Chillies 2024

Hello all,

Well, it's getting towards the end of the chilli season and we've just been harvesting our crops ready for the freezer (Sweet peppers, Aji Lemon and Jalapenos). There seems to have been a lot of slugs and insects this year but we have managed to get enough for the winter months until next year. I've included a photo showing today's pickings that have been vacuum sealed and labelled for the freezer.


I still have Aji Lemons and Jalapenos to pick but the freezer is looking full.

Best regards

Ademission

 

Our two little plants have come in for the winter, chillies will continue for a few month yet.

 

Horrible cold spell here after 4 days of rain. Tonight air temp is 5 c, tommorow met office is predicted 3c. Should I be worried about my peppers and physalis? I can move them in for a night if I HAVE to...

Of the four sweet peppers ive grown, 3 are doing well. Black Knight and Corno di torro rosso are doing the best, black knight by a big margin: its actually ripening already! None are anywhere near the size claimed but they are all in pots so maybe thats the limiter. Not that much sun either.

Meanwhile the brown chillies I gave my neighbour from last year beat everything, she harvested ~20 from 1 plant 2 weeks ago. Wild! No idea the variety name, was sold as generic hot chilli seeds from thompson and morgan.

 

For anyone with a surplas of chillies. Simply put them in a small jar and cover with white vinegar. They keep indefinitely and the vinegar can be used as chilli vinegar for cooking or salad dressings etc. You can also use part of a large chilli and return the unused part to the jar. No wastage and an alternative to drying them.

 

It may be too late, @Adam I
The RHS mention that the minimum temperature that peppers will grow at is 12C. I know from experience that they stop growing below that, but can recover. However, I fear anything below 5C may be too low and they could die.

 

Any cold should hopefully be short, maybe a couple of hours, as long as it doesn't freeze which can happen a couple oif degrees above zero.

I find tender plants are less likely to succumb to cold conditions at this end of the year rather than the start of the year, but its still a bit of a gamble, I have micro climates in my garden that I know are less likely to drop as low as other parts, up against the house wall is always a good one, even some fleece, would help with light frost.

 

Yeah some of my chillis got frost bitten last night, the ones in the popup greenhouse that has been half destroyed by the high winds over the summer. Will see how they recover with the warmer weather. Would be nice if the peppers can ripen a bit at least

 

Hello all, It's the end of the chilli season for us. The Aji Lemon (Lemon Drop) surprised us with a late show of fruit after what we thought was a disappointing start. The Jalapeños have fruited all season. Just need to tidy up the greenhouse and we are then finished for this year.


The final harvest.

Ademission

 

They were A. ok and still ripening. Black Knight pumping out fruit but theyre black already when tiny so its hard to tell when theyre ripe... Nothing else ripe yet. Crazy how much advanced that one unknown brown chili was.

 

Very nice @Ademission

I have lots more to o harvest. It will be the second harvest for most and the Shineybrids are about to give me a 4th, large crop.

I had already given about 10 super hot plants the heave ho earlier this week because I needed to get the tired ones out and make room for what's productive to go in the little greenhouse fitted a gas heater to keep the chill off.

That gas heater stopped working last spring so I spent some time fixing it and I'm ready to keep the chill off.

 

@Adam I have you got a pic of the brown one?

 

afraid not will have to wait till next year for that. might look for it in the garden centre.

 

Did it look like these? Excuse the flour foreground, I'm making regular and hot egg buns this morning.

 

no afraid not, it was an anuum that looked a bit like a small bullhorn pepper, about 8cm.

 

Hello all,
Just prepared some of the chillies for the freezer (enough for the winter). Still lots left for give-aways but more than I can use. I made a large batch of curry (Chicken Pathia) using 3 of the Aji Lemon chillies and it was quite hot.




Regards

Ademission