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Chilli Plant Update - 29th April 2025

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

We're cooking on gas here! Last Saturday, I re-potted all but one of the chilli plants into their final pots and then moved them into position for the growing season. This year, my chilli seeds were sown on the 19th January and the plants were raised under my homemade grow light. All of the seeds germinated quite quickly and the plants grew quite quickly too. I have to be careful not to sow the seeds too early because heating the porch is expensive and if the plants grow too big too quickly then there's nowhere for them to live until the daytime temperatures starts warming up slightly.

Compost Mixture - 26th April 2025

Here are a few photos showing the chilli plants in the porch on the 22nd April after having a good drink and a light misting. It was starting to get a bit cramped in the porch and all but one of the plants were in dire need of some new shoes.

Chilli Plants in the Porch - 22nd April 2025

Most of my chilli plants are growing in 5-litre and 7-litre pots, and as usual all three of my C. pubescens varieties are growing outside in the garden in 12-litre pots. I finished building the bamboo cages around all three of them yesterday evening, which is a job I hate doing because it's tedious and boring, but it needs to be done.

San Isidro Rocoto and Aji Largo - 28th April 2025

This year, I'm growing four Ring of Fire plants, two of which are growing indoors in 5-litre pots and the other two are growing outdoors in the greenhouse in larger pots. One is growing in an 8-litre pot and the other is growing in a 10-litre pot. Hopefully, I won't end up with triffids that want to take over the greenhouse!

Here are a few photos showing some of this year's individual tribe members. As usual, I'll refrain from posting any photos of the new varieties until much later in the season when I know for sure that they are true to type. If you'd like to know what chilli varieties I'm growing this year then click here.

Aji Largo - 26th April 2025

Aji Largo - 28th April 2025

Aji Lemon - 26th April 2025

Aji Mochero - 26th April 2025

Chocolate Habanero - 26th April 2025

Dwarf Chiltepin - 26th April 2025

Fatalii - 26th April 2025

Mako Akokosrade - 26th April 2025

Malawi Bird's Eye - 26th April 2025

Orange Habanero - 26th April 2025

Papa Joe's Scotch Bonnet - 26th April 2025

Peruvian White Habanero - 26th April 2025

Ring of Fire - 26th April 2025

San Isidro Rocoto - 26th April 2025

San Isidro Rocoto - 28th April 2025

The weather has been very nice here recently and hopefully it's just the start of things to come. Let's hope the weather is better this year than it was last year! Anyway, wherever you are in the universe, I hope your chilli growing season is going well and that all of your plants are happy. All hail the Chilli Gods! 💚

The 2025 Chilli Growing Season Has Begun

Sunday, January 19, 2025

The 2025 chilli growing season has begun, and so(w) the cycle begins again! Welcome aboard the merry-go-round, folks. With last year's late start, a minor setback in early April, plus the poor weather we had during the summer, I decided this year to sow my chilli seeds a bit earlier. If the weather turns out to be as poor this year as it was last year then at least there will be enough time remaining for the Rocoto peppers to fully ripen. It's all a balancing act, as you know.

Chilli Seeds Sown - 19th January 2025

Yesterday evening, I made up a batch of potting mixture and sterilised it in the oven at 150C for one hour before transferring it into a bucket and leaving it to cool overnight. This afternoon, I set up the grow light in the kitchen, and this evening before sowing my seeds I sterilised the plant pots, clear plastic cups (which I use as lids) and the heated propagator using a mild bleach solution.

Sterilised Plant Pots and Clear Plastic Cups - 19th January 2025

Sterilised Heated Propagator - 19th January 2025

This year, I'm growing 19 chilli varieties, so what better date to sow the seeds than on the 19th? Out of the 19 varieties that I'm growing, four of them are new ones and the rest are varieties that I've grown before. I won't be posting photos of any new varieties until much later in the season whey I know for sure that they're true to type.

Chilli Seeds Sown - 19th January 2025

Spring is officially 60 days away and already the nights have started drawing out. It won't be long now until the weather warms up and everything starts coming back to life. By this time next month the evenings will be lighter and the New Year will be just around the corner. I wish you a fantastic chilli growing season and I hope you end up with an abundance of wonderful spicy goodness! All hail the Chilli Gods! 😛

Cleaning Garden Cane Caps

Tuesday, January 07, 2025

I see a lot of photos online of people's chilli plants and the one thing that always strikes me is just how many growers have bamboo canes sticking out from the canopy of their plants without anything on the top to prevent any nasty accidents. The importance of using garden cane caps can never be underestimated. How much do you value your eyesight? There are lots of horror stories online about people suffering irreversible eye damage or even losing an eye after bending down in the greenhouse or in the garden one day and accidentally impaling themselves on a bamboo cane. My mother often tells me the story about a man she once knew who accidentally lost an eye on a bamboo cane one afternoon whilst bending down in the garden to tend to his plants. Apparently, it was an awful sight — if you'll excuse the pun! 👀

Rubber Garden Cane Caps

A few people have asked me recently where they can purchase garden cane caps like the triangular green ones shown in some of the photos on this blog. You can purchase garden cane caps, also known as garden cane toppers, very cheaply online if you shop around. However, keep an eye out because some places charge a lot more for them than others. I purchased mine on eBay over 11 years ago. When purchasing them, you should buy quite a few at once and then you probably won't need to buy any more. You can just keep reusing the same ones every year. It's all very simple stuff, but it could save you an eye one day!

Rubber Garden Cane Caps

Garden cane caps will need cleaning at the end of every growing season. To clean them, start by giving them a gentle rinse in plain water just to make sure there are no spiders or other small critters living inside, and then place them into a strong bleach solution for 24 hours. After this time, give them a rinse and then set them aside to dry for a day or two before storing them away until the following season. They'll come up looking like new every time. As I gradually start taking down my chilli plants towards the end of the growing season I place all of the garden cane caps that I've collected into a bag, and once they've all been collected I then place them into a small bucket and clean them all at the same time.

