Things are coming along very nicely here at the chilli plant luxury hotel and spa, and since posting the last update the weather has been pretty good. We've had a couple of days of heavy, non-stop rain and several days where it was overcast and muggy, but for the most part it has been warm and sunny. A couple of weeks ago we had four blazing hot days of sun with no clouds in sight, and the temperatures in the greenhouse reached 100F from midday until late afternoon. Several of the windowsill plants ended up with a small amount of leaf scorch on one or two of their leaves, but it's nothing much, just minor battle scars.
I've also done some more juggling around since posting the last update and now all plants are in their final positions for the growing season. Naga Khorika is way too big for a windowsill, so I've re-potted it into a 7-litre pot and moved it outside into the greenhouse. It now seems much happier. In order to make room for it I've had to move Aji Cajamarca out of the greenhouse and into the porch. I've also re-potted
Mako Akokosrade into a 7-litre pot, along with one of the
Inca Red Drop plants and one of the new varieties. Last year's Mako Akokosrade plant grew very well in a 7-litre pot in the bedroom window, and hopefully this year's plant will do the same.
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Chilli Plants in the Porch - 14th June 2020
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Chilli Plants in the Greenhouse - 14th June 2020
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Mini Rocoto Brown was starting to suffer in the greenhouse due to the high temperatures, so I've re-potted it into a 12-litre pot and moved it outside to a semi-shaded spot beneath a Buddleia plant. It does get some direct sun between the hours of 3PM and 8PM, but by that time the sun isn't quite as intense, so hopefully it should be okay. Last year's
Mini Rocoto Brown plant grew big and healthy and set lots of flowers, but unfortunately all of the flowers dropped off and it didn't set a single fruit all season.
When re-potting last year's plant I'd ran out of my usual compost mixture so I just used what I had available, which was bog-standard multi-purpose compost, and I think one of the problems may have been that it was too rich in nitrogen. This year, I've used my usual compost mixture, and hopefully we'll get some peppers. The plant I grew in 2018 did really well.
Anyway, the weather was wind-free and overcast on Sunday afternoon, perfect conditions for taking photos of the chilli plants, and I did just that. Here are some photos showing some of the individual varieties.
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Aji Mochero - 14th June 2020
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Aji Mochero - 14th June 2020
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Alberto's Locoto - 14th June 2020
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Alberto's Locoto - 14th June 2020
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Alberto's Locoto - 14th June 2020
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Aribibi Gusano - 14th June 2020
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Chocolate Habanero - 14th June 2020
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Habanero Numero Diez - 14th June 2020
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Inca Red Drop - 14th June 2020
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Inca Red Drop Flower - 14th June 2020
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Inca Red Drop - 14th June 2020
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Inca Red Drop - 14th June 2020
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Mako Akokosrade - 14th June 2020
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Mako Akokosrade - 14th June 2020
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Mini Rocoto Brown - 14th June 2020
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Red Mayan Habanero - 14th June 2020
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Ring of Fire - 14th June 2020
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Ring of Fire - 14th June 2020
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Ring of Fire - 14th June 2020
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Ring of Fire - 14th June 2020
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Yellow Jelly Bean Habanero - 14th June 2020
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Here are a couple of photos showing the newcomers. The first one shows the indoor plants and the second one shows the plants growing outside in the walk-in plastic greenhouse. All are coming along very nicely, although how many of them are true to type remains to be seen.
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New Chilli Varieties - 15th June 2020
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New Chilli Varieties - 15th June 2020
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I think 2020 must be the year of the aphid because the blasted things are everywhere. Checking the plants for aphids and other unwanted nasties has been a daily task for the past three weeks, and I've already had to treat several plants. The outdoor plants are less of a problem due to all the parasitic wasps, ladybirds, spiders and hoverflies visiting or living in the greenhouse. Earlier, I noticed some small brown aphids on one of the greenhouse plants, and this is a good sign because it means they have been parasitised, so naturally I've left them alone.
The previous update was posted 23 days ago, and as you can no doubt see there has already been a significant amount of new growth since then. Hopefully, by this time next month all of the plants will have started producing pods and I'll be in a better position to tell how many of the new varieties are true to type.
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