Paano Magtanim ng Sili: How to Plant Chili the Traditional Way
Paano magtanim ng sili? Here is how traditional Filipino farmers usually plant sili (chili), step by step from getting the field ready to the harvest, with the day of each step and what to change for a higher yield.
This guide shows how traditional farmers usually plant sili. Use it as a starting point. For a higher yield, update it: plant certified seed or clean planting material, test your soil, and follow the right spacing and fertilizer.
How Filipino farmers grow sili, both the long finger kind for sinigang and pinakbet and the small, very hot labuyo: seedlings raised for about a month, set out in single or paired rows, and picked for many weeks. It is for small farms growing chili for the fresh market.
Before you plant, get the field ready with our land preparation guide for vegetables. Then choose your seed or planting material with the sili varieties sold here. If the leaves turn pale later on, the sili nutrient deficiency guide helps you find what is missing. For more on the crop, read pagtatanim ng gulay, vegetables in the Philippines.
When to plant sili
Sili loves the sun. Farmers plant from May to September for a wet season crop on ridges or raised beds, and from October to February for a dry season crop with irrigation.
What you plant
Seed, about 100 to 200 grams for a hectare (one gram holds roughly 250 seeds). The seed is soaked overnight, dried in the air and sown in a seedbed or trays, and the seedlings go to the field 30 to 40 days after sowing. Labuyo growers often take seed from their own ripe red fruits.
Paano magtanim ng sili, step by step
Picking of green finger chili starts about 60 to 75 days after transplanting, depending on the variety, and goes on for weeks. Labuyo is usually picked red ripe and bears for many months. The crop is ready about 65 days after transplanting.
Before planting (Bago magtanim)
21 days before transplanting: Plow and harrow the field
Plow and harrow two or three times, a week apart, until the soil is fine and the weeds are turned under.
7 days before transplanting: Harden the seedlings
Leave the seedlings in the sun a little longer each day and water them less, so they stand full sun by planting day.
- Start with the morning sunOn the first day of the last week before planting, take the shade off and let the seedlings stand in the sun until about ten in the morning, then cover them again.
- Add more sun each dayabout a weekLeave the cover off a little longer every day, until the seedlings can take the sun the whole day.
- Give less waterAt the same time, water a little less and less often. Seedlings that are not soaked every day grow tougher stems and roots.
- Do not let them wilt hardA little drooping at noon is normal. If the seedlings wilt badly, shade them and water them, then go on more slowly.
2 days before transplanting: Make the rows and put in the basal fertilizer
Open furrows about 80 cm apart, or paired rows 35 cm apart with 75 cm between pairs. Spread complete fertilizer and 16 20 0 along the furrows, about 4 bags of each for a hectare, and cover it. Use ridges or raised beds in the wet season.
The nursery (Punlaan)
40 days before transplanting: Clean the seedbed soil
Make beds about 1 meter wide and 15 cm high in full sun near water. Wet the bed, burn 3 to 5 cm of rice straw or rice hull over it, rake off the ash and wait a few days before sowing.
35 days before transplanting: Soak and sow the seed
Soak the seed overnight and dry it in the air. Sow it thinly in lines 5 cm apart and cover with fine soil, or sow one seed a cell about 1 cm deep in trays of compost, burnt rice hull and garden soil. Tip: A slanted shade of cogon or coconut leaves keeps off hard sun and heavy rain.
- Soak overnight, then air dryovernightSoak the seed in clean water overnight so it sprouts sooner. Spread it on a cloth or paper in the shade until it no longer sticks together in the fingers.
- Roast the soil for the traysFor trays or small pots, roast the garden soil over a fire, stirring it, to kill the fungi, insects and weed seed in it. Let it cool, then a day later mix it with equal parts of compost and burnt rice hull.
- Fill the traysFill the cells of a tray with 100 or 104 holes with the mix and press it down lightly. Ready mixed seedling media from farm stores work too.
- Sow one seed a cell, or in linesIn trays, drop one seed in each cell about 1 cm deep, cover with fine soil and sprinkle with water. On a seedbed, water the bed first, mark lines about 5 cm apart with a stick, drop the seed evenly along them and cover with fine soil.
- Water in the morning, not too muchGive water early in the day and only enough that the soil stays damp. Too much water brings damping off and thin, weak seedlings.
