Potting on

It's been a busy weekend and with the chillies growing rapidly there have been a large number that needed potting on.  With space on the windowsills at a premium it was time to move some of the plants to the mini-greenhouse outside.  However, nothing is ever that easy. Despite some days of fabulous sunshine it's still too cold to put the plants into the greenhouse without some form of heating.

The heater wired up to a thermostat.

So after a quick browse of the internet I tracked down a 3ft long greenhouse heater.  After some Heath Robinson wiring to a thermostat I've now got it up and running, always keeping the greenhouse above 15 Celsius.  This should protect the plants at night from the worst of the late spring frosts but without the running costs being high enough to bankrupt me.

The Padron Peppers in their new home.

As spring moves on then the greenhouse will probably reach much higher temperatures without the aid of the heater so the thermostat will ensure that electricity is not being wasted when mother nature can so the heating for free. The Pimientos de Padron have now been rehoused outside and the spaces left rapidly filled by the newly potted on plants.

A Superchilli grown in a plastic cup showing its healthy root system.

The plants grown in the plastic cups have done exceptionally well, developing plenty of healthy roots right the way to the bottom of the deep cups.  These have been potted on into 5" pots, large enough to provide space to grow, without taking up too much space or compost.

I've also been planting other veg, so the garden is completely filled with chillies.  The peas and carrots have been planted straight into the raised beds under cloches whilst the tomatoes have replaced the chillies in the propagators on top of the fish tank. With more veg due to be planted over the next few weeks, hopefully I should be able to cook up my salsas, chutneys and sauces with as much of my own ingredients as possible.