Wednesday 27 August 2014

Growing old gracefully.

Well things are (very) slowly ripening in the greenhouse. We could certainly do with a little more sunshine to speed things along.  Many of the plants are loaded with fruit but without the sunshine they're taking their own sweet time to ripen.

I haven't yet tried it but apparently putting a banana peel in amongst the plants is supposed to help as the banana gives off ethylene gas which hastens ripening.  With the green house holding temperatures well I've still got another month or so of growing season so I won't be resorting to the bananas yet, fingers crossed for some more clement weather.

Peach Habanero
Yellow Scotch Bonnet
7 Pot Habanero
Of particular note is the 7 Pot Hab, which is dripping with pods, some of which are a good 5cm in length.  Bearing in mind the fearsome heat of these pods (they get their name from being able to flavour a week's worth of stew) this single plant will provide for a good few bottles of sauce.  If you're a fan of the 7 Pot heat, you could do a lot worse than check out Upton Cheyney's Megalodon Sauce, possibly the only chilli sauce with it's own Facebook page.

(L) Peach Habanero (R) Yellow Scotch Bonnet

Cheyenne

The twisted Nepalese Snakebite 
I've finally got round to trying out the Nagatropolis chilli sauce that was a valentine's present from my long-suffering wife. It's a beautifully packaged sauce with its white graphics and paper-wrapped cap.  It's these little touches that set it apart from the mass-market sauces flooding the market.

The taste doesn't disappoint either.  The heat level is understandably high but without the acidic sharpness of some sauces.  I loaded a pizza with it the other night and was left suitably speechless and hiccuping (my usual state after any hot sauce - did I mention that my wife is long-suffering?).  The afterburn is a long-lasting and pleasant tingle on the lips.  What was surprising was the strength of the smokiness.  Whilst the label mentions smoked garlic, I certainly wouldn't describe it as subtle - not a problem for me as I love the taste but it did deter my wife who isn't a fan of smokey sauces.

All in all, a very tasty and very well made sauce, thick and sticky and with no harsh notes and certainly well worth the price tag.


Monday 18 August 2014

Short back and sides

Being halfway through August already, the emphasis has now moved away from growing big sturdy plants but to swelling and ripening the fruit forming on the plants.

I trimmed plenty of the leaves from the base of the plants to increase airflow and prevent any risk of fungus on the soil. I also thinned out the tops, removing any stems that didn't already have fruit forming, to allow more light into the greenhouse.


A light pruning to open up the plants to light and air

7 Pot Habaneros

7 Pot Habanero

The 7 Pots are growing well with gnarly looking pods forming. I've not tried these bumpy looking pods before so I'm looking forward to them ripening.

Scotch Bonnet

Scotch Bonnet

Peach Habanero

Friar's Hat

Friar's Hat

Cheyenne

Cheyenne

Sweet Banana

Scotch Bonnet Big Sun

Unknown - was labeled as a Jalapeno but looks like a Cayenne type

Orozco

Superchilli

The greenhouse looking slightly lighter