Most people who grow chillies are happy if the plant survives the summer. Jürg Wiesli wanted something else entirely. In Dozwil, a small village tucked into Switzerland's Thurgau region, he has spent years chasing one very specific goal: growing the longest chilli pepper anyone has ever measured. This summer he got there, and then some. His latest pod came in at 52.5cm, a figure that has now been confirmed by Guinness World Records and which beats a title he already held. The old record had stood for almost eight years before he broke it himself. It is a small, slightly eccentric story, but one that says a lot about patience, seed saving and a bit of stubbornness in the garden. Here is what happened, and why a pepper from a Swiss backyard has ended up making headlines around the world.
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