Spicemad

Posts

Chilli Plant Update - 31st May 2024

Friday, May 31, 2024

The chilli plants are coming along nicely, and last Saturday all of them were re-potted into their final pots and moved into their permanent positions for the growing season. This year, I'm using peat-free compost and I decided to experiment early on with different potting mixtures to see which of them works the best for germinating seeds. The first seed sowing took place on the 19th February and most varieties took a long time to germinate and the germination rates were quite poor. The variety that germinated the fastest and had the best germination rate was Fatalii, which germinated in about seven days and had an almost 100 percent germination rate, which is quite interesting. Most of the other varieties took about three weeks to germinate.

I germinated a few batches of seeds for each variety in various potting mixtures and eventually found a mixture that works very well. The final seed sowing took place in early April (or there about), and the Chocolate Habanero seedlings and Papa Joe's Scotch Bonnet seedlings that I decided to keep were from the final seed sowing because they looked the healthiest. As a result, those plants are only about seven or eight weeks old as of writing this and they can be seen in the photo below (the first plant on the left in the second row up from the bottom, and plants one, two and three from the left in the bottom row). After finding a seed sowing mixture that worked very well I then based the main potting mixture on that, except I changed the ratios and added one more ingredient. We'll see how well it works over the next few months. Since the last update, I also sowed seeds for Aji Mochero and Scarlet Lantern, both of which were sown some time during March.

Chilli Plants in the Porch - 15th May 2024

To be clear, peat-free compost is not a problem. Peat is not the be all and end all of a good compost mixture. The problem is that here in the UK most of the commercially sold peat-free composts are of very poor quality and many growers struggle with them as a result. They are comprised of ingredients such as coconut coir, composted garden waste, green waste, composted wood chips, forest waste and composted bark. Some brands also add horticultural grit, horticultural sand (sharp sand) and gravel. The texture of many peat-free compost brands is often times very poor and it isn't uncommon to find large pieces of wood, twigs, pieces of plastic and large stones.

I only started using peat-based compost around 2018. Prior to that time, I always used peat-free compost for growing chilli plants and the results were always very good. New Horizon peat-free compost used to be manufactured by a company called Sinclair before Westland bought the company and changed the mixture. One of the ingredients they removed from the mixture was the green waste, which turned a very good product into a very poor one. I think one of the main issues with the peat-free composts being sold in the UK is that the ingredients haven't been fully composted down before they are mixed, bagged and sold.

Chilli Plants in the Porch - 24th May 2024

Anyway, I've been very busy over the last few months and re-potting the chilli plants was out of the question until last Saturday, when I managed to find a few spare hours to do so. The Chocolate Habanero plants and Papa Joe's Scotch Bonnet plants would have been fine in their second pots for a few more weeks, but while I was at it I decided to give them some new shoes also. It saves me having to make up more potting mixture in a few weeks time.

Compost Mixture - 25th May 2024

Filled Plant Pots - 25th May 2024

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion - 25th May 2024

Mako Akokosrade - 25th May 2024

These next photos were taken between the 27th and 30th May and show all but one member of this year's chilli plant tribe. The tribe has now started banging the war drums! 😁

Aji Largo - 27th May 2024

Aji Mochero - 30th May 2024

Bangalore Torpedo - 30th May 2024

I have no idea what colour peppers these Bell Pepper plants will produce. The seed packet was labelled as 'Spectrum', which is a bit like a lucky dip. I'm hoping that one of the plants produces orange, yellow, brown or dusty pink coloured peppers. All of the Bell Pepper plants I've grown up to now have produced red peppers, even though it stated on the seed packets that they could be red, orange or yellow.

Bell Pepper - 30th May 2024

The Chocolate Habanero plant shown on the right in this next photo is grown from seeds that I purchased a couple of years ago. The plant that I grew last year was also grown from the same seeds. The two remaining plants are grown from my own seed stock. Last year, I just wanted to try something different to see what the results would be. Both strains are very similar. The two main differences I noticed are that the strain I normally grow is slightly smaller and it produces larger fruit.

Chocolate Habanero - 30th May 2024

Fatalii - 30th May 2024

Mako Akokosrade - 30th May 2024

The Malawi Bird's Eye plant shown in this next photo is an over-wintered plant. It spent the winter in a kitchen window without any leaves. A few weeks ago, I removed most of the old compost, trimmed the roots and re-potted it into a larger pot. It has bounced back very nicely and has already set a lot of chillies.

Malawi Bird's Eye - 30th May 2024

Orange Habanero - 30th May 2024

Papa Joe's Scotch Bonnet - 30th May 2024

This year's Peruvian White Habanero plant is growing in a 9-litre pot. This variety has a compact bushy growth habit and is very well suited to being grown in a window. Normally, I grow the plants in 7-litre rose pots, but this year I decided to go a little bigger.

