Potting on

With the greenhouse up and the pea-shingle base laid, it was time to start potting on the plants into their new home.

With many of this year's chilli seedlings still suffering from the aphid attacks I'm keeping them in quarantine until I can clean each plant one by one.

The overwintered plants from last year have been moved into Root Pouches and placed in the greenhouse. I suspect that eventually I'll need to place them on slabs as their roots will start burrowing into the shingle.

The greenhouse looking surprisingly tidy

Chilligrows waiting for their plants.

The first Quadgrow has been planted with a variety of tomatoes which, hopefully, will not only provide us with plenty of fresh fruit all through the summer but will also form the basis for many of the chilli sauces. With the acquisition of a dehydrator I'm looking forward to making my own sun-dried tomatoes for tapas and cooking.

Tomatoes in the Quadgrow. L to R Ildi, Croatian, Yellow Boy, Gardeners' Delight

Underneath the thick layer of pea shingle is a strong layer of landscape fabric so hopefully weeds will not be a problem.

The second Quadgrow will hold sweet peppers (when I've bought enough compost to fill the very generously sized pots.

Before planting up the Chilligrows I need to wash the pots and disinfect them with Jeyes Fluid to keep contamination to a minimum.  Because of my stupidity in killing a lot of my seedlings, I've had to resort to buying in a few plants to make up the shortfall.  Whilst I have nothing against buying in plants, the choice can be somewhat limited and often the plants are forced in tunnels to make them fruit early.  Whilst this looks good in the shop, the plants can suffer when relocated to the average garden.

Fortunately a local supplier, Dundry Nurseries, produces a good range of unusual varieties and, because they buy their seed from Simpsons Seeds, I was able to pick up exact replacements for the plants I'd decimated, including Black Tongued Scorpion and the Yellow 7 Pot Hab.

Potting on

Not much to report this week. I've repotted the Joes Long and Ancho seedlings that had outgrown their cells and burried them deep so the stems are supported. Chillies planted in this way will also throw out roots from their stems underground, further supporting and feeding the plant.

Having moved house recently I couldn't find my plastic plant pots I'd so carefully packed and had to resort to the terracotta pots that had been gathering moss in the garden. I like the patina on these pots, they've got a certain charm to them, unlike the shiny plastic variety. Perhaps when my greenhouse is built I'll switch to terracotta pots all the time for that retro Victorian feel.

The new seedlings have been potted on and are looking happier in the larger pots

I've been moving the overwintered plants into Root pouches, taking the opportunity to shake off the old compost and pot them into fresh new compost. Hopefully this will encourage them to start throwing out new roots.

Some of the overwintered plants are showing new growth.

Whilst others have yet to sprout.

Somewhat surprisingly some grass has started to sprout in the new pots, in supposedly sterile compost. I quickly tracked down the culprit,;a small mouse, hiding out the winter in the warm chilli shed, had eaten holes in a packet of wild bird seed which, in turn, had spilt into the potting tray where I'd been storing the compost. So now I'm busy pulling flourishing grass stems from the pots at every opportunity. I suppose I should be grateful that something is sprouting in those pots.

Growing pains

Still snug and safe from the winter storms, the seedlings are rapidly growing in the Chilli Room.  The heated propagator is so efficient that the Joe's Long and Ancho have shot up to tower over the habs and are in danger of keeling over.  They'll be potted on within the next few days and the lid removed from the propagator to harden them off.

The seedlings are growing rapidly, if somewhat leggy.  Tine to pot on.

Not all of the overwintered plants have survived with a few dying in the last few weeks.  There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason why, with identical plants sitting next to each other where one thrives and one doesn't.  I've potted on a few into Root Pouches with fresh compost to kick-start them back into life and also extended the lighting time to convince them that spring is on the way.

Some of the overwintered 'sticks' have been potted on to fresh compost in Root Pouches

The plants from the Chilligrows have been overwintered with varying degrees of sucess.

Not all have made it through the winter.

Sadly the aphids have been attacking everything in sight and with the soapy water and fly traps failing to make a dent in them I've had to resort to an organic bug spray.  I'm not a fan of sprays but it's too early in the year for their natural predators to thrive and the artificially warm environment of the chilli room has has given the the aphids the perfect conditions to multiply.

The traditional Hallmark festival of valentines has just been and gone and suffice to say that this year Cupid must have had spicy tastes.  Not only did I receive chilli chocolate but a great looking Chilli Cheese bomb from Shorrocks Cheese. I've yet to taste it but any present that combines two of my favourite foods is bound to be worth waiting for.

Nothing says 'I love you' like a Chilli Cheese Bomb...  

Also in Cupid's quiver this year were these two sauces from Pip's Hot Sauces -  Nagatropolis and La Boca Del Diabolo.  I've not come across Pip's sauces before but looking at their website they seem to have a superb range of flavours and their presentation is second to none with their brown-paper and string wrapped bottles and the great looking white stencilled labels. Their Nagatropolis label has more than a passing resemblance to a certain sci-fi epic. Could this be a new line in cult-film and chilli crossovers?

