Exodus

Due to work commencing on the garden it was decided to move the chilli collection en-mass to a new location (namely my long-suffering parents' garden).

I've been frantically giving away as many plants as I could to reduce the number to relocate so by the time the exodus was upon us I was down to a mere(!) 50 or so plants.

They were duly crated up and loaded into the car for the short hop to pastures new.  Likewise, the various chilli houses were disassembled and, with the aid of a trailer, reunited with the plants.

One of the two Chilligrows L-R; Friar's Hat, Lemon Drop, Superchilli

The plants in the Chilligrows were the hardest to transport, the plants having grown massively (despite frequent and ruthless pruning) and were laden with fruit and flowers that I was keen to avoid damaging.

The roots of this Lemon Drop have escaped into the reservoir below

In the departure lounge - the first batch ready to be moved.

A Trinidad Scorpion with a perfectly formed 'stinger'

The mighty Scotch Bonnet plant is doing exceptionally well in the Root-Pouch.

Plenty of Habaneros in their temporary greenhouse home

These were supposed to be De Arbol seeds but I'm beginning to have my doubts.

The pretty (and bountiful) Black Pearl

Etna is laden with small glossy pods waiting to ripen

Capa Conic

The Chilligrows in their new home L to R: Paper Lantern, 2 x Scorpion, Lemon Drop, Superchilli & Friar's Hat

Plenty of hot fruit forming on the Paper Lantern Habanero

Joe's Long Chilli

As for the hydroponic experiment, well it got off to a slow start when I realised that I'd only mixed the nutrients to a third of the desired strength.  However, the plants have been busy catching up with their soil-based companions and have finally overtaken them.

Both plants now have plenty of flowers and the Orange Hab also has fruit forming.  The plants seem very healthy with plenty of foliage.  I'll probably have to provide them with some support before too long as the clay pellets don't support the stems and roots as well as the much denser soil does.

L to R: Peach Habanero, Orange Magnum Habanero

Census

With everything growing so fast I though it would be a good time to take stock of all the plants that I have in the garden.

The Black Pearl, Etna and Loco were overwintered, the rest are this year's planting.

These are all yellow and red Scotch Bonnets, I have quite a few...

The plants overwintered from last year haven't performed as well as expected but there are flowers and fruit on a few.

Space is now at a premium in the large chilli house. Most have flowers on the way and a few have pods forming.

Including the Golden Cayenne which has plenty of fruit forming.

Heatwave

 With the recent heatwave the plants in the chilli houses have been growing a pace.  Space has become a premium, particularly with all the Scotch Bonnets that were planted as replacements.

The chilli forest is thriving

Flower buds forming on the Paper Lantern Hab

Some of the chillies that were overwintered from last year have started to flower, the Chilli de Arbol even has a couple of small chillies growing, the first of the year.

Black Pearl, a pretty little ornamental variety with small black fruit

De Arbol, the first to bear fruit this year

Etna, this small hot variety is very resilient and easy to grow

Whist potting on some of the larger chillies I thought it would be a good opportunity to test out some new pots.  These soft fabric root-pouches are designed to increase root growth by air-pruning the tap-roots.  As the thick taproot grows through the fabric of the bag, the root is burnt by the air and pruned short. This forces the root to throw out more of the fine side shoots, increasing the root mass and allowing more nutrients to be taken up.

I've planted up a number of the more well-established chillies and await with interested to see how they fare.

L to R Golden Cayenne, Friar's Hat, Scotch Bonnet

Some weeks back one of my Friar's Hat chillies suffered a bit of extreme pruning when an overweight moggy crashed through the roof of the chilli  house and snapped the stem in two.  Well, less than a month later the plant is looking very healthy with lots of new growth bushing out from the base.  Proof, if proof were needed, that pinching out chillies does result in sturdier and bushier plants.

26 days later...