over the season. This diet will also help the plants to form strong, well-developed immunity.

Before planting, preparing the hole/soil with the above organics, and applying a side dressing of phosphorus-rich bone meal or wood ash just before fruiting, you feed the whole soil ecosystem, giving your pepper plants a lot broader diet. Off the shelf bought chemical fertilisers are limited in their scope and kill life in the soil web, trapping the gardener to fertilise repeatedly.

Keeping pests away

Hungarian Hot Wax is an open-pollinated type of pepper, so we encourage you to save your own seeds. Doing this with your best plants, year on year, allows your peppers to acclimatise to your particular microclimates and disease vectors. They are, however, fairly pest and disease resistant.