BBC Gardeners' World Monty Don plants these 'heart-healthy' fruits every January
In the midst of frosty January temperatures, you may assume it's the wrong time of year for gardening. But Monty Don begs to differ.
The BBC Gardeners' World expert always plants the same fruits every New Year - and they're potentially superb for heart health. Taking to his online blog last January, he explained: "Chilies are always the first seeds that I sow in the new year.
"They can be slow to germinate and certainly need some heat, either on a heated bench or on a windowsill above a radiator." Although Monty initially plants the seeds in trays, he then transfers them to bigger pots when the first 'true leaves develop'.
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Beyond plenty of light and heat, the 69-year-old urges gardeners to steer clear of watering these plants after 5pm. Doing this may leave them water-logged - something chillies typically despise.
Monty continued: "The secret of successful chilli growing - other than plenty of light and heat - is to allow each plant as much time and opportunity to become big and bushy, feeding it weekly with a high nitrogen fertiliser (I use home-made liquid nettle feed) until the first flower buds start to appear in June...
"...and then switching to a high potash feed (liquid seaweed or homemade comfrey feed are both ideal) to stimulate as many flowers and subsequent fruits as possible on what by now should be a large plant."
While chillies are a perfect addition to various dishes, experts also believe they may offer numerous health benefits. In 2015, research from China claimed that eating spicy food everyday was linked with a '14% lower risk of death'.
The study examined data from more than 500,000 adults across 10 different regions, and specifically noted a slashed risk of ischemic heart disease and other respiratory-related conditions. Similar results were echoed in another 2020 American Heart Association report which saw that chilli pepper consumption may 'reduce the relative risk of cardiovascular disease mortality by 26%'.
These results come at a time when heart disease is among the world's biggest killers, taking an astonishing 55,000 lives each day, as per the BHS. However, it's crucial to note that more research is needed on the topic.
Reflecting on the 2020 study, Dr Robert Shmerling of Harvard University, stressed: "If you like adding chili pepper to your food, this latest report is reason to continue. But it's too soon to say everyone should start consuming it regularly to improve their health.
"Additional research will be needed to confirm that the overall impact on health is positive. And if it is, we need to determine how much chili pepper is best. And does the type of chili pepper matter? How long does it take to see a benefit?"