Category Archives: classroom experimentation

classroom experimentation, Mama H recipes, Planting out, success

Mama H’s Mooli pods

You’d think I was telling tales. Recounting everything that happens. Well, it’s nice to share.

Sat in Dad’s garden are the surviving classroom cabbages. Not many, but enough. I say cabbages, there could easily be cauliflowers in there too. As ever, they are not labelled. Some of them are getting quite big, whilst others look as though they are resting on their laurels. Perhaps these are seeds sown too early, and for an autumn crop.

You will see Mama H, harvesting radish seed pods. These are from the bolted moolis. Moolis that Mama H was rather relishing, alas the weather put paid to them.  Whilst the root, is a write off. The rest of them, was not. There are spicy, crunchy seed pods to be had. I remember as a child, eating them whilst playing in the back garden. Wonderfully potent. Mama H has been known to curry them with a couple of potatoes.

Talking of which; the last of the ‘new’ batch was taken up. Kestrel and orla potatoes. Next year, I might do better in leaving the kestral in a bit longer.

Mama H and I surveyed the plot today. Mum dug over a bit of the raised beds. The Cabbages will go in some of them; leaving me to review what can be put into the bed when summer has gone. Yes, I said summer, but thunderstorms are forecast tomorrow. I really need to think about that. Of course, there will be overwintering onions and garlic. That is expected tradition for me. I like doing that; only to be disappointed by the rain that ravages them over the dark and dank autumn and winter months.  I really haven’t thought too much in detail as to what will follow what. Everything was just broadcast sown and plugged in, with no logic. Successful, but does mean things get pushed around a bit in terms of organisation.

Oh, well, tomorrow is the start of another week.

 

Yours in anticipation,

 

Horticultural Hobbit

classroom experimentation, success

Pretty, purple, potted chillies

20130715-094453 PM.jpg

Aren’t they lovely?

These two pots contain six blossoming and burgeoning purple rainbow chillies. The seeds of which were from Real seeds. I am so very glad that these came home from the classroom, as they have really taken off whilst sat on the window sill of Mama’s kitchen.

One small purple chillie was spotted yesterday, and another was spotted this evening in taking the above picture. They have reached the heady heights of 60 cm. That is how high the green plant supports are. I firmly believe that the current heat wave has inspired the blooming nature of these beauties. They previously looked altogether weary and not so full bodied.
There are more leaves, more of the lilac rimmed flowers bursting into life. I had been wondering as to when they would all kick off.

The tiny little chillies are little round domed bubbles. A lot like berries, I suppose.A beautiful shade of mauve; not really Cadbury purple. I’m intrigued as to with what the colour changes will be. I have never seen a chilli or a pepper start off with a coloured fruit. So used to seeing them start of as green fruit. Bit of an opposite process with these.

It remains to be seen as to how potent these will be. And being in the kitchen, best place to find out.

Yours in anticipation,

Horticultural Hobbit

classroom experimentation, success

Nigel, Nigel, Nigel

No, not Monty’s dog!

But a chilli pepper. I didn’t give him that name, he came with it.

He sits in the corner window of my classroom, next to the Purple rainbow chillies. Now whilst these are quite spindly and delicate looking, Nigel is a rather robust, leafy looking creature, created with a flurry of flower buds. There are easily a dozen or so on the plant; at his highest point he is 25 centimetres tall. Smaller by a great deal compared to the 42 centimetre tall sweet peppers a couple windows down the room.

The blooms have a beautiful baby yellow tinge about. As mentioned previously, the plant itself is a robust thick stemmed creature. Suggesting that at some point in its pedigree; there may have been a pepper involved.

I’m hoping that Nigel will crop before the end of term on mid July. As will the three sweet peppers. I am convinced that there grow a matter of centimetres daily; and will soon outgrow the window. These too are blooming. Quite a number of buds have developed. How they are too be transporter home, I do not know.

Delicately poised are the purple raj blow chillies, no bigger than Nigel really. And the key word is delicate. Two flowers have opened, a white bloom; with a purple rink formed by the edges of the petals. The plan may be to try and over winter these inside.

Yours in anticipation,

Horticultural Hobbit

classroom experimentation, success

Captivated

I swear that the sweet peppers in my classroom and be chillies in fact, are getting bigger by the day. There really is a tangible difference; in the height. Leaves are fanned out, basking in the day light. I don’t think it matters so much about the heat. The sweet peppers are standing to attention. Their stems becoming thicker and more robust. On both the Spanish mammoth and the purple beauty, there are small, tight flower buds forming. Loaded with promise. To think that they can get to a meter high. That would be as big the the window, then.

The purple rainbow chilli is equally illustrious looking. It is also fanned out. Compared to the pepper, the plants are some what dainty. But the number of flower buds is far greater than the majesty of the sweet peppers great broad leaves. The leaves are smaller, neater. Tinged with a shade or two, smudged purple. Little white fluffy flowers are just waiting.

We go from little fluffy, to big fluffy. The lipstick in the Wendy is blooming. The one flower, is larger than the dainty ones on the purple rainbow. Bigger, fluffier and you can’t miss it.

The chillies that were sat outside, have been brought back into the Wendy. Attacked savagely by slimers- I has to pick one up and lob it from the pot-they are going to be looked after. Cue blue pellets of doom. The chillies in the Wendy all need feeding, some form of acceleration. Compared to the ones in the classroom- the classroom ones are the top set-the contents of the Wendy are very, very, diminutive. The ones in the classroom do, however, get fed with the tomato feed almost religiously.