The 2024 Chilli Growing Season Has Ended

Saturday, November 30, 2024

Well, chilli folks, it's a wrap for 2024. All of the chilli plants have now gone, which is a sad sight to see. The weather this season has been the worst I've known it in all the years I've been growing chilli plants. The only plants that didn't do as well as usual for me this year were the Rocotos. The fruit production was about normal, but maturity wise they were a good six weeks or more behind where they would normally have been for the time of year. This is no doubt due to the poor weather and the late start. As usual, my Rocoto plants were grown outside in the garden and had to battle the elements, including a torrential hail storm which caused damage to one of them, but nothing too severe.

San Isidro Rocoto and Aji Largo - 20th November 2024

My one and only remaining Capsicum chinense plant succumbed to a cold snap in late November, and when I went to check on it one afternoon I was greeted by an unhappy looking plant that had dropped most of its fruit. I had no choice but to pick the remaining chillies from the plant (but not the floor) and then take it down. Whilst I was at it, I also took down both of the Rocoto plants. Most of the remaining peppers had started ripening, and so they were washed and dried and then placed aside for a week for some of them to finish ripening. Some did finish ripening and some just turned orange. Rocotos take much longer to reach full maturity than other chillies, and had I have left them any longer than a week they would have started turning soft.

Chilli Harvest - 20th November 2024

The ripe and semi-ripe Rocotos have now been frozen and will be used up over the coming winter months in chilli con carne, pasta sauce and stir fries. All of the unripe ones have now been pickled and will be ready for eating in a couple more weeks, if I can wait that long!

Pickled Rocoto Peppers - 27th November 2024

I now have three freezer draws full of wonderful spicy goodness to keep me company through the winter. Carrying all those buckets of water to the greenhouse during the growing season really does pay off in the end. Anyway, I'll leave you will this photo showing the end of season ripeness.

End of Season Ripeness - 27th November 2024

All hail the Chilli Gods! 😈

Chilli Plant Update - 8th November 2024

Friday, November 08, 2024

Greetings, chilli fans. Sadly, the chilli growing season has almost come to a close for me now. On the 27th October I took down most of my indoor plants and the following day I took down the remaining indoor plants plus all except three of my plants in the glasshouse. Both of my Capsicum pubescence plants have now been moved into the glasshouse, and along with Scarlet Lantern they are the only plants I have left. The good news is that the Scarlet Lantern chillies are now starting to ripen, and this also includes the pods that I've isolated for seed saving. The Rocoto peppers are also starting to ripen and I've already harvested quite a few, but given how long it can take for Rocoto peppers to ripen I think it's going to be quite a while yet before most of them are ready for picking. Either way, the plants can remain in the glasshouse for as long as necessary.

Chilli Plant Leaves and Stems - 27th October 2024

Chilli Plants Taken Down - 28th October 2024

These next two photos were taken on the 28th October and show the remaining chillies on one of the Chocolate Habanero plants and one of the Papa Joe's Scotch Bonnet plants.

Chocolate Habanero - 28th October 2024

Papa Joe's Scotch Bonnet - 28th October 2024

These next two photos show the Moruga Scorpion plants and were taken between the 3rd and the 28th October. I now have two big bags full of Trinidad Moruga Scorpion chillies in the freezer and they will be added to phall curries and hot sauces over the coming months. It's going to be a super spicy winter!

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion - 3rd October 2024

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion - 28th October 2024

These next photos show my Capsicum pubescens plants (San Isidro Rocoto and Aji Largo) and were taken between the 17th October and the 7th November.

Aji Largo - 17th October 2024

San Isidro Rocoto - 19th October 2024

San Isidro Rocoto - 7th November 2024

San Isidro Rocoto and Aji Largo - 7th November 2024

I've also de-seeded all of the chillies I isolated for seed saving and the seeds are now drying nicely in the lounge. 😁

Chillies for De-seeding - 28th October 2024

Chilli Seeds - 30th October 2024

Last week, I made three jars of pickled chillies, using mostly Capsicum chinense varieties, and a batch of Habanero hot sauce, using some of the remainder of last year's chillies. I also intend to pickle some Rocoto peppers and I have enough remaining chillies from last year to make another two batches of hot sauce, which I'll do in a couple of weeks.

Spicemad's Habanero Hot Sauce - 7th November 2024

Pickled Chillies - 7th November 2024

These next couple of photos show my two most recent chilli harvests. The first one was taken on the 3rd October, shortly after harvesting the remaining green chillies on the Bangalore Torpedo plant, and the other was taken on the 29th October, and shows the remaining chillies from the plants that were recently taken down. The varieties shown in the photos below are Bell Pepper, Mako Akokosrade, Bangalore Torpedo, Orange Habanero, Chocolate Habanero, Charapon Amarillo, Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, Papa Joe's Scotch Bonnet, Malawi Bird's Eye and Peruvian White Habanero. There was also a few Fatalii chillies hidden somewhere beneath the pile of spicy goodness shown in the second photo.

Chilli Harvest - 3rd October 2024

Chilli Harvest - 29th October 2024

So, as you can see, the 2024 chilli growing season has almost come to a close for me now, but I'm still not quite there just yet. I'll hang on to the Rocoto plants for a while. They're not in the way in the glasshouse, but if I change my mind and decide to take them down early I'll just pickle the remaining unripe peppers. I've got isolated fruits on both plants for seed saving, so I want those to ripen at least. Have a great weekend! 🌶️

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