Spicemad

The end of the chilli growing season is fast approaching, and the weather here in North Wales has started to get a bit chilly. This is not very good news for most of the plants, although the C. pubescens and C. baccatum varieties will still be okay for quite a while yet. However, today it has been very sunny with no clouds in sight, and the chilli plants have been enjoying some direct sun. Earlier on, it was 78–80C in the porch! If the sky remains clear then it will probably get quite chilly tonight. I think a nice spicy beef stew might be in order.

Rocoto Peppers - 16th October 2022

Given that the weather has now changed, on the 28th September, shortly after taking down the remaining tomato plants, I moved all but one of the outdoor chilli plants into the glasshouse, which is something I do most years. The varieties now living in the glasshouse are Aji Lemon, Antillais Caribbean, Criolla Sella, Guampinha de Veado, Cumari Pollux, Guatemalan Orange Rocoto, Costa Rican Red Rocoto and San Isidro Rocoto. In order to make more room I had to take down the Bangalore Torpedo plant, which was full of chillies and still in the process of setting fruit. Most of them were still green, but that's fine because I normally use them at the green stage anyway. They'll get used up over the coming months in Indian curries and chili con carne.

Chilli Plants in the Glasshouse - 13th October 2022

Bangalore Torpedo - 23rd September 2022

Unfortunately, there was no room in the glasshouse for the Aji Largo plant, so for the time being it still lives outside. I picked the first batch of ripe peppers from it on Friday. Here are a few photos of the plant that were taken over the past month. This variety has performed quite well considering it's growing in poor quality compost.

Aji Largo - 14th September 2022

Aji Largo - 13th September 2022

Aji Largo - 13th October 2022

Aji Lemon has done very well as usual. This variety is always a pleasure to grow. I managed to crawl under the Costa Rican Red Rocoto plant a few days ago to pick some ripe chillies from it, and after having another quick look I could see there are still a few more good-sized ones still yet to ripen. I think I've become double-jointed from growing chilli plants in the places that I do and from crawling on my hands and knees under the kitchen table to make RO/DI water. If there's anyone who can do a commando crawl under a Rocoto plant to reach a few ripe Aji Lemon chillies, it's me! 😁

Aji Lemon - 16th October 2022

Antillais Caribbean has been like a chilli factory this year. It has lived in the corner of the glasshouse all season and has seemed very happy. This next photo was taken on the 23rd September, just shortly before harvesting the ripe chillies. I also picked a nice amount of ripe chillies from it on Friday, and there are still a few more yet to ripen. Once the remaining chillies have ripened I'll take the plant down.

Antillais Caribbean - 23rd September 2022

Antillais Caribbean - 16th October 2022

I grew Cappuccino Chiltepin this season. It's the first time I've grown this variety and probably the first time I've mentioned it in any of the posts. Initially, the plant was growing in a 5-litre pot, but then, one Sunday afternoon a few months ago I decided to re-pot it into what I think is an 8 or 9-litre pot. It has grown quite big, but surprisingly it hasn't grown to an unmanageable size. It seems quite happy growing in a bedroom window, but moving it wasn't the easiest job. I was always afraid that I'd end up damaging it, and so moving it was a bit like moving the Crown Jewels. It's a nice variety and a rarity too, but in terms of flavour I prefer the Dwarf Chiltepin.

Cappuccino Chiltepin - 16th September 2022

Cappuccino Chiltepin - 25th September 2022

I'm not in any hurry to grow the Carolina Reaper again. It didn't impress me much at all. The plant remained healthy all season, but most of the chillies were small. It produced two or three good-sized ones and the rest were about the size of a grape. I think some of these plants may still be unstable. If I decide to grow it again in the future I'll look for a more reliable seed source. The whole superhot chilli stuff has been done to death, in my opinion. It was something different to try, but in all honesty it's not going to give me anything that I don't already get from the other superhot varieties I grow. Maybe next year I'll try another superhot variety instead, just for the hell of it. The plant was taken down on Thursday.

