Sunday 30 September 2012

Scotch Bonnet Chilli - a late addition

Last weekend I went to my local Garden Centre to buy some bulbs, but you know how it is, I didn't buy just bulbs... For instance I got an "End of Season Clearance" Scotch Bonnet chilli plant for just 50p. It looked a good healthy plant and it had three fruits on it as well as several flowers. A bargain too good to miss, I thought...


I reckon that if I keep this plant indoors when the weather turns cold I should be able to persuade its fruit to ripen. The plant itself is not very big (maybe 15" tall) and will easily fit on a windowsill.


Meanwhile, my other chillis are producing lots of ripe fruit now. I had a clear-out of the freezer today and replaced last year's remaining chillis with some from this year. Rather than just throw them away, I used the old ones to make another batch of chilli oil.


Here are the ones I have just harvested, posing...


These green chillis were harvested last week, and they are now in the freezer. We like to have some red ones and some green ones, to give greater flexibility in the kitchen.


Half hidden behind the chillis, in amongst the Runner Beans I have a "volunteer" tomato plant growing. I thought it was going to succumb to the blight like everything else, so didn't pay it much  attention, but it is surviving and has now produced lots of very tiny fruits. They are still green, but I wouldn't be surprised if they go yellow when they ripen, since the only tomato type with such small fruit that I have ever grown was "Currant Goldrush", which has golden yellow fruits. I suspect that this is a plant that has grown from seeds preserved in my compost bin.


Talking of tomatoes, what do you think of this "nosey" one?

11 comments:

  1. You just can't resist a chilli can you. Oh dear that tomato - you could tempt me to play again!

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  2. Sadly I love the flavour and sweetness of chillies in cooking but my stomach doesn`t as frequently as I would like

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  3. I think I would save seeds from that tomato plant since it survived the blight and looks like it is producing well also.

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  4. Mark, do you ever save the seeds from chillies for next years plants? Just a thought as the cheap plants on sale at this time of year could be a good source of seed for next year.

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    1. John; I seldom save seeds from my own plants because they usually get cross-pollinated and produce some wierd children. The Scotch Bonnets might be an exception though...

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  5. Lovely produce and photos. I am a huge chilli fan, always growing far more than I can use, but they just cheer the garden so much. Love the plate that your chillies are posing on and cure wonky tomato!

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  6. It just goes to show that plants which are a little neglected often thrive. The red chillis look great on your decorative plate.

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  7. Nice chilli find - the Scotch Bonnet variety I grow is perennial, I think that most if not all chillies are, but this variety is particularly long lived. Perhaps yours could live happily inside until next year?

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  8. Love the "nosey" tomato...I'd be tempted to make eyes for it out of a bit of a green pepper!

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  9. Nice chilli.. I second what ^Liz said... nurse it along until next spring...

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  10. Good find Mark - I'm thinking of bringing my chillis into the house for ripening and will see if I can overwinter them.

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