Planning for the Chilli Challenge 2014 is a step closer as I treated myself to a new thermostat on special offer to go with the heat mat I bought earlier in the year Of course it can be used for anything else such as soil cables so a lot more versatile than say a propagator. If anyone else is interested, this website is having a sale http://www.reptiles.swelluk.com. Delivery was next day.
Yesterday I had booked the day off work to catch up with stuff needed on the plot. Again, I was a bit over-ambitious with the plans and ended up bringing half the stuff back with me. With the odd bouts of heavy rain, warm and muggy temperatures, weeds have just taken over. I got to the plot for 6.00am and finally finished planting up the squash bed, then remembered I still had 3 more plants at home to squeeze in. I felt a bit unwell so went home mid-morning for a couple of hours before going back.
Finding a vacant bed with few weeds was a challenge but the old calabrese bed that I had earlier dug in loads of old compost to break up the heavy clay was lovely to work with. I had 10 Strawberry Popcorn plants so squeezed them in one side and was starting to plant out the Kashmiri chillies when I was a bit concerned that they were wilting and perhaps not hardened off enough so brought the rest home. I think perhaps it was just the heat but I'll check on the 5 already planted this weekend and see how they are and plant the rest later.
Despite loads still to plant out, the weedy beds were really bugging me so I got on clearing the legume beds. The broad beans have really shot up since even last weekend with loads more flowers. French climbing beans Cherokee look fine too. However, the mangetout and soup peas were not so clever - I can't decide whether birds or slugs have had a feast but most were distinctly shorter than they should be. I'm tempted to fill in the gaps with a second sowing. Borlotti beans look fine, but a bit of a mix with the Yin Yan and Minidor dwarf beans with gaps or yellowed leaves ... again, tempted to fill in gaps with another sowing.
I weeded the shallot bed so looking from the bottom track the plot doesn't look too bad now. As I pulled up the millions of fat hen and speedwell (where DO all these seeds come from ) I accidentally tugged the leaves of one of the shallots and the bulbs lifted .... to find distinct signs of root rot. Not happy. Usual signs of root rot are yellowing leaf tips but these were still green as is the rest of the bed ... I just hope it is a one off.
I finished for the day at 3.30pm feeling a mix of happy that some beds look better, frustrated that I still have loads of plantings to do and brought the butternut, celery and chillies back home, and stiff and sore from all the bending down (too knackered to even empty the car when I got home) I had hoped to have got the plants I'd taken along out of the way so that I could spend the rest of the weekend getting the big task of brassicas and tomatoes planted out. The weather forecast looked dire at first hence the big panic but I noticed this seems to be improving. Fingers crossed.
I woke up this morning feeling stiff as a board and decided to have a lazy day, after a quick visit to the plot. We'd had some really heavy rain last night but first thing this morning it was sunny with blue skies. I thought I'd get an hour in to do a bit more weeding and arrived for just after 6.00am. A quick check on the squash plantings and all looked well. The row of chillies were also fine so I could have planted them all out after all. The popcorn unfortunately had not faired too well with the heavy rain/wind but hopefully they'll recover.
I started on the onion bed and managed to weed half but it was hard work on already sore muscles so shifted my attention to one of the empty beds reserved for the sweetcorn - not many weeds so didn't take long at all and gave me an instant lift. Meanwhile the clouds drifted in quickly and before I knew it, it was drizzling. I got on and cleared the garlic triangle bed just as the rain started to come down proper. I did manage to notice that the Illico garlic are starting to lift up which sometimes happens as the bulb swells up and are nearly ready for lifting! I left at 7.30am to get ready to do the grocery shop.
The rest of the day has been one of heavy showers and warm sunshine so I don't feel at all guilty at spending the day indoors and relaxing. I popped down to the polytunnel and greenhouse and oh, some more chilli flowers First, the Ancho are just starting to open:
Satan's Kiss (an Italian heirloom called Ciliegia Piccante):
Pretty in Purple:
Black Hungarian:
One of my "unknown" chillies where the label went missing is looking a lot like Black Hungarian but I think I'm going to have to wait until the fruit set to be certain:
davina112 wrote:LL, I am at your knowledge and enthusiasm
... one day grasshopper LOL
I think I needed to take a week off work to catch up with the jobs on the allotment, never mind a couple of days! This morning's efforts at the plot were nearly thwarted by drizzle and rain but somehow I managed to clear the butternut bed of weeds, especially a clump of marestail which I suspect were in the footpath before I shifted the pallet boundary, and a bed behind the compost bin. I'd have liked to have got the pond bed dug over ready for the tomato planting but the drizzle was very persistent and becoming too wet to work. I had taken along one tray of chillies and the tray of Red Soup celery so they were planted out inbetween the heavier rain bursts.
