The germination rates were good again this year, although Aji Charapita and Mini Rocoto Yellow decided they didn't want to get out of bed. The
Aji Charapita seeds I saved in 2018 have lost their viability, despite being stored in a cool dark place all that time. I sowed two batches three weeks apart, and even put a load between two sheets of damp kitchen paper, and not one of them germinated. I've grown plants from these seeds before and the germination rate was fine, so it must just be one of those things. It's no great loss to be honest, and in its place I decided to sow some
Yellow Jelly Bean Habanero seeds instead.
 |
Chilli Plants in the Porch - 16th April 2021
|
The fact that Mini Rocoto Yellow decided not to germinate was no big surprise. They'd been sitting in the bottom of my seed box for several years and came close to being thrown away on multiple occasions. I decided to keep three
Aji Largo seedlings just in case the Mini Rocoto Yellow seeds didn't germinate, and was glad I did in the end. Last year's Aji Largo plant grew pretty big considering it was only in a 7-litre pot, so I imagine the two plants that will be going outside in 12-litre pots are going to grow very big. Hopefully, they'll produce as well outside as
Alberto's Locoto did last year. Three cheers for Albert!
For reasons I won't go into I had to destroy the Cappuccino Chiltepin plant, and in its place I sowed some regular Chiltepin seeds instead. That was about three weeks ago and I pricked-out my seedling of choice three days ago. Hopefully, there will still be time for it to produce fruit this year, but if not then it's no big deal. I will over-winter the plant anyway because Chiltepins always produce much better after the first year. Cappuccino Chiltepin was a variety I was really looking forward to growing and having to get rid of the plant was very annoying. I'll try again next year but with seeds purchased from a more trustworthy source.
Most of this year's chilli plant tribe were re-potted into their second pots three days ago because they were rootbound and starting to show signs of stress. I've noticed that they seem to be okay in the heated propagator for about eight weeks, but once they've grown significantly the added heat coming from the propagator can dry up the compost very quickly, and this can also contribute towards stress. They've started to calm down now that they've been given some shiny new shoes.
 |
Chilli Plants in the Porch - 18th April 2021
|
Some of the plants, such as
Dorset Naga,
Inca Red Drop,
Malawi Bird's Eye,
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion and
Yellow Jelly Bean Habanero, are still a bit too small to go into their second pots just yet. It's just as well really because there's a shortage of space in the porch at the moment. I have eight thyme plants, eight spearmint plants, garlic chives, regular chives, bell peppers, celery, butternut squash, two trays of tomato plants and a tray of petunia seedlings also taking up space. All the rooms at the chilli plant luxury hotel and spa are fully booked, despite the lockdown. 😁
We've been blessed with some really nice weather over the past couple of weeks. Last week was really nice — blue skies, sun and perfect temperatures for the time of year. The only downside is that the night time temperatures have been quite chilly. The daytime temperatures in the porch have been around 84F most days, but at night it's been sitting around 62F, so I guess the thermostatically controlled oil heater still has a few more weeks of work yet before it can have a much earned sabbatical.
 |
Thermostatically Controlled Oil Heater - 19th April 2021
|
Here are some photos that were taken yesterday evening showing a few of the individual varieties, plus one shot showing all of the newcomers to this year's tribe. Also shown in the group shot are several varieties I've grown many times before. The reason why they are shown in the group shot and not individually is because this year I grew them from purchased seed instead of seed I'd saved myself, and until I know for certain that they are true to type I don't intend on posting individual photos of them.
 |
Aji Largo - 18th April 2021
|
 |
Aji Lemon - 18th April 2021
|
 |
Aji Mochero - 18th April 2021
|
 |
Chocolate Habanero - 18th April 2021
|
 |
Dorset Naga - 18th April 2021
|
 |
Inca Berry - 18th April 2021
|
 |
Inca Red Drop - 18th April 2021
|
 |
Malawi Bird's Eye - 18th April 2021
|
 |
Yellow Jelly Bean Habanero - 18th April 2021
|
 |
New Chilli Varieties - 18th April 2021
|
The over-wintered
Peruvian White Habanero plant is coming along nicely and has even started producing flower buds. It now lives back in its old haunt on the landing windowsill after spending the last four or five weeks living in the porch where it was able to take advantage of the warmer night time temperatures.
 |
Peruvian White Habanero - 19th April 2021
|
Hopefully, as we near the end of this month the night time temperatures will have crept up. It will probably be around the second week of May before the chilli plants go into their final pots and are moved into position for the growing season. My next job will be to tidy out the
HMS Walk-In Plastic Fantastic and get her ready for the 2021 voyage. The
Capsicum baccatum varieties will be living in there this year. All aboard!
