Tag Archives: dorset naga

Dorset and Bengle Naga

Dorset Naga #1

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This year for the first time, I have entered the Dorset naga challenge that is set by seaspringseeds.co.uk I have never grown these superhot chillies before, so this is something of a huge experiment. These were sown this year, January -February, I think; using a heated propogator. It was quite traumatic at first, with a couple failing to germinate. Eventually, I have three or four, babies, I think. It is only now that the weather has become warmer that they are starting to pick up growth. They are even starting to look like chillies plants now with how their leaves are shaping up.

I reported these yesterday as they were starting to exit their smaller pots. From what I have read, the Dorset naga doesn’t fruit til November. That’s if it actually progresses in the poly tunnel where it will be homed. I plan to do this in about 6 weeks, but they do look a bit on the small side! That may be an indicator that they need feeding. Hopefully that will kick start them a bit. Most likely that these will be transplanted directly into the ground, rather than putting into pots.

There are three or four babies. As they grow taller I will label each one so that we can keep a record of any fruit that might be produced.

Don’t know as much about the related bengle naga, only that is a bit hot too.

So our Dorset Naga adventure has begun!

chillies, Superhots 2014

Slow growing Superhots

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I might just be being a little precious. But the Superhots are taking the time growing. I am aware that the Dorset Naga and Bengle Naga won’t necessarily bear fruit til Novemeber. That does feel a very long time away. They weren’t all sown at the same time, so that is one reason that they are still quite small. I did anticipate that they would be moving into the polytunnel at the end of May. Whilst that is six weeks away, I’m not sure how much of growth spurt they will put on between now and then.

Might have to get the Pom poms out and start cheering them on.

aubergine Analogue study 2014, chillies, Experimental Chillies and be;;s, Superhots 2014

Bumper leafy update

There is growth in the four tier blowaway. The danver carrots are starting to break through and become seedlings. Have yet to see any autumn king carrots. I have never had any success in germinating and propogating parsnips, and as you can see we have a handful of babies making an appearance. In comparison to the carrots, these have taken quite a while to come through. Not uncommon to the experiences of other people. Golden self blanching celery is also coming through. I appreciate that there are lots of seedlings in the pots. Alas, sowing them seed by seed is somewhat fiddly.

The chillies, bells and superhots are taking great strides. There is of course a variation across all of these given when they were all sown. Nigel, Pretty Purple, seranno, patio sizzle and hot thai are reasonable stout. Whereas as others, the hots and superhots, are actually quite slow growing. Early Jalapeño, Nigel, hot patio sizzle are starting to flower, which could actually be a sign of stress. All of these, are very, very thirsty. I observed that last year with the pretty purple rainbow chilli. Need a litre every other day, otherwise it would shed its leaves and flowers.

aubergines

Arise of the triffids, the first batch! These are of course the aubergines. Early long failed to make it. So we have tres hative de barbentane, diamond, dancer and black beauty. Very, very leaf, and velveteen. Suggests that they are quite delicate at the moment. The aim, is to have them planted into the poly tunnel with the chillies and bells at the end of May. Prior hardening off will be required.

In other news, marketmore, femspot and crystal lemon  cucumbers are germinating both in the four tier blowaway and the window sill. Hoping to sow runner beans and sunfloo’ers at some point. There will have to be rotation amongst the wendy house and four tier blowaway.No cabbages and brassicas yet. Though we did harvest some purple sprouting broccoli.

chillies, Experimental Chillies and be;;s, Superhots 2014, tomatoes

Corden-acting

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A heaving gallery of pictures for you today. Today’s session started with mama h and I sinking corden trees. These Victoria plum, conference pear and falstaff apple had been in pots for nearly two years. However these were proving to be too small. So these are now sunk into open ground. Hopefully this will contribute to them doing better. Also tidied up the inside of the poly tunnel. It has been up to
30 degrees Celsius in there, with my glasses steaming up as I go in.

The next task was to pot up tomatoes. These were starting to become tall and gangly beyond their baby leaves. Some of their foliage is now quite frilly.

Taking a quick look at the peppers and aubergines. Had to some emergency potting up these week, with both of them as they have an accelerated growth spurt with the spring sunshine. There are quite a few aubergines, I know. Mama h quite likes them, so it will be interesting to see if they fruit. All being well, chillies and bells will be in the poly tunnel. Dorset and bengle nagas are small, but growing. Pretty purple rainbow chilli is romping ahead with its purple tinged leaves, with early jalepeno hot on its heels.

The Superhots are coming along. The challenging Jamaican jerk has made an appearance, as well as orange habanero. Hot scotch is also present. We are still waiting on yellow scotch bonnet, but I am not holding my breath for that one. The California sweet pepper isn’t doing too badly either. >

chillies, Experimental Chillies and be;;s, Superhots 2014

Chilli check in

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The last few days has seen mild spring like weather. Weather that window sill babies have been basking in; least of all the chillies. I am growing the chillies from cold, I am not using grow lights or heated mats. This means that the chillies are perhaps a little smaller, and their growth rate is little below than those with grown with sophisticated equipment. So one has a bit of capsicum envy.