At 11.00am I popped round to our allotment shop to buy some 4 foot canes - run by the local Gardeners Association, most items such as seed and fertiliser are a lot cheaper than from budget shops. After loading up, I went home for a quick break and to dry off. After a bite to eat, I went to get the butternut plants from the patio and it was throwing it down Oh well, watch a bit more telly .... and try again at 2.00pm. I had already sorted out all the plants so was just a matter of throwing them into the car and setting off again. The site was deserted which considering the weather had improved a little (even a burst of sunshine at one point), was rather surprising - the local garden show is in a month's time and the plots are due for their inspection sorry, I meant judging of best plot is to take place after the 1st July. I'm afraid some people take it all too seriously and my messy plot won't be in the running LOL.
I positioned the plants out on the bed and got on with planting them with a good dollop of compost and chicken manure in each hole. There was space left for 3 plants which suited me fine as I still have 3 squash plants to go out yet. After watering them in (I did feel silly LOL but the compost was dry and the wind was also picking up) I got my note book out and made a note of where each of the varieties were when it struck me one variety, Hurricane, was missing. I know I had them but clearly not planted out nor were there any left in the tray. It's a mystery - how did I manage to lose 2 plants?
Getting on for 4.00pm I decided to quit - the rain had given way to blustery wind - and my feet were soaking wet (I think the soles are about to fall off the shoes LOL) The weather tomorrow looks a much improved picture so I'm hoping to make an early start.
This morning I checked on the chillies and toms and gave them a liquid feed as well as a foliar feed of magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts) - no new varieties flowering. I'm a little disappointed with the toms as there is still no fruit set. Then I gathered together some tomatoes to do a big planting session. Clumsy me, I tripped on the patio but despite falling I held on to the crate of plants LOL. I've got a lovely bruise on my arm where I landed on the crate.
At the plot for 7.00am and first task of the day was to cut the comfrey back. The plants had got so big, they had fallen over on to the footpath so needed doing urgently. I layered the cuttings on the squash beds - they'll act like a mulch and keep the soil from drying out, and break down to be dug in later. I was a bit heavy handed on the butternut bed so ran out half way through the winter squash bed. I'll get another crop in a few weeks time so will finish off. I still haven't found the 2 plants I misplaced yesterday - and I definitely know I'd taken them as there was only 1 plant at home so it really is a mystery. Meanwhile, I planted it as well as one other butternut variety I had missed, plus the 3 squash plants so that job is now finished.
The next big task of the day was the tomatoes. I've been putting it off mainly because the pond bed is riddled with marestail and it would take forever to dig out, and the soil is awful where the previous tenant had put the soil from digging the pond, along with subsoil and yellow clay. But I had a plan - just dig a trench, fill with compostables (mainly banana skins) and compost, back fill with the soil after picking out any weed roots. Then erect a frame, plant the tomatoes. And it actually worked out very well. I know the marestail will come up on the footpaths but I can treat that with weedkiller. I went home at lunch time and came back for 1.30pm to carry on. I finally finished at 5.00pm ... but at least now I feel like I have made big strides on the plot. So, some updated piccies:
The Squash beds:
The main veg beds:
The newly planted up pond bed (Oca in the sleeper bed):
Another view with the lavender in flower:
Herb and strawberry containers, with the celery in the bed behind:
Redcurrants just starting to ripen:
Illico garlic bulb showing through the soil:
However, one plant did not look too clever ... no no no ... I oiked it out, and sure enough there was rot
I lifted 2 more garlic in a panic but they look fine.
Not much to update - I think I overdid it on Monday, plus the fall ... I've not been feeling too clever this week and it's been very busy at work so too tired to get to the plot, and even decided to give today a miss to have a good rest. I have however, been keeping an eye on the plants at home - as most of those on the patio are overdue for planting out, I know several will be pot bound but the rain has kept them well watered
Still no sign of fruit set on the tomatoes in the greenhouse - I'm almost tempted to rip them up and plant the excess toms still waiting to be planted on the plot/composted. The plants just keep getting bigger and are now to the top of the stakes/slope of the greenhouse roof - I could have understood it if I had put extra fertiliser in the compost/growbag. It must be the variety after all, it is supposed to produce record breaking sized fruits.