Moving again, from white fluffy, to bright, beautiful yellow. A bright, splash, of quilled yellow. That is the one single solitary flower, from the astia courgette. The courgette itself is no bigger than say my finger or thumb. But the flower is beautiful. Already, compared to last year, a courgette success.

Yesterday, mama H took a knife to the mustard and harvested it as saag. Harvested and frozen for dad’s
Dinner. Talking of radishes, he is being supplied with radishes as they come. I don’t personally like them; but he’s not complaining.

There is broccoli and also some white excel cauliflowers. The cauliflowers have been netted; but alas some stupid birdy has chomped on bits of the broccoli. So these were covered today.

Not bad for the moment.

Yours in anticipation,

Horticultural Hobbit

chillies, classroom experimentation, success

Chilli challenge continues

You’ll have to wander over to the FB page for what the latest look is.

But to report ongoing progress; the classroom chillies are getting on much better the those which sit in the Wendy house. On the window sills we have purple rainbow chilli, Nigel’s outdoor chilli as well as purple beauty and Spanish mammoth sweet peppers. The two sweet peppers seem to get taller with each passing day-about 9 inches high at the moment- and could get bigger. The purple rainbow chilli and Nigel’s are some what smaller; but they are all in the process of flowering. They really are remarkable compared to the ones in Wendy house, in terms of height in particular. The Wendy house residents are also in large black buckets and don’t seem to be getting any taller. Even though, at least three of the varieties have set flowers. I might take a closer look at these over the weekend, to further investigate. These are still technically under cover.

Yours in anticipation,

Horticultural Hobbit

chillies, classroom experimentation, Planting out, success

Chockablocka chillies and bells

The classroom cache:

20130606-072734 PM.jpg

Is a Spanish pepper mammoth from Thomas Etty.

20130606-072835 PM.jpg

Purple Beauty from http://www.realseeds.co.uk/.

20130606-072910 PM.jpg

Purple rainbow Chillies from http://www.realseeds.co.uk/

20130606-072944 PM.jpg

Nigel’s outdoor chilli, saved by a grape; but can be found at http://www.realseeds.co.uk/.

20130606-073045 PM.jpg

20130606-073101 PM.jpg

The other batch, have been reported yet again. There are further assorted varieties here. Such as frauzauber, lipstick, lemon drop, sweet mini red, early jalepenos, cayenne, that I can remember at the least. I remembered that I had the Morrisons buckets in Dads shed. And since I don’t want to keep reporting. A fair few of these had roots creeping out anyway, so that was a job done today.

The Wendy house was a balmy 42 degree today, so i am hoping that this will help them.

Yours in anticipation,

Horticultural Hobbit

classroom experimentation, success

Chillies and bells relocation

3 Comments

20130604-075433 PM.jpg

I had a change of heart. Some of the chillies and bells have now been moved to the Wendy house with its wonky flap. I perhaps should have moved them before, as we are currently enjoying warm weather. There are further five pots still in the classroom; this is a combination of the middle and bottom set chillies. The top set are looking quite good, and will be moved into the Wendy in due course. There are thunderstorms forecast for next week.

A number of the plants have flower buds forming, so there could be hope yet!

Yours in anticipation,

Horticultural Hobbit

classroom experimentation

Cabbages, caulis and chilies in the Classroom

1 Comment

20130603-061452 PM.jpg

Having left them over the Whitsun holiday, the classroom brassicas were potted up. I’m very bad at pricking out and separating. There are both cabbages and cauliflowers in there, and there were hundreds of seeds over zealously sown. Many of which were quite leggy; so those that were fairly strong looking were those that were potted up.

Chillies and peppers:

Top set

20130603-061720 PM.jpg

Middle set

20130603-061758 PM.jpg

Bottom set:

20130603-061918 PM.jpg

Quite a varied outlook with the chillies and bells. Some, the earlier sown ones perhaps, are very strong looking. Approximately 10 cms tall, and looking leafy with a few possible flowers. The middle group, is getting there, with the bottom set still looking very diminutive. They too were left alone over the holiday, having been watered. They certainly have flourished over the holiday, with the added bonus of good weather.

The potential here, comes from the flowers that exist. These are tiny, and will be monitored over the coming weeks. Of course, there are the three in the 4TB. So this makes for an interesting experiment; the second group have exposure to the outside whereas the classroom ones don’t. These have also started to flower earlier and are exposed to more sun light.

And there is sunlight. For that we must be thankful!

The chillies and bells will be fed weekly, as the flowers and foliage develop. The tiniest of the flowers is a rather bruise coloured purple. No surprise as the chilli is purple. Nigel is also flowering, so all is very positive!

Yours in anticipation,

Horticultural Hobbit

chillies, classroom experimentation

Update: 2013 chillies and bells

20130521-053650 PM.jpg

20130521-053704 PM.jpg

Beyond the Wendy house, there are the classroom chillies. Unlike the lipstick that has sent out a single flower whilst in the Wendy, these are still trying to get past their 3rd and 4th leaves. There are a couple that have gone past that, but that is where they are currently.

I will have to remind myself, as to how the flukey 2009 chilles and bells came about. It has been that long since I have manager to grow any.

These plants are now staying in these pots. I don’t plan to repot them after. Yes, some of the pots contain more than one chillie. I have observed success with chillies and bells being in cramped quarters, so I am keeping that. Previously, I have watered from when they were very small; with tomato food. This has resulted in lots of foliage. Foliage that would be useful right now! Generally, the advice is to water when flowering. Well, we have a long way to go.

I quite like them; as to whether they fruit!

Yours in anticipation,

Horticultural Hobbit