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