...Unless it's Nagatropolis Chilli Sauce!

I'll report back on these sauces and cheese when I get a chance. Meantime, I've finished my bottle of Upton Chilli Hot Habanero Sauce (delicious as expected) and am now working through a bottle of Walkerswood Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce.  I love Scotch bonnets and this is a really tasty sauce with lots of spice and flavour as well as the heat of the fruity Bonnets.

Meanwhile, we've demolished several blocks of the Tesco Scotch Bonnet Cheddar.  This has to be one of the best chilli cheeses ever, with a fruity tingling heat and great texture.  Even non-chillihead friends love this cheese (although possibly not in the same quantities as we do...)

Hydroponics are go!

Having a clean out of the freezer reveals all sorts of hidden goodies, including, in this case, four large bags of assorted chillies. What better way to use them than in a volcanic sauce.  It was very much a 'use up what's to hand' sauce so there aren't many ingredients, other than an onion, some garlic, cider vinegar and of course the chillies, which naturally makes it incredibly hot.  To counter some acidity from the vinegar, I added plenty of honey and some lime juice to take the edge off the sugar. The resulting sauce is sweet but with a zingy edge and has enough heat to keep your mouth burning for a while.  Being a mixture of chillies (habaneros, inferno, cayenne, hungarian hot wax plus a few others), the burn is all over the mouth and doesn't relent for a while.

I've yet to design the label for this sauce but it's already been christened 'Honey Trap'

What happens when half a kilo of chillies ends up in just five bottles...

Having completed the chilli house recently, my eye was on the next big project - a venture into hydroponic growing.  I'd spent some time doing some research and wanted a very simple system that I could make on a shoestring budget with minimal running costs.  That counted out aeroponics and NFT systems. I opted for a flood and drain (or ebb and flow) system based on the comprehensive instructions available from Fatalii.net

The principle is simple, when a submerged pump in the lower chamber switches on, it pumps nutrient enriched water into the upper box which is filled with an inert growing medium. When the chamber is flooded, the plant's roots are submerged and it can take on the water and feed it needs.  When the pump switches off, the water drains back into the reservoir, drawing fresh air down onto the roots.  This cycle is repeated anything from 3 to 6 times a day to ensure a steady stream of water, nutrients and oxygen reaches the roots, resulting in increased growth and less risk of disease or rotting from waterlogged plants.

Firstly I selected two large plastic boxes that would stack easily.  The bottom one (the reservoir) has been sprayed black to make it light-tight and then silver so that the sun doesn't overheat the water and nutrient mix.

Drilling a hole through the base of the growing box and into the lid of the res. This is for the overflow.

The overflow has a small hole drilled in the base to ensure minimal water is left in the top container

A mesh is fixed to the top of the overflow so the growing medium doesn't spill down it.

The submerged pump sits in the res and is attached via a hose to the top box

The custom-made screen that fits over the inlet hose to prevent blockage.

Filling with substrate.  I'd positioned the overflow badly but that's something to consider for Mk. II

Test running the system - you can see the water pooling between the clay pebbles.

The system in place and planted up. The hole in the res is so the levels can be checked and be topped up. 

So, now the system is completed, what's the operation like?  The tiny micro-pump in the res is capable of filling the top chamber in just two and a half minutes, much quicker than required (it has to run for 15 minutes because that's the smallest increments on the timer).  Once the timer switches the pump off, the whole chamber drains out in just two minutes.  This rapid drain ensures plenty of fresh air is sucked down onto the roots.

I planted the unit with a Peach Habanero and a Magnum Orange Habanero after carefully washing the soil out of their rootball. I have similar sized plants from the same seed stock growing in soil so it will be interesting to compare the results. The system has only be running for a day so far but, as yet, nothing's died and nothing has broken. Expect regular progress reports.

Away from the Heath-Robinson creations, there's stilll plenty of work to be done in the garden.  It was time to pot on the third wave of replacement seedings which had been growing well in the chilli-house.

This is a mixture of Scotch Bonnets (for making more 'Sunburn' Sauce), Habaneros and Dorset Nagas.

Squat Frog Habaneros and Dorset Nagas

Scotch Bonnets and Squat Frogs

Meanwhile, there's been progress on the Chilli Challenge - the mystery seeds are growing rapidly with some fine-looking specimens in the running...

Claudio & Diana's chillies

The two chillies above were both planted at the same time and kept side by side - it just goes to show how much luck plays a part.

Neil's chillies

Neil's chillies have been growing so tall that he's had to pinch the tops out to restrict their height.  Pinching out promotes more growth lower down and results with a sturdier, bushier plant that's less spindly and has more fruit-bearing branches.

If there are any more competitors out there with update photos, please send them in, we'd love to see how everyone is getting on.