Peruvian White Habanero - 30th May 2024

San Isidro Rocoto - 30th May 2024

Scarlet Lantern - 30th May 2024

The Moruga Scorpion plant shown on the left in this next photo is growing in a 7-litre pot and the one on the right is growing in a 5-litre pot. The plant on the right forked/split very early but the plant on the left has still yet to do so. The plant on the left is growing in the porch and the plant on the right is growing in a bedroom window. It's not easy being a windowsill farmer. You get some very odd looks! 😎

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion - 30th May 2024

Chilli Plants in the Glasshouse - 30th May 2024

All of the chilli plants were also given their first full strength dose of fertiliser yesterday evening. I'll see how they get on, and if all is well they can have their second dose in about two or three weeks, by which time they'll be a lot bigger and much thirstier, especially if the sun decides to make an appearance. We've had a lot of rain here in North Wales over the last few weeks. I've even started building an ark just in case!

Below are a couple of photos of chilli plants that were grown in peat-free compost back in 2012 and 2013. The photo of the Red Rocoto plant was taken some time during the winter and shows the plant over-wintering in the front porch. Most of the peppers had already been harvested by that point and the remaining ones that can be seen in the photo ripened up very slowly over the winter and were ready for picking in early spring. To say it was a generous plant would be an understatement! The Caribbean Red Habanero plant was a monster and I wouldn't like to guess how many chillies I had from it. Both plants were grown in New Horizon peat-free compost when it was manufactured by Sinclair. 🌹

Red Rocoto - Winter 2012–2013

Caribbean Red Habanero - 16th September 2013

I hope everyone has a fantastic growing season and a very bountiful harvest. May the force be with you. All hail the Chilli Gods! 👽

The 2024 Chilli Growing Season Has Begun

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

And we have lift-off! Yesterday evening, I sowed all of the chilli seeds and the 2024 chilli growing season is now officially underway. This year, I'm not growing as many plants as I have done in the last few years because I'm struggling to get through all of the chillies, which is something I never thought I'd hear myself saying. I still have chillies in the freezer from 2022 and I intend to get those used up first before starting on last year's crop.

Chilli Seeds in the Heated Propagator - 19th February 2024

Yesterday afternoon, I sorted through my chilli seed box and got rid of seeds for varieties that I'm never likely to grow again. You know how it is, you purchase seeds for given chilli varieties and because you don't sow the whole packet you still have some of the originals left years later. This year, I'm growing some of my trusty favourites and one new variety called Charapon Amarillo, the seeds for which were purchased in late 2022 but I didn't get around to sowing any last year because there was no room left at the inn. It doesn't come across as a very exciting variety to me, but because I have seeds for it I thought I'd give it a try.

On Sunday evening, I made up a small batch of seed starting potting mixture, which is more or less the same potting mixture that I'll be using throughout the growing season, except that the soil portion of the seed starting mix is sieved to remove any large unwanted lumps, such as twigs, stones and even glass! This year I'm going all peat-free. I used to use peat-free compost many years ago and always had very good results with it, but that was at a time when peat-free potting mixtures contained green waste, something which has all but been removed from many of the peat-free mixtures being sold nowadays.

As usual, the potting mixture for sowing the seeds was sterilised in the oven at 150C for one hour to kill off any nasties that may be lurking, and all of the growing equipment, such as seed trays and plastic plant labels, was sterilised using a mild bleach solution.

Here's a list of all the varieties that were sown yesterday evening:

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
Chocolate Habanero
Mako Akokosrade
Papa Joe’s Scotch Bonnet
Peruvian White Habanero
Orange Habanero
Bell Pepper
Charapon Amarillo
Bangalore Torpedo
Aji Largo
San Isidro Rocoto
Fatalii

I'm keeping two Moruga Scorpion, Chocolate Habanero, Papa Joe's Scotch Bonnet and Bell Pepper plants, but the rest of the varieties I'm only be keeping one of each. I also have an over-wintered Aji Largo plant growing in a 5-litre pot and an over-wintered Malawi Bird's Eye plant growing in a 3-litre pot. Both dropped all of their leaves during the winter but have now started producing new growth. In a couple of weeks, I'll trim the roots on both plants and re-pot them into some fresh potting mixture. Both are indoor plants. The Aji Largo plant will be staying in a 5-litre pot because I don't want it growing too large, but the Malawi Bird's Eye plant will be upsized into a 5-litre pot.

All hail the Chilli Gods! 😛

The 2023 Chilli Growing Season Has Ended

Saturday, November 04, 2023

The 2023 chilli growing season has now ended for me. I still have two plants (Malawi Bird's Eye and Aji Largo) which I'm planning on over-wintering, but apart from that all the rest have now gone. I say I'm planning on over-wintering the two aforementioned varieties, but I may still change my mind on this. Who knows?