See I know full well that at this time of the year, chillies will be diminutive. A couple more weeks, and they will start to pick up and plume. That does feel a little like a distant memory, and it’s quite a leap to fully fledged, foliaged plants ready to be transplanted to the poly.

Whilst the sun is out, the chilies are loosely lidded with a prop cover. They are sat on reflective aluminium foil to help absorb some heat and light to keep the plants from getting too cold at night and then keel over. With the second Superhots are sunk, I would like to be optimistic. However I’ve been told that Jamaican jerk is very difficult!

Superhots 2014

Dorset and Bengle Naga

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The superhots are currently sat by a window, occasionally bathing in the sun. Whilst I have tobasco, chocolate habenero and serrano from http://www.seedparade.co.uk/ I have the Dorset and Bengle Nagas from http://www.seaspringseeds.co.uk/ There is even a dorset naga growing challenge which I am thinking about signing up to. http://www.seaspringseeds.co.uk/seed-shop?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=269&category_id=59

I have never grown superhots before, this years experiment is a first. Initially, the dorset naga germinated but got stuck in its seed case and had to be resown. Eventually, one baby did germinate and shed it’s seedcase. Imagine my surprise, when I found a second Dorset naga baby coming through. Along side the Dorset Naga is the bengle naga. This one actually germinated a lot quicker.

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The bengle naga is already developing its first true leaves. The Dorset Naga is a little behind. I must point out, that these were sown and placed into a heated prop. Once they had germinated and the baby leaves were established, they were housed in a food bag whilst sat in a gravel tray. Since then, they are still in thegravel tray, and with the recent cooler weather they are covered with a slightly askew plastic cold prop lid. I dare not chance another cold snap. I am not using grow lights or heated mats, these are left to the own devices. The aim, is to to house these in the poly tunnel. However, this will take some time and the plants will need to be a much bigger and a little stronger. At this early stage, this is altogether frustrating; I have yet to resort to talking to them to encourage them to grow. I wouldn’t rule out that from happening, though. These are still very tiny, that is the biggest issue-no pun intended, and the summer is a very long way away.

 

aubergine Analogue study 2014, chillies, Experimental Chillies and be;;s, Superhots 2014, tomatoes

Go, little greenhouse

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Finally, the cover for the 4TB has arrived. A little bigger than expected, but that is a lot better than smaller. I had purchased one that did turn out to be smaller, and of no use. This may be bigger, but it is also made of the same reinforced material as the wendy house and the poly tunnel. I am hoping, therein, that it lasts a while. That said, the cover that was replaced is in fact five years old. Apparently, the shop that made the 4TB has changed the dimensions, so I couldn’t an appropriate replacement. That said, to their credit, the company was very good about making amends. In the poly tunnel yesterday, it was a rather balmy twenty degrees. The best thing, that it was still there, and hadn’t floated off. The wendy house was there also, for which we are also thankful. The lyon prizewinner leeks are still there and quite snug too.

Tomatoes aren’t doing too badly at the moment. The vast majority of the seeds that were modularised have come through. The module was sat on the not very warm window sill, and so they did take their time. The babies were also a little leggy, which resulted in them having to be demodularised and then potted up. No mean feat, as I am not very good at pricking out and potting up. Which is why, I only sank singular seeds to begin with. In essence, at the moment, we have the same number of tomato plants as we did last year. It remains to be seen, if these will all achieve maturity.

On the next window sill, we have the the aubergines. Dancer, diamond, tres hative de barbentane  and black beauty have all come through. I am still waiting for early long purple to germinate. There was a pleasant surprise in how quickly the aubergine seeds have come up.

Of the chillies and superhots, I have yet to see any of yellow scotch bonnet and orange habanero. Fire has been temporarily written off in failing to come off entirely. The dorset naga looked a bit precarious, having caught a cold; it looked as though it was going to keel over. I checked this afternoon, and it did appear to have rallied. I’m not hedging my bets. I would like it to survive, one has a dorset naga chilli challenge to try! Have resown some california wonder, as i had somewhat neglected to re-sow a sweet pepper. All those hot chillies, and no sweetness. One is thinking of all the possible chilli jam to be made.

I have kept all the babies in foodbag cloches. Mainly, as they are on window sills that don’t always stay warm. With some heat and light trapped, the cloche offers something of a security blanket. I am conscious that a sudden drop in temperature could wipe everything out. I would like to place the tomato babies in the 4TB, under a fleece. Just not sure if they would survive, would be a tragedy for them to be annihilated after being pampered for so long.

chillies, Superhots 2014

chilli progress

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Apologies for my absence, this week has seen a return to work and the inclement allotment weather continues. As I write this, there is a spittar splatter of rain across the window panes. The plot is most likely under puddle of water. This means that any growing is inside.

