I love growing Chillis. I haven't bought any in the supermarket for several years now.

Chilli plants are easy to grow. I grow mine from seeds, or you can buy baby plants in the garden centre.

If you decide to try growing chillis from seed, plant the seeds in seed or multi-purpose compost, then cover them in a little more compost or vermiculite. Keep the seeds moist (ideally in a propagator, or cover the pot with a plastic bag). They can take a few weeks to germinate.

I find it best to plant chillis indoors early on in the year, and they put them outside in pots on the patio when there is no more risk of frost.

The really need very little looking after. Just make sure they are in a nice sunny spot, and keep them watered through the summer. Towards the end of the summer, the chillis will start appearing from the flowers.

The chillis start off green, but can turn red or other colours if they are left on the plant for longer. You can either eat the chillis fresh, or dry them to use later on in the year.

To dry them I just lay them out on a baking tray on a sunny window sill. Whey they are dry and crispy, I put them in an airtight jar and they keep for ages.