Chilli growing for 2013

Nick,Roy and sumbody,

Yes, they have plenty of time to go red as long as you don't leave them outdoors. Even without going red they will be edible but tend to get hotter the longer you can leave them.

As they are an evergreen perennial plant they will continue to ripen (and flower and fruit) for as long as they have good enough conditions.

These photos were taken in the November of these plants' third year. As you can see, they're indoors and the temp at night didn't drop below 65F and the day time was pretty warm. They continued to produce through to Feb but slowed down considerably as the days got shorter.






I pruned them back fairly heavily in Feb to give them a chance to rebuild their strength and by the beginning of May they they had grown new branches and lovely healthy leaves. They had even started flowering again. They grew to almost 7ft that year (their 4th) but by year five they started going downhill. So we grew some young ones from their seeds and got rid of them. The first plant in the above post is one of their great grandchildren.






I had only taken them outside to give them a good wash down (it was a pretty warm day for May 5th) and to change the top inch of compost.

 

You need to try it, carefully, otherwise it's just ornamental!

When you make another curry you've got a few options on how to try it. Make it a mild one and taste your curry as it's cooking. If there is still room for more heat you can either just chop a little bit of the chilli into it, let it cook for 10 more minutes and taste again and decide whether to add more.
Or slice the chilli open, scrape out the seeds and the ribs (they contain most of the capsaicin, which is the chemical that makes it hot) and add it, whole, to the curry. Stir the curry gently and taste the sauce every couple of minutes. When it reaches the right amount of heat you can then take the chilli out.

 

I chopped two Nagas into a curry last week. I had the whole curry to myself!

 

You normally only do it once!

 

Loli, Nagas can be temperamental but I'm sure you will take more care than I do.

It might be a good idea if someone could get you some seeds, or chillies, from the breeders of the Dorset Naga. Their farm is only 5 miles from West Bay.

 

The Naga is, variously, reputed to have a Scoville value of 960,00 - 1,400,000 . It's not just hot but has a distinctive smokey flavour.

We're off to a Chilli Festival this weekend. We go there every year - it's good fun.

http://www.beningtonlordship.co.uk/events/chillifestival.shtml