Meanwhile, many of the Annum chillies (Cayenne, Aji, Black Hungarian etc) are bursting into flower so I've been busy playing bee and pollinating. Some of the earlier buds have died back and ... tiny fruits are forming Even the mysterious chillies in the growbags are flowering - I keep trying to guess what variety but they are all look very similar with slender leaves. My first guess are Padron as they look similar to a labelled plant but like the mystery purple flowered one, I'm just going to have to wait until fruit are set and ripening.
Despite the cooler weather this week, many of the chilli plants have put several inches of growth on. I gave them all a light liquid feed in the water and a weak magnesium sulfate foliar spray this morning, and this evening after a warm sunny day the pots are dry again so I think my watering sessions will be almost twice a day now.
Meanwhile as I went round checking for flowers and pollinating, I noticed a couple of the Chinense varieties (the hot ones like Habanero, Nagas and Trinidad Scorpion) are just starting to throw out flower buds! As I checked on the Red Mouraga and the Naga Morich which have had buds for a while, one of the buds on the Naga is opened - it is so tiny compared to the others that I nearly missed it as still developing. I'm happy things are moving along now but when talking to my colleague yesterday, he hinted he already had fruit set on his hot chillies Well, the chilli challenge was who could grow the hottest chilli, not the earliest so I won't be put off LOL
Yesterday I woke up early as it was such a muggy night, so I decided to get up and give everything an extra watering and foliar spray in anticipation of a hot sunny day, as well as fully open all the vents on the greenhouse and polytunnel. Then I got together what I planned to do at the allotment and loaded the car and got there for 6.00am. Even at that time, you could feel the temperature soaring as the sun got higher in the sky. So, no messing around I got stuck in with intentions of finishing quickly (ha!)
I took the last of the chilli plants and finished planting them - the others on the plot were absolutely fine despite being whiplashed soon after being planted last weekend. The popcorn on the other hand are a disaster - of the 10 plants, only 2 were upright. So I'll be lifting them up and replacing them with the self blanching Golden celery which have really got going so ready for planting out.
Next, courgettes - I still have 3 beds that needed digging where marestail was coming up. I really didn't have the time or energy to clear the beds so I decided to plant them in the bed that I had reserved for the sweetcorn which is still not quite big enough to plant out yet. 2 each of the 4 varieties (yes, 8 ) but I do know that 2 varieties are not that prolific so I'm confident that I won't be too overwhelmed, and I always take the surplus to work as a "thank you" for those who put their fruit peelings and tea bags in my compostable bins that I set up in the tea room/office.
I still had a few more tomato plants - last year I had planned a tomato project to grow lots of different varieties but when the weather turned so foul, I knew it was not worth planting them out and risking blight. So this year gave it another go.
By late morning I was tiring so decided to pop home for a rest and to get away from the sun's heat which was on the up. I came back an hour later to get on with the brassica bed cages. My earlier attempts using HappyBob's method unfortunately had collapsed (some of the canes were just too flimsy and not a reflection of the method) so I went back to my old method of using loops of hose fastened to canes. By now the sun was really bearing down and I still had to finish the last tomato frame and also some squashes that had got put in with the courgettes when sowing - the immature fruits can be eaten like a courgette, but if left to get bigger, the skins harden off and can be used like a winter squash/marrow. They are climbers so I built a small frame on one of the empty beds. I just had to water everything down before I left at 2.00pm feeling broiled. The can of chilled beer in the fridge when I got home went down very well.
On inspection of the flowers on the Burpees Delicious toms in the greenhouse, there is definitely no fruit set off the older blossom despite regular tapping of the flowers to encourage self pollination And they are now into their 2nd and even 3rd truss so I thought I'd better find out what the problem could be. Well, reviews of the variety reveal no unusal problems with fruit set but most nearly all say it is a very nice, tasty and versatile tom good for salad and sauce. Further investigation of no fruit set in general threw up the typical responses - too much nitrogen (fertiliser) but this tends to encourage foliar growth rather than flower production which is not the case here. Temperature seems to be a big factor - too hot or too cold can cause flower drop (makes sense - plant enzymes like animal proteins need to work in optimal conditions): although we've had a few sunny days, the greenhouse has not been that hot (I've had it hotter in previous years) and there is plenty of ventilation. Cold - well, a few weeks ago I might have said yes but not recently.
I came across an interesting site which suggested magnesium deficiency - now that could be a possibility. I had noticed the chillies seemed to be a touch anaemic (nothing dramatic) which is why I've been giving them a weekly foliar spray. I wonder if the compost I've been using is a little low on magnesium, and being bigger plants than usual (apparently this tom variety can easily grow to 8 feet ) its possible the magnesium has got depleted. Magnesium is important for fruit set too .... so, thought it worth adding some mag sulfate (Epsoms salts) and watering it in. Hopefully we'll see an improvement soon. Reading the great reviews of this variety is making me even more determined to get some fruit of the plants this year!