- Put up a slanted shadeBuild a simple roof of cogon, talahib, coconut leaves or old plastic sacks over the beds or trays. Make the east posts taller, about 120 cm, and the west posts about half that, around 60 cm, so the morning sun reaches the seedlings but the hot afternoon sun and hard rain do not.
26 days before transplanting: Thin and prick out
When the seedlings have 2 to 3 leaves, pull out the crowded ones and move them to trays or another bed. Keep them shaded until they recover.
- Thin them early3 to 5 days after they come upThree to five days after the seedlings come up, or when they show their first two or three leaves, pull out the crowded ones and keep the strongest. The extras go into cups or trays.
- Make banana leaf cupsCut banana leaves into strips about two inches wide, roll each strip into a small ring and pin the ends with a broom stick (tingting) so it does not open. Stand the cups side by side inside a square wooden frame.
- Fill the cups and move the seedlingsFill the cups with a mix of 2 parts compost, 1 part soil and 1 part burnt rice hull. Poke a hole in each, set one seedling in it, holding it by a leaf, and firm the soil around it.
- Water and shade until they perk upWater the moved seedlings right away and keep them under the shade until they stand up again. At planting time each seedling leaves its cup with a whole ball of soil, so the roots are hardly disturbed.
20 days before transplanting: Give a starter drink
About 10 days after the seedlings come up, dissolve 2 tablespoons of 16 20 0 or 14 14 14 in 4 liters of water and pour it over them. Rinse the leaves with plain water after.
Planting day (Pagtatanim)
Transplanting day: Transplant in the late afternoon
Water the seedbed first, then lift the seedlings with the soil still on their roots. Set them 30 cm apart along the rows on a cloudy day or late afternoon, and irrigate right after. Tip: Paired rows let the leaves shade the fruits from sunburn.
Care while it grows (Pag aalaga)
Day 5: Replant missing hills
Replace dead or badly wilted seedlings with spares from the seedbed within the first week.
Day 10: First side dressing and off bar
About 10 days after planting, side dress with ammonium sulfate, about 2 bags for a hectare. Plow or hoe the soil away from the rows to kill weeds, but do not dig deep near the roots.
Day 14: Irrigate on schedule
Besides the watering at planting, irrigate the furrows at about 14, 30 and 50 days after transplanting, and once more a week before the first picking. Water more often if the soil dries fast.
Day 30: Second side dressing and hill up
About 30 days after planting, side dress with urea and muriate of potash, about 2 bags each for a hectare. Then hill up the rows to cover it, which also makes irrigation easier, and hand weed between hills.
Day 35: Scout for pests and wilt
Look under the leaves for aphids, mites, thrips and leafhoppers, and at the fruits for sunken dark spots. Pull and burn plants that wilt suddenly.
Day 50: Third side dressing
About 50 days after planting, give another dose of urea and muriate of potash along the rows and water it in.
Harvest (Anihan)
Day 65: Pick at the right stage
Pick finger chili at the mature green stage, full sized, waxy and shiny, and labuyo when it turns red. Snap the stalk with an upward twist or cut it with a knife, about once a week.
Day 66: Sort and pack
Sort by size and ripeness and throw out damaged or rotten fruits. Pack in plastic bags or boxes for market.
Watering sili, stage by stage
Sili is watered right after transplanting and then given furrow irrigation at about 14, 30 and 50 days, with a last one a week before the first picking, more often on light soil in the dry months. Growers without a canal water by hand about three times a week until flowering, and wet season crops on ridges live mostly on the rain. Furrow irrigation between hilled rows is the usual way. Hilling up makes the furrows easier to water. Small growers water each hill with a can or a hose. Water in the morning or late afternoon.
The first two weeks after transplanting. Flowering and fruit set: dry soil drops flowers, and a dry spell followed by a soaking brings rotten fruit tips. Every stage: sili wilts and dies fast in waterlogged soil.