Carolina Reaper - 21st August 2022

Carolina Reaper - 13th October 2022

Carolina Reaper - 16th October 2022

I now have a big bagful of ripe Chocolate Habanero chillies, which will be greatly appreciated by yours truly over the coming winter months. The plant has performed very well, as usual, and I picked the remaining chillies from it on Thursday shortly before taking it down.

Chocolate Habanero - 24th September 2022

Chocolate Habanero - 15th September 2022

Costa Rican Red Rocoto is a new variety for me this season. The plant has spent all season living outdoors and has performed very well. The peppers are medium-sized and of medium heat. I picked quite a few ripe ones from it on Friday and there are still quite a few yet to ripen.

Costa Rican Red Rocoto - 29th September 2022

Costa Rican Red Rocoto - 14th October 2022

I thought Criolla Sella was going to be a new variety for me this season, but it would seem that I've grown it before. When I grew it back in 2016 and 2017 it was labelled as Hot Orange. The plant has lived outdoors all season and has been very prolific. There are still quite a few chillies yet to ripen.

Criolla Sella - 4th September 2022

Criolla Sella - 5th September 2022

Cumari Pollux is a new variety for me this season. All season, the plant has lived outdoors by day and in the walk-in plastic greenhouse by night. It has been an awesome plant and has produced masses of chillies. I'll definitely be growing this variety again. Yesterday afternoon, I picked all the remaining chillies from the plant and pickled them. Picking them took just over an hour and removing the peduncles took about another hour and a half. Inserting a pickled Cumari Pollux chilli into a pitted green olive might make for a fun party trick!

Cumari Pollux - 16th October 2022

Cumari Pollux - 14th October 2022

Cumari Pollux - 17th October 2022

Pickled Cumari Pollux Chillies - 18th October 2022

The Fatalii plant is still going strong and is in the process of setting more fruit. There are about 20 good-sized chillies yet to ripen and a few smaller ones too. It's the only plant remaining in the porch now and it's not in the way, so it can stay for as long as necessary.

Fatalii - 18th October 2022

Guampinha de Veado is a new variety for me this season. The plant is almost as tall as me and has spent all season living outdoors. It didn't start fruiting until the end of August, so I've still yet to try a ripe one. I don't think it will be too long now until the first ones start ripening. I tried a green one a couple of days ago and it barely had any heat. I think I may end up pickling all the chillies from this plant too.

Guampinha de Veado - 16th October 2022

Guatemalan Orange Rocoto is a new variety for me this season. The plant has lived outdoors all season and has produced a lot of peppers, which are medium-sized and of medium heat. Call me a crazy gringo, but I really like eating raw Rocotos! I added one of these peppers to a beef stew on Sunday evening and it was delicious.

Guatemalan Orange Rocoto - 29th September 2022

Guatemalan Orange Rocoto - 14th October 2022

The Malawi Bird's Eye plant is still going strong, but now that the temperatures have dropped it has lost quite a lot of its leaves. It seems happy in the kitchen window and doesn't take up much space, so I'm in no hurry to take it down.

Malawi Bird's Eye - 13th October 2022

I now have more Orange Habanero chillies than I can shake a stick at. This is always a great variety to grow and the plants are always super prolific. I picked the remaining chillies from the plant on Thursday shortly before taking it down. It will be sadly missed.

Orange Habanero - 15th September 2022

The Peruvian White Habanero plant is like a gift that keeps on giving. I now have a good-sized bagful of ripe chillies from it that I've been picking here and there throughout the season. They'll eventually be used up in a hot sauce. This variety has a compact bushy growth habit and always grows well in the bedroom window in a 7-litre pot. I think it would also do well in a 10-litre pot.

Peruvian White Habanero - 13th October 2022

San Isidro Rocoto is another new variety for me this season. The plant has lived outdoors all season and has performed very well. This is the hottest of the three new C. pubescens varieties I'm growing this season. It also happens to be my favourite of the three, with Guatemalan Orange Rocoto being quite a close second. I'll be growing this variety again for sure.