Above is an image of the experimental chillies and one of the superhots-serrano. Cayenne and California wonder have been amongst the casualties. Cayenne failed to germinate, and california wonder fell in germinating but not being able to exit its seed case. Dorset Naga and one choc habanero has done the same, and have both been resown, A little frustrating, but the slowness of these two germinating and then not getting any further should have been somewhat telling.

On a second window sill, orange habanero and tobasco are sitting still. I worry about the tobasco, some of its very tiny baby leaves snapped off as it was exiting its seed case. So that one will be somewhat touch and go as to whether it does actually survive. It may be that the leaves are two small to photosynthesise for the seedling.

You will note that the pots are still in foodbag cloches. A retaining security measure; if they get cold with a drop of temperature in any impending cold snap, they may well keel over. I would much rather they didn’t. In the heated prop, we are awaiting fire, scotch bonnet yellow and choco habanero.

 

chillies, Superhots 2014

Sinking the Superhots

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‘I’ll sow them in January’

It is now January. When did January get here. I’m not ready yet. I don’t even have any window sills. And no lights. Have never used grow lights.  I don’t want to have make any, don’t want to buy them. How am I going to grow these things, exactly?

I don’t have any compost.

Corner shop do.

I shall go get some compost then. I’ll walk, won’t be heavy. I’ll carry it back.

There are yoghurt pots in Dad’s shed. Go find them, a few of them might need a hole in the bottom. You won’t need many. Can’t fit that many in the propogator anyway. Look, how many are you thinking of sowing, and they all have to go in the Poly tunnel anyway. That’s if any of the seeds you sow, actually germinate. And you are only sowing, what, three? You have a very small sample. Not one of them might germinate.

Oh, go on then. Have a go.

Eight yoghurt pots, filled with multi-purpose compost. Is that cold or damp. Feels a bit of both. Hmm, don’t put any water in there, then. Fresh dirt under my fingernails.It has been too long.

All the seeds are lined up. Pops is wandering past. Takes one look at them, frowns, shakes his head then scarpers.

These are super hot chillies. They are irritating to the skin. You might want to put on some gloves. Sow each variety, one by one. Jab three holes into the dirt of each pot. Pencil. Equal distance apart. It is then really quite fiddly, putting a seed into each hole. Don’t drop them.

The varieties sunk:

  • Serrano
  • Orange Habanero
  • Chocolate Habanero
  • Dorset Naga
  • Bengle Naga
  • Fire
  • Scotch Bonnet  Yellow
  • Tobasco

Are all now sat in the heated prop; nice a warm,

 

In other news, there are two baby nigel seedlings sat in the window sill.

chillies

hangin’ in for the ‘ot stuff

I have had many adventures to date when it comes to growing chilli peppers. This year was by far the most productive and therefore successful experience. Many different varieties were sown, from long yellow ones, round purple ones and small, stumpy ones with a hell of a kick. Now, I would like to step things up a little. Just a little.

And make a foray into super hot chillies. One of the reasons why was of the course the production this year of chilli jelly. A happy bonus from the crop. A learning point from this, was to wear gloves when chopping up jalapeños. That was painful. So with the agony, there has to be a balance of ecstasy.

In shuffling through the seedstasher, I was able to audit the chillies that I have. I had thought that there were dozens of seed packets. Not so, so I have gone a little seed crazy. Today, the post man and santa claus-one these exists-brought me envelopes of seeds. I have settled on the Dorset naga amongst others, and some habaneros. Now,  these things are only available from http://www.seaspringseeds.co.uk/. They know what they are talking about!

I have opted for a vast array of superhots, and must mention that there also quite a few habaneros from http://www.seedparade.co.uk/. So credit it to both of these lovely people.

Cast your eyes over this http://www.seaspringseeds.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=38&vmcchk=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53

I have heard lots about this, and the dorset naga has something of a cult following. A search on the interweb yields lots of interesting stories of it being cultivated.

I’m all set, but I have my worries. I have experimented with germination. Having sown them in the heated prop, and also in an unheated prop or yoghurt pots on a warm window sill. The unheated ones have always come up quicker and then done well. Superhots are something of an experiment. 27 degrees C is required, and light. Ardent growers, fashion grow lamps. i am not that clever!

 

(As I write this, there is a proper gale blowing and blustering outside….hope the poly and wendy are all right….)

 

I will be happier, once they have germinated and look like small baby chilli plants. At least a couple of leaves, with a stalk. This seems a very delicate, and detailed process. And for some chilli heads, this is the norm!

And to think mama H told me not to sow too many seeds…..