Sichuan Facing Heaven Seeds

Sichuan Facing Heaven, or Chao Tian Jiao, is named for the way its pods point upwards rather than hanging down. It is a compact plant that carries clusters of short, conical red pods standing to attention, and it is genuinely handsome in the garden as well as useful in the kitchen.

This is the chilli behind a great deal of Sichuan and Hunan cooking, and the one you want if you make your own chilli oil. It dries exceptionally well, which is how it is mostly used.

At 75 days it is quick by chilli standards, so it suits a grower who wants a real crop without committing to a superhot's timetable.

Annuum varieties are the more forgiving end of the chilli world, quicker to germinate and quicker to crop, which makes this a good one to get right without much fuss.

Start seeds indoors from July through September. Sow two seeds per cell, around 3 to 4 mm deep, in fresh seed-raising mix, and keep it evenly moist rather than wet. Aim for a steady 25 to 30 degrees in the mix. A heat pad speeds things along and makes germination more even, though annuum seed will usually come away without one given a warm spot.

Expect germination in roughly one to three weeks, noticeably faster than the chinense varieties. Once seedlings have a couple of true leaves, pot them on and keep them warm and bright.

Move plants into a greenhouse around October, once nights are reliably mild. Hold outdoor planting until November, after the soil has warmed and the risk of a cold setback has passed. Harden them off gradually over a week, then give them full sun, shelter from wind and free-draining mix. A 15 to 20 litre pot suits most annuum varieties well.

Water consistently through the warm months, keeping the mix moist but never waterlogged, and let pots drain freely rather than leaving roots wet. Pots dry quickly in an Auckland summer, so check them daily once the plant is carrying fruit. Erratic watering stresses the plant and brings on blossom end rot.

Pinch out the main growing tip early to encourage branching. More branches means more flowering sites and more pods.

Feed with a tomato fertiliser once flowering starts, following the label rate. Chillies and tomatoes want much the same thing, so there is no need to overcomplicate it.

Stake the plant before a heavy crop starts pulling branches down. Keep airflow around it and clear fallen leaves and fruit, which matters most in humid weather. Pick ripe pods regularly to keep the plant producing, or leave selected fruit on to colour fully when you are drying. Most plants start yielding from January and keep going while the warm weather lasts into March or April.

Harvest fruit once it has reached its ripe colour and feels firm, coming away with a gentle tug. Use snips rather than pulling, since the branches are brittle and tear easily on a plant carrying a good crop.

The plant will keep flowering and setting fruit until the cold stops it, so expect a staggered harvest through late summer and autumn. Anything still on the plant when the season ends is perfectly usable.

Fresh pods keep a week or two in the fridge. They freeze well whole and can be grated straight from frozen, which is the easiest way to dose a hot variety accurately. They also dry well for flakes and powder, as long as you dry them until properly brittle and store them in an airtight jar away from light. Label anything dried clearly.

At 30,000 to 50,000 SHUs, Facing Heaven brings a clear, bright heat, roughly in cayenne territory and several times hotter than a jalapeño.

It is strong enough to respect but practical enough to cook with in quantity, which is exactly the point. Sichuan cooking often uses whole dried chillies by the handful, and a superhot would be useless for that. This one gives the aroma and the clean heat without making the dish inedible.

The heat is direct rather than creeping, and it fades reasonably quickly, which is part of why it works alongside Sichuan pepper rather than overwhelming it.

The standard chilli watch-list, none of which should put you off.

Aphids find the soft new growth first, usually in spring. Squash small numbers or blast them off with the hose, and let ladybirds and lacewings handle the rest. Whitefly thrives in a warm greenhouse, so yellow sticky traps and good airflow keep the numbers down.

Red spider mites are the one to watch in a hot, dry tunnel house over summer. Look for fine speckling on the leaves and webbing underneath. They like dry air, so occasional misting and decent ventilation go a long way. Slugs and snails will take out young transplants overnight, so protect new plantings until they have toughened up.

At the seedling stage, damping off is the main threat. Fresh seed-raising mix, no overwatering and a little air movement prevent most of it.

On the disease front, most trouble is water-related. Overwatering invites root rot, and irregular watering brings on blossom end rot, those dark sunken patches on the pod tips. Consistent moisture and free-draining mix prevent both. In still, humid conditions botrytis can appear on crowded plants, which is one more reason to prune to an open shape and give plants room.

Dry the ripe pods whole and use them by the handful in Sichuan and Hunan cooking, where they are fried in oil at the start to perfume it.

Homemade chilli oil is the obvious project. Toasted and ground, these pods give the fragrant, moderately hot base that makes a good chilli crisp, and the result is far better than a jar off the shelf.

They also work in hot pot, in stir-fries, and anywhere a dish wants chilli aroma and a clean kick rather than a long burn.