Category Archives: Experimental Chillies and be;;s

Dorset and Bengle Naga, Experimental Chillies and be;;s, project othello, tomatoes

The very busy poly tunnel

This evening, I have had a chance to pause and reflect whilst in the poly tunnel. I had noticed that the tomato plants had started to stretch out their leafy limbs and were in need of tying in to canes. I am quite surprised really as to how quickly they have taken off in the last few weeks. Especially as we had something of a drama before they were all plugged in. I do believe that all of the them are inderminate cordon, so this means pinching out arm pits from time to time. Where I have missed them, and there are trusses; I have left them. If the arm pit sprout is tiny, I am rubbing them out. Though I don’t mind if we get a fair few tomatoes, I am being kind to the tomato and to my mum who would rather tomatoes didn’t feel her kitchen worktops.

It is all very busy inside. We have tomatoes, aubergines, chillies and a single solitary cucumber. The latter having been donated by a kind allotment neighbour, and being grown undercover. There was  an aphid attack on one of the chillies, so I’ve had to squish and zap a few little green monsters.

There are flurries of yellow and white flowers. I don’t see any purple flowers on the aubergines yet, these are still a little small and need to do some additional growing. What you see in the picture above are the flowers on the cream sausage tomato, and the fruit of the cayenne chilli. I shall leave the chillies in situ to get red and ripen. On the other hand, we have had already had a number of unripe purple ones from the purple haze plant.

We have an assortment of chillies, from the cayenne, to hotter habaneros. I am glad to see that the orange and chocolate habaneros are forming the tiniest of flower buds. A reflection of the size in comparison to the cayenne, that is usually echoed in their punch.

Dorset and Bengle Naga, Experimental Chillies and be;;s, superhots 2015

chillies and #DorsetNaga

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The chillies are rather happy in the poly tunnel at the moment. The vast majority are now starting to form flowers and fruit. As you can see, we have a handful of purple haze chillies. They are unripe in the picture, as they go red when they are ripe; however I used these to make a chutney. The Dorset Naga is now sending out the tiniest of buds and also the most delicate of white flowers. I have yet to successfully have a super hot, and this one was bought as a plant.

And then just as you are wanting to exit the poly, you see a fluffy bumble bee having a play in the apricot chilli pot.

aubergine analogue 2015, Dorset and Bengle Naga, Experimental Chillies and be;;s, project othello, tomatoes

Finally: Poly tunnel plugged in and potted up

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Today is something of a red-letter day. The polytunnel on the plot now has everything tucked into it. The Growing season is officially ready to rock and roll. Unless the weather or the world has a huge great big episode. If you have a look at the tags, you will see just how much is plugged in or potted up.

With exception of two plants-the Dorset Naga and Purple haze chillies-everything in that polytunnel has been sown and grown from seed. That tomatoes, chillies and aubergines. All of which have had some form of drama attached to it. The tomatoes got dehydrated, the chillies had aphids, the aubergines were and are somewhat developmentally delayed.

The chillies are now starting to flower, even the tiniest of the pots that contain the chocolate and orange habaneros have flower buds on. The Cayenne’s have a clutch of white flowers, and the purple haze is a spot purple.

The last of the chillies was potted up today, pettie belle, as were the four aubergine babies. The aubergines are a little smaller than I would have expected, but I did sow them later than I could have and on a whim.

Our challenge now, is to keep everything happy. Watered, fed, happy and not too hot. There is one vent open to help cool and offer some form of ventilation. Valuable lessons are incorporated into all of this. The chillies are in pots, and will stay that way, as will the aubergines. Previously both of these have been in the ground, and not a lot has happened. Tomatoes are plugged in, they have worked well outside in the ground. The added bonus of being under cover might help them this year. Copper tape is around most of the pots, as well as little blue pellets of doom.

Tomatoes are now looking happy, and they are sending out little yellow flowers. So this with the white chilli flowers is a sign of some positive things. I am not too sure about the Aubergines, they might catch up, they might not.

With everything plugged in, let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Dorset and Bengle Naga, Experimental Chillies and be;;s, tomatoes

Polytunnel Plug in Post @Maroon5 concert

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poly

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of seeing Maroon5 again. Prior to this, I spent time in the poly tunnel by way of a warm up. Singing,rather loudly, I might add. This involved putting manure into the poly tunnel and refreshing the soil. I also plugged in the vast majority of tomato plants bar one. Bar one, as the plants are still only two inches high.

The concert was epic, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Have now seen Maroon5 four times in ten years, and I was twice the age of their current fans. Maroon5 on shuffle tends to be what I have playing on the plot, all the time. Many slugs, have been slain, to the sound of Maroon5. Something about the vocals and guitar.

