News
Your Guide to Growing Click & Grow Fruiting Plants
Nothing beats the satisfaction of growing your own fruit at home, knowing it’s 100% fresh and free from any additives. With a Click & Grow smart garden, you can grow delicious, fresh fruiting plants indoors, any time of year.
If you’ve decided to grow some of our fruiting plant pods and are unsure what to expect, you can use this guide as a general reference point. We’ve put together some tips and details about what to expect during each growth stage. It’s important to remember that nature can be unpredictable - sometimes plants will grow faster or slower than expected! Nevertheless, these time frames are a reliable guideline to go by.
Chili Pepper
Ideal room temperature: 20°C - 35°C.
To speed up germination, raise the room temperature to 26°C.
Applies to all varieties of chili pepper, including purple, piri piri, yellow and red hot.
5 - 21 days: You’ll notice sprouts during this time. Remember to thin your pods to 1 seedling. Thinning is so important because it ensures your plant has enough space, light and nutrients to thrive throughout its entire life cycle.
22 - 49 days: Avoid the temptation to prune your plant before fruiting. It will form flowers and fruits at the top of the plant.
50 - 70 days: You’ll soon notice flowers appearing. Remember that they’ll need to be pollinated. Do this by gently shaking your plants. Alternatively, use your finger or a small brush to carry pollen from one blossom to the next.
60 - 80 days: Don’t worry if some flower buds or leaves fall off during this time. The plant uses its resources in the best way possible and will produce some natural debris. It will take a little while for chilis to form.
90 - 120 days: During this time, your chili pepper fruits will ripen from white/purple to bright red (or equivalent colour, depending on whether you’re growing regular chili, purple chili, yellow chili, piri piri chili, or red hot chili). As your chilis ripen and become ready to eat, the plant will produce natural debris.
Mini Tomato
Ideal room temperature: 20°C - 35°C.
To speed up germination, raise the room temperature to 26°C.
Also applies to yellow mini tomato.
7 - 21 days: You’ll notice sprouts during this time. When you do, it’s important to thin your pods to 1 seedling. This ensures your plant has enough space, light and nutrients to thrive throughout its entire life cycle.
22 - 39 days: Stake your plants to help them grow upwards and prepare to bear heavy fruit.
40 - 60 days: Your plant’s yellow flowers will start to appear. These need to be pollinated to produce fruit. Do this by gently shaking your plants to mimic a bee. You could also use your finger or a small brush to carry pollen from one blossom to the next.
61 - 72 days: You may notice some yellow petals falling off. This is perfectly normal. It will take a little while for tomatoes to form. Not every flower becomes a fruit.
73 - 89 days: Green tomatoes may start to grow during this time. They won’t turn red until they’re fully formed.
90 - 110 days: Your mini tomatoes will ripen during this time. Once they’re red, they’re ready to eat. Don’t be alarmed if the plant begins to degrade and produce some debris. It’s now fulfilled its purpose of producing tomatoes.
Sweet Pepper
Ideal room temperature: 20°C - 35°C.
To speed up germination, raise the room temperature to 26°C.
Applies to both red sweet pepper and yellow sweet pepper
5 - 21 days: You’ll notice sprouts during this time. Remember to thin your pods to 1 seedling. This ensures your plant has enough space, light and nutrients to thrive throughout its entire life cycle.
22 - 49 days: Avoid the temptation to prune your plant before fruiting. It will form flowers and fruits at the top of the plant.
50 - 70 days: You’ll soon notice flowers appearing. Don’t forget to pollinate them! Do this by gently shaking your plants. You could also use your finger or a small brush to carry pollen from one blossom to the next.
70 - 90 days: It’ll take a little while for fruits to form after pollination. Allow petals to fall off by themselves. Remember that not every flower becomes a fruit.
80 - 100 days: Your sweet peppers should ripen during this time. Now you may gently remove any wilted leaves or dead flowers.
90 - 100 days: Once the fruits are fully formed (but not yet matured to full red) we recommend removing some of the top leaves. This will encourage the peppers to mature faster.
95 - 120 days: As your peppers are ripening, the plant may begin to degrade and produce some natural debris.
Wild Strawberry
Ideal room temperature: 18°C - 26°C.
10 - 14 days: Your plants may have germinated by now. If not, give them another week. Remember to thin your pods. For wild strawberry, you can leave up to two seedlings to grow per pod. Thinning is crucial because it ensures your plant will have enough space, light and nutrients to thrive throughout its entire life cycle.
15 - 49 days: Allow some time for your plants to flower and bear fruit. In the meantime, you can already pinch some leaves off and use them for brewing tea.
50 - 70 days: You’ll soon notice flowers appearing. Remember to pollinate them by gently shaking your plants. You could also use your finger or a small brush to carry pollen from one blossom to the next.
55 - 89 days: Trimming old leaves during this time will encourage the fruits to mature faster.
90 - 100 days: If your plant has given you its first harvest, you can trim old leaves and fruit stems from the very bottom of the plant. New green leaves and flowers will emerge soon.
100 - 120 days: If you need space for new pods during this time, you can replant wild strawberry plants in larger containers. They could also be replanted in flower beds outdoors. They will grow as perennials even in temperate climates.
Dwarf Pea
Ideal room temperature: 18°C - 24°C.
6 - 15 days: You may notice your plants starting to sprout during this time. There’s no need to thin them, just let them thrive.
14 - 25 days: Your plants have most likely germinated by now. If not, give them an extra week. If you harvest sprouts and flowers, do not expect to harvest any actual peas. If you allow your pea plants to grow freely, expect your first pea pods to mature approximately 35 days from planting.
20 - 32 days: Around this time, dwarf pea may need staking to avoid falling over. Just use a chopstick or a grill stick and push it in the soil for support. If the plants do not lean on the stick, use a piece of string or a clip.
30 - 40 days: Your first dwarf pea pods are maturing and ready to consume. Don’t be alarmed if you notice white layers and spots on the leaves - this is normal for mature dwarf peas.
Don’t forget that basic plant info can be found in our plant catalog and on the Click & Grow mobile app. Once you’ve registered your smart garden and plant on the app, you’ll receive helpful tips at each stage of your plant’s life cycle.
Got a question you’d like to ask our gardening team? Feel free to get in touch using our gardening forum. Receive advice from our expert horticulturists and take your gardening skills to the next level.
Enjoy a stress-free way to grow healthy, delicious plants at home.
Get your eco-friendly indoor garden
