Bring on the summer

The second and third wave of chillies are now progressing well.  The sporadic sunlight is a bit of a hinderance but I'm hoping that I might get a late crop from some of the more mature plants.  

Some superhots on the windowsill

To help this along I also bought a few established seedlings from the local garden nurseries. I'd prefer to grow all my plants from seeds, not only for the satisfaction but also because it provides a wider range of chillies. The garden centres have traditionally only stocked a few of the more common varieties, such as Jalapenos and Hungarian Wax.

However, Dundry Nurseries in Cheltenham had an impressive selection of plants including some unusual varieties.  I picked up a Lemon Drop, a couple of Friar's Hats (as mine didn't make it through the winter), a Fatalii and a Naga Jolokia.

A real mixture of second and third wave seedlings with some of the shop-bought plants.

More surprising was the selection available at the normally pedestrian local Homebase.  In a "Death by Chilli" triple pack, I got a (fairly common) Scotch Bonnet, a more unusual Golden Cayenne and best of all, a Paper Lantern Hab. All for the discount price of £4.  Whilst I'm usually suspicious of buying from the big chain superstores because of their habit of forcing plants to fruit early, I've kept the chillies sheltered in the growhouse and they seem to be thriving.

Potting on the Red Scotch Bonnet

The overwintered De Arbol and Scorpions are repotted. 

The overwintered Scorpion, ready to be transplanted to a Chilligrow,

With more plants to be moved off the windowsills I decided to construct a third growhouse in the garden, this time somewhere that has more than a few hour's sun. So I set to work with paper and pen and soon had the the plans of what would become a gargantuan chillihouse.

Ready to begin

The house is built on stilts to keep it away from the cold ground and give it more sun in the late evening.

Yes, it really is that big.  This is a smaller version than the original, I reduced the size whilst making it so it didn't overshadow the neighbourhood.

The (almost) finished house. Clad in 6mm twinwall polycarbonate, it should retain the sun's warmth into the evening.

The door on the front and roof are temporary as I'll soon be replacing them with some clear perspex doors that are prettier and will allow me to see the plants. However, in the meantime the twinwall polycarb will at least keep the plants snug and warm during this week of unsettled weather.

I'll post up some photos of the finished house as soon as I can.

In other news, the Chilli Challenge is hotting up with Neil giving us a sneak peak of his entries (see the previous blog for other competitors' entries).  I'm reliably informed that they're kept under 24 hour armed guard to ensure that no-one attempts to nobble them (Not saying that he's competitive but he's already building a trophy cabinet).

They're certainly looking very impressive and I suspect that once again, this is down in part to Neil's secret weapon of a range in the kitchen which keeps the room (and his fledgling seedlings) in wrapped balmy tropical heat.

Neil's prized wedding chillies