This morning did the usual rounds of tapping the flowers on the chillies, and the peppers have started to flower now The Aji has an inch long fruit already (it was barely a quarter inch on Saturday) Meanwhile, a few of the later chillies have outgrown their pots so they have been repotted - a few Bailey Pequins and a rescued Apache chilli from work (long story) - but I'm now rapidly running out of greenhouse/polytunnel space
PS: MetOffice are forecasting a warm July with high summer temperatures Just what we need to get those summer crops going!
Great pics againn LL those chilli flowers are so delicate and beautiful and i bet your lavender can be smelt from a very long way off its gorgeous Lindaxx
And then there was one, Again!!!! Jemima xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Little Angels Free For Ever Honey,Lizzi,Peggy-Mitchel,April,Hope,Faith,Blondie, Sorrel,Scarlet, Penny, Gabby, Rosie, Chick-a-Dee xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Remembering Our Beautiful Foster Boys we are so sorry that we couldn't keep you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Linda S wrote:Great pics againn LL those chilli flowers are so delicate and beautiful and i bet your lavender can be smelt from a very long way off its gorgeous Lindaxx
Thank you Surprisingly the lavender fragrance is localised - only when you crush the flowers (whoa, really potent) or brush past the plants do you actually smell it. Bees love them and a good way to encourage them on to the plot BUT when crops are flowering, unfortunately bees prefer the lavender so much they'll ignore the rest: that's when it's time to give it a trim and harvest the flowers.
It's only been just over 5 weeks since putting the polytunnel up and planting the peppers and toms (reminder here) and even I have noticed just how much the plants have grown. Some of the bigger pepper varieties (like the Espelette, Padron, Ancho and Black Hungarian) are well over 2 feet (nearly 3 feet), and the Nepalese Bell got so tall they were being bent forward by the curvature of the polytunnel cover. So, another rearrangement, moving taller plants to lower tables, and finding some of the plants not doing so well being crowded out and bullied by larger plants. I have a diy plan to build some proper tables for next year, taking into account plant heights, as well as width so this year has been quite educational. Anyway, enough waffling, updated piccies:
The greenhouse peppers and toms:
Polytunnel:
Facing the greenhouse (with a net across the door to reduce bug infestations:
... having problems with tinternet and websites which keep locking up, so smaller posts ...
Thick Cayenne:
I should have written it down as I took piccies, but can't be sure if this is Ancho or Padron sorry:
Jalastar (hybrid Jalepeno type) getting bigger:
The unknown (possibly Fresno) chilli I've overwintered for the past 2 years. It was a rogue plant amongst the others I'd bought and is a very reliable fruit producer as you can see here. Wait until they all ripen and it looks like a Christmas tree - very pretty:
Today (Friday) looking like the start of a very warm weekend so I thought I'd better give everything a good drenching to cope with the rising temperatures. I can't believe it took me an hour and half this morning and that's just at home, but I'd rather overwater than underwater at this stage with all the flowers coming along (don't want to get blossom end rot on any of the fruit - it's caused by lack of calcium, but usually because there isn't enough water to transport it) They all got a good spray too to increase humidity (this will reduce risk of a spider mite infestation as they like it hot and dry - if they got in the polytunnel, it would be a disaster so best to prevent it) Because I'm expecting the greenhouse and polytunnel to get extremely warm, all the vents and doors open to increase ventilation (seems at odds to wanting to increase humidity, but that encourages moulds ... a disease along with the spider mite that I need to avoid too!)
Out of interest, I couldn't help notice the differences between the sticky yellow and sticky blue cards - I hung up both colours in the polytunnel in case some bugs were attracted to different colours and it seems that is the case. Most flies and other insects were mainly attracted to yellow (with some blue), but the fruit flies (harmless - usually breed in compost/rotting vegetation which is probably where the recent batch have come from) were definitely attracted to the blue. I'm not overly worried about having flies around but I do want to prevent cross pollination if I can so that any saved seed should be non-hybridised strains.
For my own information (as I can't edit the post): the blocky fruit photo in the previous post is Ancho (not Padron - that has only just starting to flower)
Hi LL smashing pics as usual and i guess you really love chillis What do you do with all the chilli fruits do you freeze them or dry them or something. Iv seen little chilli plants in sasada among the flowers would they grow on and be edible or will they be ornamentals. They are very pretty but i woulnt like to poison my dear hubby of 36yrs Lindaxx
And then there was one, Again!!!! Jemima xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Little Angels Free For Ever Honey,Lizzi,Peggy-Mitchel,April,Hope,Faith,Blondie, Sorrel,Scarlet, Penny, Gabby, Rosie, Chick-a-Dee xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Remembering Our Beautiful Foster Boys we are so sorry that we couldn't keep you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Linda S wrote:Hi LL smashing pics as usual and i guess you really love chillis What do you do with all the chilli fruits do you freeze them or dry them or something.