End of Season Pickings - 26th October 2023

This next photo shows my end of season pickings and the varieties shown are Fatalii, El Oro de Ecuador, Papa Joe's Scotch Bonnet and Prairie Fire.

Chilli Harvest - 27th October 2023

All of the growing equipment is now neatly stored away and ready for next season. All hail the Chilli Gods. 😎

Chilli Plant Update - 20th October 2023

Friday, October 20, 2023

The chilli growing season is almost at an end for me. As of writing this it has been raining non-stop here in North Wales for the past 12 hours (nothing new there, really). I took the dog for a walk earlier and to my surprise the road in two sections was completely under water. We were unable to go around it so our only options were to turn around and go back the way we came or to wade through it, and so me being me I decided we'd wade through and get wet feet! All except one of my outdoor plants (El Oro de Ecuador) have now been taken down. The only plants I have left now are my two indoor Capsicum pubescens varieties growing in 5-litre pots (San Isidro Rocoto and Aji Largo), a small Malawi Bird's Eye plant growing in a 3-litre pot, two Prairie Fire plants growing in small pots (both of which have been extremely prolific all season), Papa Joe's Scotch Bonnet, Fatalii and Cap 500 (C. eximium). I'm contemplating on over-wintering my Malawi Bird's Eye plant and one of the indoor C. pubescens varieties, possibly San Isidro Rocoto. However, the jury is still undecided on that idea.

Guatemalan Orange Rocoto - 25th September 2023

Guatemalan Orange Rocoto - 1st October 2023

I picked the bulk of Cumari Pollux chillies whilst they were still green and they've now been pickled. I did the same last year. They make for a very tasty, albeit a very spicy, addition to rice dishes and they are also great with nachos. I can certainly see why the Brazilians are so fond of C. praetermissum varieties!

Cumari Pollux - 3rd October 2023

Pickled Cumari Pollux Chillies - 6th October 2023

I've also made five jars of assorted pickled chillies and they should be ready in about four weeks. Last year I vowed that I'd pickle more chillies because they're so delicious, and when you're done eating the chillies you're also left with some nice spicy vinegar to sprinkle over your chips (fries to those of you across the pond).

Pickled Chillies - 6th October 2023

Pickled Chillies - 16th October 2023

A couple of weeks ago I made a batch of my Habanero hot sauce so I could use up some of the remainder of last year's chillies. I'll be making another batch soon, but it will have to go into jars instead because all of my bottles are now currently in use. My recipe for making Habanero hot sauce has remained pretty much unchanged for over 10 years and I make it using a pressure cooker, which gives me a bit more control over the water content.

Spicemad's Habanero Hot Sauce - 7th October 2023

Here are a few photos showing some of my chilli harvests over the past several weeks. I now have a lot of chillies to get through. The chilli freezer is jam packed and I couldn't fit any more in if I tried. I also have quite a few ripe Fatalii chillies and Papa Joe's Scotch Bonnet chillies ready for picking.

Chilli Harvest - 9th September 2023

Chilli Harvest - 15th September 2023

Chilli Harvest - 25th September 2023

Chilli Harvest - 3rd October 2023

Chilli Harvest - 11th October 2023

Aji Charapita - 3rd October 2023

I hope your growing season has been as bountiful as mine. Given how much rain we had throughout the summer here in North Wales I'm surprised that the plants did as well as they did to be honest. Even my outdoor plants did much better than I'd anticipated. Anyhow, I'm now going to make a nice spicy meatball curry with boiled rice and mixed vegetable pakoras. The fire brigade are on standby just in case! All hail the Chilli Gods. 👿

Chilli Plant Update - 4th September 2023

Monday, September 04, 2023

The weather this summer in North Wales was a tad miserable to say the least, but in recent days it has taken a turn for the better. It was nice and sunny yesterday and has been even sunnier today, and as of writing this post I've just finished fertilising the outdoor Rocoto plants, all of which were in need of a good drink. The sunny weather is set to continue for a while to come and according to the weather forecast a heatwave is meant to be arriving in the UK next week and temperatures are forecast to reach around 32C in places, which will be a very welcomed gift for both the chilli plants and Spicemad.

Chilli Plants in the Porch - 2nd September 2023

The Chocolate Habanero plant that I'm growing this year was started from seeds that I purchased and is not quite the same as the one I normally grow. My usual one doesn't grow quite as tall and is slightly more productive. It also produces larger chillies which have a slightly different shape. I still have lots of seeds saved for my usual one, but this year I wanted to try something different instead. I've also saved seeds from this year's plant and will likely grow it again in the future.

Chocolate Habanero - 2nd September 2023

Fatalii is a variety that doesn't seem to start fruiting properly for me until later in the year. It has always been this way. I'm sure the plant will be very grateful for the heatwave we're about to receive. I've had a few ripe chillies from the plant, but in the last couple of weeks it has set quite a lot of fruit.