| Stage | When | How often | How much |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seedbed | 35 to 26 days before transplanting | Water the bed before and after sowing, cover it with straw or keep the trays in shade, then water each morning | Just enough to keep the soil damp, never soggy |
| Growing seedlings | 26 to 7 days before transplanting | Water each morning or as needed. Water the pricked seedlings and rinse the leaves after the starter drink | Light sprinkles |
| Hardening | 7 days before transplanting to transplanting day | Water less often while the seedlings get more sun. Water the bed the day you lift them | Light waterings. Do not let them wilt hard |
| Transplanting and settling | Transplanting day to day 14 | Irrigate right after transplanting. By hand about three times a week if there is no canal | Soak the soil around each hill, no standing water |
| Growth and branching | Day 14 to 30 | Furrow irrigate at about 14 days, sooner if the soil dries fast | Let water run until the rows are wet, then drain |
| Flowering and fruit set | Day 30 to 58 | Furrow irrigate at about 30 and 50 days, after the side dressings, and in between whenever the soil dries | A full soaking, drained off |
| Before and during picking | Day 58 to 130 | Give the last scheduled irrigation a week before picking starts, then water about once a week or when the soil dries while picking | A full soaking each time, drained off |
Without irrigation. A wet season crop planted from May to September on ridges or raised beds runs mostly on the rain. Mulch the rows with rice straw, which can cut the watering about in half, and carry water to each hill if a dry spell comes at flowering.
In the dry season. For the October to February crop, irrigate at transplanting, about 14, 30 and 50 days, and a week before picking, and more often on sandy or light soil. Water when the leaves droop by mid morning or the soil a few cm down feels dry.
In the rainy season. Plant on ridges or raised beds and keep the furrows draining to a canal. Waterlogged sili wilts suddenly and the roots rot, and wet weather spreads fruit rot, so do not water when the soil is already wet.
- Too little water: Leaves droop and curl at midday, flowers and young fruits fall, and the fruits stay small or show sunken, rotten tips.
- Too much water: Plants wilt suddenly while the soil is wet, the lower leaves yellow and drop, and the stem base turns dark and soft.
To water better for a higher yield: Rice straw or plastic mulch keeps the soil evenly moist and can cut the watering by about half. A drip line under the mulch gives steady water through flowering and picking without wetting the leaves or flooding the roots.
Spacing, water and fertilizer for sili
Spacing
Furrows about 80 cm apart with 30 cm between hills, one seedling a hill. Many farmers use paired rows, 35 cm between the two rows of a pair and 75 cm between pairs, so the leaves shade the fruits.
Water
Irrigation at transplanting and again at about 14, 30 and 50 days, with a last watering a week before picking starts, more often on light soil in the dry months. Wet season crops go on ridges or raised beds so water does not stand.
Fertilizer
About 4 bags each of 14 14 14 and 16 20 0 a hectare along the furrows before planting. Side dressing with about 2 bags of ammonium sulfate at 10 days, then urea and muriate of potash, about 2 bags each, at 30 days and again at 50 days. Seedlings get a starter answer in the seedbed. To read what a bag really gives, see our guide to fertilizer for this crop.
Care and harvest
Care while it grows
Off barring at about 10 days and hilling up at about 30 days, with shallow cultivation and hand weeding between hills. Farmers pull and burn wilted plants and keep the field clean. Labuyo is often left to grow into a bush that bears for many months.
When and how to harvest
Finger chili is picked mature green, full sized and glossy, from about 60 to 75 days after transplanting, about once a week. Labuyo is picked red ripe. The stalk is snapped with an upward twist or cut with a knife, and the fruits are sorted and packed in plastic bags or boxes.
Common mistakes when planting sili
- Watering the seedbed too much, so the seedlings damp off and rot.
- Planting sili again where pepper, tomato or eggplant just grew, so wilt and other soil diseases build up.
- Plowing deep beside the plants, which cuts the roots.
- Letting water stand in the rows in the rainy season, which rots the roots.
- Picking fruits that are not yet full size, which lowers the weight sold.
How to get a higher yield of sili
The traditional way gets a crop, but small changes add up. These are the first things to change, one season at a time.
- Have the soil tested and feed by the result, with lime on acid soil.
- Use good seed of a variety that resists wilt and anthracnose and that buyers in your area want.
- Raise seedlings in trays with a clean mix for even, strong transplants.
- Use silver plastic mulch on raised beds to keep weeds down and repel some insects.
- Scout weekly for thrips, mites and aphids and use integrated pest management, spraying only when the count is high.
- Rotate with rice, corn or beans, never with other members of the tomato family.
anee.io helps with each of these. The NPK Plus calculator checks that your fertilizer plan feeds the yield you want, the pest and disease finders tell you what is on the leaves before you spray, and Anee, the smart farm technician answers your questions in Tagalog or English.
Members open this guide in the How to Plant tool and send every step to the Protocol Builder in one tap, each on its own day. There you can change the seed, the spacing and the fertilizer, then turn it into a cropping calendar for your lots.
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