Actually, I'm not a big fan of chilli but I do like a hint of spice rather than a full blown hot chilli dish. Some of the varieties I'm growing are low in heat, some have the flavour of chilli but no heat at all. I've grown different varieties of chillies but never any of the very hot ones which are known to be difficult to grow, so from a gardening project, I'm on a learning curve.
If I get some really hot ones (and they are just starting to flower so I have high hopes), these will be part of the chilli challenge to see who grew the hottest and hopefully set up the HPLC at work to test the heat. My colleague at work is not only competitive, but he does come up with some bizarre experiments for the project and placement students to get them interested in chemistry - some have useful applications such as increasing the capsaicin in fruit production (for medical purposes) - so these are just preliminary testing for a future project.
As for my personal use - I'll make some hot chilli sauces, dry them (I have a dehydrator if necessary) to make chilli powder, also chilli in oil or use fresh. Also want to try pickling (for example, recipe for Jalepeno escabeche - I like the idea of adding carrots and other veg)
Linda S wrote:Iv seen little chilli plants in sasada among the flowers would they grow on and be edible or will they be ornamentals. They are very pretty but i woulnt like to poison my dear hubby of 36yrs Lindaxx
Even ornamental chillies are edible - as long as they ARE chillies LOL. Some just might not taste all that nice that's all as they'll be bred for colour and shape rather than flavour. A few years back I bought a plant with long purple fruits - it looked so pretty and quite spectacular - I realised afterwards that it was a chilli plant. Like you, I wasn't sure if they were poisonous or not so didn't bother trying to eat one. Since then I've learned a lot and now know it was a purple cayenne so was perfectly safe.
Of course it can be used for anything else such as soil cables so a lot more versatile than say a propagator. If anyone else is interested, this website is having a sale http://www.reptiles.swelluk.com. Delivery was next day.
) I accidentally tugged the leaves of one of the shallots and the bulbs lifted .... to find distinct signs of root rot. Not happy. Usual signs of root rot are yellowing leaf tips but these were still green as is the rest of the bed ... I just hope it is a one off.
First, the Ancho are just starting to open:
at your knowledge and enthusiasm
... one day grasshopper LOL 
Oh well, watch a bit more telly .... and try again at 2.00pm. I had already sorted out all the plants so was just a matter of throwing them into the car and setting off again. The site was deserted which considering the weather had improved a little (even a burst of sunshine at one point), was rather surprising - the local garden show is in a month's time and the plots are due for their inspection 
sorry, I meant judging of best plot is to take place after the 1st July. I'm afraid some people take it all too seriously and my messy plot won't be in the running LOL.
Even the mysterious chillies in the growbags are flowering - I keep trying to guess what variety but they are all look very similar with slender leaves. My first guess are Padron as they look similar to a labelled plant but like the mystery purple flowered one, I'm just going to have to wait until fruit are set and ripening.
Well, the chilli challenge was who could grow the hottest chilli, not the earliest so I won't be put off LOL
) but I do know that 2 varieties are not that prolific so I'm confident that I won't be too overwhelmed, and I always take the surplus to work as a "thank you" for those who put their fruit peelings and tea bags in my compostable bins that I set up in the tea room/office.
And they are now into their 2nd and even 3rd truss so I thought I'd better find out what the problem could be. Well, reviews of the variety reveal no unusal problems with fruit set but most nearly all say it is a very nice, tasty and versatile tom good for salad and sauce. Further investigation of no fruit set in general threw up the typical responses - too much nitrogen (fertiliser) but this tends to encourage foliar growth rather than flower production which is not the case here. Temperature seems to be a big factor - too hot or too cold can cause flower drop (makes sense - plant enzymes like animal proteins need to work in optimal conditions): although we've had a few sunny days, the greenhouse has not been that hot (I've had it hotter in previous years) and there is plenty of ventilation. Cold - well, a few weeks ago I might have said yes but not recently.
) its possible the magnesium has got depleted. Magnesium is important for fruit set too .... so, thought it worth adding some mag sulfate (Epsoms salts) and watering it in. Hopefully we'll see an improvement soon. Reading the great reviews of this variety is making me even more determined to get some fruit of the plants this year! 
Lindaxx