Anyway. the poly tunnel. This morning, I went to water the contents. We have vast variety of plants in there as listed below.

Tomatoes:

  • moneymaker
  • marmande
  • yellow stuffer
  • cherokee purple
  • true black brandy wine
  • cream sausage

Chillies:

  • cayenne
  • orange habanero
  • orange and chocolate habanero
  • pumpkin
  • raindrop
  • bellaforma
  • aji limo
  • serrano
  • apricot
  • purple haze

purplehazechilli

Above is the purple haze. This along with the Dorset Naga was purchased from sea spring seeds when they had a stall at the edible garden show. I bought plug plants of these two as the time had passed to sow from seed. Otherwise, I have sown and grown all the plants from seed. As you can see, there are two tiny purple chillies on the plant. So far, this is the most productive chilli plant, those are chillies number two and three! making this year already more successful than last year. We have had a spot of drama though, in having an aphid attack. The poor plants are only just starting to recover and send out new leaves. Lessons have been learned from last year. The chillies are in pots, and not in open ground. The result being, that the plants look happier, are more productive and don’t send out lots of bushy foliage with no flowers. Even the small plants in the brown pots are sending out flower buds. The additional benefit is that the pots can be moved around as things-fingers crossed-grow. I have one absent chilli-pettie belle-that is still to move on, plus four aubergine plants that are still being nursed at home.

Experimental Chillies and be;;s

Re-homing the habaneros

Whilst the larger chillies are now in the poly tunnel, there were still eight habanero plants loitering on the window sill. Of these, three are now of an appropriate size to be transferred to the polytunnel. We have today taken pumpkin, chocolate and orange habanero down to the poly tunnel. These have been potted up into larger pots with some multipurpose compost. Pots have had some slug tape stuck around the edges, and the plants watered in. They are draped with fleece, as there is still a chance of frost until the end of May. That said, the poly tunnel was at 30 degrees today, but there is still going to be a dip at night time that could nip them.

chillies, Experimental Chillies and be;;s

Baby Chilli Fruit Alert Purple Haze

chillipurplehaze

Remember that imperial purple chilli flower, well, it may well have set. I had to check in the poly tunnel that the plants were still there. Plus there was an aphid infestation that needed removal previously. Lo and Behold, we have the tiniest of purple haze fruit. These start out purple and go a beautiful red, like other cayennes. Funnily enough, the cayenne plants have got a couple of pepper white flowers on. The purple haze has a couple of other flowers forming too, so we may well end up with at least a couple of chilli fruit at some point.

Experimental Chillies and be;;s

#NABLOPOMO: Chillies Chugging along

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The night before last, we had a horrible frost. Yesterday morning, I was cursing the elements having to scrape a thick sheet of harsh frost of the car before going to work. Naturally, my thoughts hit upon the chillies that I situated into the poly tunnel the afternoon before.

This morning, having worried about them all day, I went to see if they were alive.

And they were.

Thankfully.

I had fleeced them, in the same way that the tomatoes are covered.

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You can see in the top left corner of the photograph, the fleece is there. This was tented over the four pots as a protective measure. Having scraped off the ice on the car, I was worried that these things had been zapped to within an inch of their so far very short lives.

And then there is this

purplehaze

This is the purple haze cayenne that I bought from sea spring seeds at the edible garden show last month. That tiny little bud in the middle, that’s a flower. There a couple more tiny ones waiting to develop. That’s if the blasted Aphids don’t kill it off. Also, this is a very small plant still, I’m not too sure if it is supposed to be sending out flower buds. Perhaps it’s a bit comfortable in the 12cm pot.

Habaneros ready to be potted up
Habaneros ready to be potted up

The habaneros were sat in 7cm pots, and whilst they have started to pick up; some of them were trying to escape their pots. So they have all now been re-potted into 12cm pots. I think for all the chillies on the sills, this is probably their last temporary pot before they get their proper pots in the poly tunnel. The hope being, that they make it through the next six weeks and into the summer.

Experimental Chillies and be;;s

#NABLOMO: Chillies Poly Tunnel move in

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Some of the chillies have now started to develop flowers, as as well trying to escape their pots. I wouldn’t normally at this stage of the year, put them into the poly tunnel and guarantee myself a crop. It feels a little too early, but the plants are clearly communicating their happiness.

So, perhaps misunderstanding that, I have take a few of the larger plants and popped them into the poly tunnel. I have put slug tape around the pots, in the hope that they won’t get nibbled on. Plus the plants are tented with fleece, I am still wary about how well they are going to cope with being there. I have moved cayenne, Serrano and Hungarian hot wax. Some part of me feels as though they sacrificial. There are still a few left loitering at home, with flowers, that are only just into 12 cm pots.