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.

First Harvest

Autumn is here and I'm beginning to enjoy the (meagre) fruits of this year's labour. Due to a late start I've not had the huge crops I hoped for but there's certainly enough chillies to produce some of the sauces I've got planned.

Every once in a while you can get complacent with chillies, such was the case with a bowl of Padrons the other evening. These tangy green chillies were grown by my mother and she presented me with a carrier bag full of them to enjoy.  Fried in olive oil and scattered liberally with salt, these Northern Spanish chillies make a delicious Tapas.  However, about 10% of these usually sweet chillies are hot, and these particular ones, being a little older and larger than usually picked, packed a fearsome punch. Nose streaming and mouth burning I was forced to quench the fire with a cold beer (the hardship!) and proceed with caution through the rest of the bowl.

Padrons - handle with caution.

This year's chilli challenge was a success with an number of impressive looking Joe's Long Cayennes being entered for the title of longest chilli. After much deliberation by the judging panel (i.e. holding up the chillies for comparison) the winners were announced as Dave and Annie, who took home the hamper stuffed with chilli goodies (and a couple of bottles of wine as well).

Below are growing photos from the entries.

 

Meanwhile the chillies in the greenhouse have been slowly ripening, I've had to employ the old trick of ripe banana skins to try and speed things along. It seems to have had some success and I managed a few small harvests before the weather broke and the rain set in.

7 Pots ripening in the greenhouse

Scotch Bonnet Big Sun

An early harvest from the greenhouse - Clockwise from top left; Sweet Banana, Cayenne, Superchilli, Cheyenne.

Clockwise from top left; 7 Pot Hab, Black Tongued Scorpion, Cayenne, Peach Hab, Scotch Bonnet Big Sun, RedScotch Bonnet, Nepalese Snakebite.

Supersized pods - Yellow 7 Pot Habs and Peach Habs.

Now the weather has changed I've begun the task of winterising the greenhouse.  I'm slowly covering all the glass with bubblewrap and, time and budget allowing, I'm hoping to employ some more innovative methods of keeping the greenhouse frost-free this winter. More to follow soon.

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

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

Green for go...

The greenhouse is now up and running with all the Chilligrows and Quadgrows planted up. It's looking suspiciously neat at the moment, a sitiuation which I doubt will last.

The greenhouse now looks settled in the garden.  Once they become established the poppies will help to hide the galvanised base. 

Looking neat at the moment. 2 Quadgrows, 2 Chilligrows and some Root pouches

The tomato plants that I put in a couple of weeks ago are looking amazing and I've started pinching out side shoots.  Likewise, the Scotch Bonnet in the second Quadgrow has got so big I've had to pinch out the top to prevent it getting too leggy.

The tomatoes in the Quadgrow are looking fantastic.  The sorry looking chillies in the front are the overwintered plants that are a bit slow off the mark.

 The Chilligrows are planted with the plants I bought from Dundry Nursuries recently (having killed most of my seedlings in a misguided 'aphid-scorched-earth attack).  The surviving seedlings are on the potting bench and slowly recovering but I'm not expecting much fruit from these slow-growing varieties.

The tomatoes are for my father-in-law, the Chilligrows contain freshly planted Habaneros.

In an effort to further automate my greenhouse I've invested in a drip-feed watering system from Greenhouse Sensation. The watering tube has holes every 30cm and is fed from a 25 litre reservoir which I can add liquid fertiliser to. I've bought enough connectors and pipe to feed dozens of plants but for now it's just being used on the overwintered chillies.  The Friar's Hat is looking great but the others are a bit slow taking off.  They all have small leaves forming so hopefully a little sunshine and feed and they'll burst into life.

New drip-feed system for the overwintered plants in the Root Pouches.

At least one of the gutters has now been plumbed into the water butt.

I intend to use more of the drip-feed pipe to route the overflow from the water butt into the fern garden. This will not only prevent the rainwater from flooding the greenhouse but also also keep the damp-loving ferns and hostas happy.