Endless summer

Whilst there's plenty more work to be done in the garden the greenhouse is settling in nicely

There's plenty foliage inside. The drip feeders for the Root Pouches can seen on top of the pots.

The habaneros to the right are producing good sturdy stems.

Sweet Banana

Some of these were the seedlings I damaged with the soap, it's good to see they've recovered.

Padrons collected from Galicia.

Black Pearl

The beautiful variegated leaves of Orozco

Superchilli

Lots of fruit on the Cheyenne plant.

Black Tongued Scorpion

Nepalese Snakebite

It's a jungle in there!

With the recent good weather the chillies are growing rapidly with plenty of flowers and some unripe fruit forming.

Superchilli

Orozco & Black Pearl

The Cheyenne is particularly impressive with a huge quantity of pods. I've never grown this variety before so I don't know what to expect in terms of flavour but the yield is promising.

Lots of fruit on the Cheyenne...

...and more flowers on the way

Distinctive flowers on the Black Tongued Scorpion

Sweet Banana

The Habaneros are coming on well in the Chilligrow

The larger plants are growing vigorously.

As long as I can keep an eye on the reservoirs during this hot spell I should be able to prevent anything drying out. The drip feed system is working ok with the Root Pouches but i'm having issues with the automatic timer (the connectors are leaking like a sieve) so I'm still having to run it manually for now.

It's a jungle in there!

June greenhouse photos

Asides from a few chillies developing on the Cheyenne, there's been no major developments this week, just plenty of growth and a steady stream of aphids to kill.

Random chillies on the nursery table including Superchilli & Black Pearl

Chillies, melons and even a Christmas poinsettia on the nursery table

Not much top-growth from the seedlings but plenty of roots developing below

Spring has sprung (sort of)

Things have been somewhat quiet on the growing front recently.  The chilli house is performing as expected, keeping most of the plants alive.  I've lost a couple due to die-back (expected) and a few have been ravaged by aphids (not expected).

To counter the green, munching pests I've lowered the temperature in the room slightly and given the affected plants a hosing-down to remove the tenacious critters.  A couple of yellow, sticky fly traps have helped remove their flying cousins as well.

Soon I'll up the temperature and light in the room and kickstart the plants back into life - doubtless the aphids will return then so I'll need to find a suitable solution to them, perhaps this is the year to invest in some Ladybirds.

The seeds that I planted recently have been doing well. The germination rate has been superb for the seeds purchased from Simpson Seeds with a hit-rate over 90%, however the Padron seeds I collected from the family's plants in Spain have so far failed to produce a single seedling. This is a little disappointing but I had to collect the seeds from unripe fruit (Padrons are picked and eaten green), we'll just have to have another holiday in Galicia soon to collect some more...

Seedlings coming up - clockwise from bottom left: Chocolate Hab, 7 Pot Hab, Black Tongued Scorpion, Joe's Long, Ancho 

Chocolate Habanero

Due to a lack of space under the growlights I thought I'd risk the south-facing bedroom window. The weather's been a bit erratic and consequently some of the seedlings have grown a bit leggy.  When I transplant them I'll make sure the stems are buried nice and deep so they shouldn't keel over too easily and they should be ok.

The larger varieties, such as Ancho and Joe's Long, are looking quite leggy, compared to the slower growing habaneros in the background

In the meantime I've kept myself amused with some photography.  I've been drying out last year's crop of chillies in the oven and was taken with their translucent quality. A lightbox and macro lens later and I had some chilli portraits to show for my efforts.

Final Harvest

Summer is officially at an end, the clocks have changed, the leaves are falling, the first frost has been seen and it's time to bed the chillies in for winter.

As you may have seen from the previous post I've been busy finishing off the chilli cave to house the plants through the colder months, it was now time to give them a severe pruning and rehouse them.

Before this could take place I had to harvest all of the remaining fruit, ripe or otherwise.

The Chilligrow plants before their haircut...

...and after a short back and sides.

It was time to call an end to the hydroponic experiment. Despite having produced an impressive amount of fruit, "the Gurgler" had stopped working properly in recent weeks with the water not draining fully back into the reservoir.  I suspected that this was because the roots had grow so vigourously that they were blocking the outlet for the pump.  Upon pulling up the plants, my suspicions were confirmed with the most impressive root growth I've seen on a chilli this year.  Next year I'll use a modified system with the plants growing in root pouches to contain the roots and stop them fouling the flood inlet and outlet.

The results from the Gurgler - a Peach Habanero and an Orange Magnum Habanero with impressive roots.

Since I have several Orange Habs already overwintering I haven't bothered trying to rescue that plant but the Peach Hab has been potted on into compost to see if it survives the winter.

The chillies in their new home

The Chilligrows and assorted pots basking in the CFL lights

Some of the plants in Root Pouches.  These have performed well this year and I'll certainly be using them again.

The collected chillies from the harvest over half-filled a large shopping bag.  Not up to commercial grower standards but more than respectable for my little setup.

Some of the final harvest, ready for sorting.

Many of the chillies were still green when picked so they're now on windowsills waiting for the winter sun to ripen them up before they're chopped and frozen or strung up to dry.

This year was all about testing different habaneros for the best flavour.  I grew Magnum Orange, Fatalii, Peach and Squat Frog varieties, alongside the milder Scotch Bonnets and the much, much hotter Trinidad Scorpion.

The hotter chillies - L to R: Trinidad Scorpion, Yellow Scotch Bonnet, Fruit Burst Hab, Orange Magnum Hab, Squat Frog, Fatalli and Peach Hab

Once everything has ripened as best possible, I'll start the sauce making process.  It'll be trial and error matching each variety up to an appropriate flavour so expect plenty of culinary experimentation and no shortage of burnt mouths.

First Harvest

The time had arrived for the first harvest.  Picking the ripe pods will encourage the others to ripen faster and will avoid the risks of the fruit dropping off or rotting on the plant.

Scotch Bonnets

Trinidad Scorpions

Superchilli

Capa Conic

Loco

I took the opportunity to prune the plants whilst I harvested.  The canopy of some of the plants had got so dense that, with the damp weather, some of the plants had developed spots of mould on the flower heads.  I cut back these areas to allow more air to move around the plants an let some sunlight reach the  unripe fruit.

Some of the pods from this year's initial harvest, neatly sorted by type.

Golden Cayenne - This plant has been fantastic this year with plenty of large, healthy fruit.

Scotch Bonnets - the yellow ones are destined for Sunburn sauce.

L to R; Orange Magnum Habs, Fruit Burst Hab & Peach Hab

Paper Lantern Habanero - all off one plant and there are plenty more still to ripen.

The thinner, longer varieties were strung onto thread and hung to dry over a radiator. These will be grown to powder for storing and eventually adding to sauces and meals. The varieties with thicker flesh, such as Scotch Bonnets, Habs and the Scorpions were cut in half, packed in bags and frozen for blitzing and using in sauces later in the year.

L to R; Ring of Fire, Paper Lantern, Superchilli & Lemon Drop,  Golden Cayenne and a selection of green chillies.

There's more to pick this weekend, the only concern is when I'll find time to make the sauces I've got planned.