Fatalii - 2nd September 2023

This year's Aji Charapita plant lives in the walk-in plastic greenhouse and is growing in a 5-litre pot. It's not a very big plant but it has set lots of fruit, but only one of which has ripened thus far. Given how some people believe that a kilogram of ripe Aji Charapita chillies can cost around $25,000 I must be a fool for leaving the plant outside in the greenhouse!

Aji Charapita - 26th August 2023

Aji Largo has been pumping out peppers as usual and I've been picking ripe ones from the plant for several weeks now. Its indoor counterpart growing in a 5-litre pot has just set more fruit, which means lots more true to type seeds will be saved over the coming weeks.

Aji Largo - 18th August 2023

Aji Largo - 1st September 2023

Aji Largo - 2nd September 2023

Aji Mochero always surprises me by how well it grows and sets fruit in the kitchen window. This year's plant is only growing in a 4-litre pot, and considering the kitchen doesn't get the sun until later in the afternoon it always produces a respectable amount of chillies. Next year, I may grow this variety in one of my best growing spots in a larger pot. I think it has earned that right by now.

Aji Mochero - 11th August 2023

Late last year I purchased seeds for Caribbean Red Habanero because it has been several years since I last grew this variety. My previous attempts at growing it ended up with the plants turning out to be a different variety, namely Antillais Caribbean, which is another nice variety. Anyway, the first batch of seedlings that germinated in January didn't look great but I pricked-out the best looking one from the batch. I then sowed the remainder of the seeds, and what germinated looked worse than the first batch. I kept hold of my one and only seedling and it grew okay up to a point, albeit quite slowly, but when the plant started flowering all of the new growth took on an odd shape. The plant has lived outside in the walk-in plastic greenhouse for most of the summer and has set a reasonable amount of fruit, but it hasn't grown very big and most of the chillies are undersized. I think I must have received a bad batch of seeds.

Caribbean Red Habanero - 2nd September 2023

Cumari Pollux has lived outside in the garden all season and has set a lot of fruit. However, this year's plant hasn't been as prolific as last year's, which I assume has a lot to do with the weather. This is another variety that I assume will be grateful for the incoming heatwave. There is now room for it in the glasshouse if need be, but given how the weather is about to take a turn for the better it can stay outside for a few more weeks.

Cumari Pollux - 2nd September 2023

Cumari Pollux - 1st September 2023

El Oro de Ecuador spent the first part of the growing season living outside in the garden, but once the weather turned bad it became a fair weather plant. Since then, I put it outside in the day if it's not raining and then I put it back in the greenhouse at night. This is just to stop the potting mixture from becoming too wet if it rains, and believe me it has rained here! The plant started setting fruit around the middle of August and is now in full flight.

El Oro de Ecuador - 2nd September 2023

El Oro de Ecuador - 1st September 2023

El Oro de Ecuador - 18th August 2023

This year's Guatemalan Orange Rocoto plant hasn't been quite as productive as last year's plant, but it has still set a decent amount of peppers. Last year's plant was very prolific, but then again last year's weather was much better than this year's. This is a very tasty Capsicum pubescens variety. I used a lot of these in my winter stews.

Guatemalan Orange Rocoto - 2nd September 2023

This year's Orange Habanero plant has been very productive and I've had some lovely chillies from it, most of which have been a respectable size. It has spent the growing season living in a cramped space in the glasshouse, and so it was unable to spread its wings.

Orange Habanero - 1st September 2023

Puno Pica Orange Rocoto is a new variety for me this year. The plant has spent the growing season outside in the garden with the rest of my Rocoto plants and has been quite prolific.

Puno Pica Orange Rocoto - 2nd September 2023

Scarlet Lantern is another new variety for me this year. This is an absolutely stunning variety and I'll certainly be growing it again. The chillies have a good flavour and a respectable amount of heat. This Peruvian beauty will turn a few heads, unlike Spicemad who has only ever turned people's stomachs.

Scarlet Lantern - 18th August 2023

I've been picking ripe chillies here and there for about a month. Here are some photos showing a few of my recent chilli harvests. The Chilli Gods and the Rain Gods have been battling it out in the heavens and both have been kind to me. The Chilli Gods gifted me with beautiful tropical fruits and the Rain Gods have saved me the job of watering the garden. 😁

Chilli Harvest - 11th August 2023

Jalapeño M - 11th August 2023

Chilli Harvest - 15th August 2023

Chilli Harvest - 18th August 2023

Chilli Harvest - 20th August 2023

Chilli Harvest - 26th August 2023

Chilli Harvest - 1st September 2023

I hope your chilli growing season is going well and that you are rewarded with bountiful spicy harvests. I imagine my growing season will come to an end around November, as is often the case. All hail the Chilli Gods. 😈

Search This Blog