New year, new start

So things have been dormant for a while.  I've not had time over the winter to do much with the greenhouse but now spring is springing and I thought it was about time to dust off the propagators and get the seeds started.

Last year I planted the seeds nice and early but was then stuck with a mass of rapidly growing seedlings and nowhere for them to go until the greenhouse was built.

This year I've left it a little later to plant the seeds and I'll keep them well away from the overwintered  chillies to avoid transmitting aphids to the new seedlings when they arrive.

As for the overwintered plants, most have succumbed to mould. I didn't get round to installing the planned passive solar system in time for winter and the greenhouse has been quite damp. I'll get the heating sorted in time for the new seedlings but last year's stock has effectively been written off.

I've opted for 16 different varieties this year, a mixture of old favourites and some new superhots. I've using Growth Technology Root Riot cubes this year to see how they perform.  Although more expensive than seed trays or jiffy pellets, with fewer seeds to plant the expense is less important than the germination and survival rate.

So here are this year's contenders...

Kashmiri Mirch, Chocolate Scotch Bonnet, Jay's Peach Ghost Scorpion, Trinidad 7 Pot Brown

Black Naga, Peach Bhut Jolokia, Hot Lemon, Paper Lantern

Moruglah F2, White Bhut Jolokia, Joe's Long Cayenne, Twilight (this year's Chilli Challenge seeds)

Chocolate Habanero, Fatalli, Naga Morich, Bubblegum 7 Pot

The heated propagators are up and running, the lights will come in to play once the seedlings start sprouting.

A new season

It's that time of year again, time to start thinking about the new season and what to plant.

The hotter varieties, such as Habanneros can be quite slow growing and therefore benefit from a longer season. 

With the addition of the new grow room and a heated propagator it's the perfect excuse to make an early start to the season.  I've chosen a variety of sees this year to give me a crop for all occasions.

1. Chocolate Habanero - Very hot and full of flavour, I first grew these a few years back and although the plants flourished, they bore no fruit (except for the plants that I gave away). Determined not to be beaten, I'm given them a second try.

2. Yellow Seven Pot Habanero. This year's volcanic choice. Superhot and flavoursome, I'm looking forward to growing these gnarly pods.

3. Pimentos de Padron. I collected these seeds from our family that we visited in Galicia in northern Spain earlier this year, within just a few miles of the town of Padron itself. These randomly spicy tapas peppers are delicious when fried in olive oil and liberally scattered in salt.

4. Black Tongued Scorpion. A new one for me, these chillies resemble black scotch bonnets but with less heat. How could I possibly resist a chilli with a name like a death metal band.

5. Joe's Long Cayenne. This is our chilli challenge for this year so I felt it prudent to plant a few extra seeds for those who join the challenge late.

For planting I used a mixture of a sifted potting compost and plenty of vermiculite. Hopefully this light mix should promote good healthy roots and make the seedlings easy to pot on into a hydroponic system should I choose to do so. Here the planted seed trays are floated in water to dampen the compost. Using this technique rather than watering the compost is less likely to over-compact it.

Once soaked the trays were topped with vermiculite and placed in the heated propagator. This propagator isn't thermostat controlled I've added a thermometer so I can keep track on the temperature. For germination 25-28 C is ideal, once the seeds start sprouting then the temperature can be dropped a little. 

The heater in the chilli room is working well, rigged up to a thermostat it's keeping a steady temperature as shown by this maximum and minimum thermometer which has barely wavered in the month it's been running.

Despite the relatively low temperatures and the limited artificial light, the chillies that I've overwintered are not only coping but positively thriving. The Aji Lemon Drop that grew so prolifically during the summer has refused to stop and despite the severe haircut I gave it, is throwing out new growth already. I've cut back on the hours of light they're receiving to ensure that they're not too monstrous by the time spring comes. 

The great chilli give-away

With the chilli plants rapidly overrunning the house it was time to thin their numbers. So friends, family, colleagues and even random passer-bys have had chilli plants of varying pungency thrust upon them.  All in all, within this last fortnight I’ve given away over 50 plants in an attempt to free up some space at home.

So why the need for more space? Well, other than wanting to actually see out of the windows once in a while, I’ve had other veg seeds on the go.  Whilst growing chillies may be the current obsession, it’s difficult to survive on a diet of them alone.  So with the windowsills now cleared I’ve been able to get the tomatoes, sweetcorn and sweet peppers on the go.

The inevitable sunflower race is under way. Needless to say, I'm currently losing. 

Carrots and peas are already sprouting in the raised beds, safely protected from the frosts by a cloche and French and Borlotti beans are just about to join them.

Along with a colleague of mine we’ve take ownership of a small allotment patch close to work in which we’ve already planted red onion sets, a vital ingredient in all the chutneys I’m planning to make. With more peas and beans soon to go in we can look forward to a summer of fresh veg.

Meanwhile, not wishing to neglect the chillies at home, I’ve been potting on some of the more vigorous growers and moving them outside into the heated cold-frame/mini-greenhouse.  The 135w heater is performing well, heating up the small space very quickly and efficiently. Even on the coldest nights it’s not dropped below 15 degrees and with the weather getting milder it will be needed less and less.

No longer a cold-frame, more of a hot house.

Meanwhile the various chillies at work have been flowering and tiny fruit have already appeared on the Orozco plant that I overwintered from last year.  As soon as there's a few more I'll get some photos taken.

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.