heat are being encouraged to start sowing now, as the Great Dorset Chilli Festival launches its annual chilli-growing competition.
This year’s variety is Rooster Spur, a small but famously fiery chilli known for its prolific harvest. Dorset seed company Sea Spring Seeds once counted 3,238 chillies from a single Rooster Spur plant (see image).
To achieve ripe fruit in time for summer, organisers say seeds should be sown now, giving plants enough time to grow and produce chillies before judging at the festival in August.
The competition is open to amateur growers, and focuses on the overall quality and appearance of the plant rather than simply the number of chillies produced.
Entries will be judged by commercial seed grower Matt Simpson of Simpson’s Seeds, with winners in each class receiving a £50 voucher from Harts of Stur, the Sturminster Newton-based cookware and gardening retailer.
A limited number of free Rooster Spur seeds are available to anyone keen to take part in the hotly-contested (sorry) compeititon. Growers can request a pack and competition rules by emailing [email protected]
The Great Dorset Chilli Festivalreturns to Stock Gaylard Estate on 1st and 2nd August 2026.