San Isidro Rocoto - 29th September 2022

San Isidro Rocoto - 14th October 2022

I grew a Tabasco plant this year on a whim. I've grown this variety before, but given how I had seeds for it I decided to grow it again. You know what it's like — we chilli-heads can be an irrational bunch at the beginning of the growing season! Anyway, a couple of months later I had a change of heart, and so I planted it outside in the garden, just to give it a fighting chance. About three weeks later, I noticed it had been attacked by an army of slugs and snails, and all that remained of it was a couple of stems and a few battle-scarred leaves. Feeling sorry for it, I decided to dig it up and put it into a pot. After transferring it into fresh compost and treating it to make sure there were no nasties lurking that could potentially spread to the rest of my indoor plants, I placed it on the table in the porch.

After a couple of weeks of doing nothing, it then took off and produced lots of new growth. Eventually, it went on to become a nice healthy plant and has remained so ever since. It has lived in the bedroom window for most of the season and is growing in a 5-litre pot. It's only a small plant in comparison to how big they can grow, but I still think it's worthy of a mention. I don't think I'll grow it again anytime soon because as some of you may know, I'm not a massive fan of very tall chilli plants, and Tabasco is one such variety.

Tabasco - 13th October 2022

These next 10 photos show the chilli harvest from the past month or so. Two of them were taken on the 11th September, one on the 18th September, one on the 25th September, two on the 28th September, one the 13th October, two on the 14th October and one on the 16th October.

Chilli Harvest - 11th September 2022

Chilli Harvest - 18th September 2022

Chilli Harvest - 25th September 2022

Chilli Harvest - 28th September 2022

Chilli Harvest - 13th October 2022

Chilli Harvest - 14th October 2022

Rocoto Harvest - 14th October 2022

Rocoto Harvest - 16th October 2022

I made three batches of hot sauce last month and used up the remainder of last year's chillies. One thing I've noticed is that many artisan chilli sauces contain sweet fruits, such as mangoes, plums, peaches, pineapple and strawberries. Having experimented in the past with sweet fruits in chilli sauces, I can honestly say that I'm not a fan. I'm strictly a savoury guy, and the only fruits that go into my chilli sauce are chillies and bell peppers. I'm not a fan of jams, jellies or marmalades either.

Spicemad's Habanero Hot Sauce - 17th September 2022

Spicemad's Habanero Hot Sauce - 27th September 2022

I think the growing season will likely come to a close around the end of November for me. The varieties that have now gone are Bangalore Torpedo, Carolina Reaper, Chocolate Habanero, Dorset Naga, Jalapeño M, Mako Akokosrade, Orange Habanero, Papa Joe's Scotch Bonnet and Ring of Fire. The varieties still remaining are Aji Largo, Aji Lemon, Antillais Caribbean, Cappuccino Chiltepin, Costa Rican Red Rocoto, Criolla Sella, Cumari Pollux, Fatalii, Guampinha de Veado, Guatemalan Orange Rocoto, Malawi Bird's Eye, Peruvian White Habanero, San Isidro Rocoto and Tabasco.

Chilli Plants in the Garden Rubbish - 13th October 2022

I have a dedicated freezer just for the chillies and it's almost filled to capacity now, which is a bit of a problem because there are still quite a few Rocotos yet to pick. "Oh, Spicemad, why do you grow so many? You're going to have an arse like a blood orange after you've eaten all that lot!"

Rocoto Peppers - 17th October 2022

The Chilli Freezer - 18th October 2022

I imagine that by the time I publish the next post all except for the Rocotos and perhaps Guampinha de Veado will have been taken down. I don't know if you're like me, but I hate getting rid of the chilli plants. They've done very well this season too. Although a fair amount of work goes into it, it's always nice to see it all come together in the end. All hail the Chilli Gods! 😍

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Chilli Plant Update - 18th October 2022

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