I'm in chilli mode at present folks - big time! If you're not into chillis, maybe you want to skip this post...? And I should perhaps mention that today I'm at the
Challock Chilli Fest, so expect more photos of chillis over the next few days!
Well, the weather has been holding. September has been quite dry and warmer than usual, so the chillis have had a chance to ripen, as my photos today will demonstrate.
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| 7-Pot Brain Strain |
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| Aji Limon |
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| Challock Chilli |
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| Cayenne Thick |
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| Hybrid of Pimenta Puma |
Not everything is as rosy as I would like though. The creatures have taken a fancy to the big fruits on my "Not Gusto Purple" chilli. Several of the chillis have big holes bored into them. The fruit dies and drops off the plant soon after. This has happened with my Turkish Sweet Pepper too, so whatever it is that makes those holes evidently like the bigger fruits.
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| "Not Gusto Purple" - very inconsistent fruit |
Talking of creatures, I have noticed several Harlequin Ladybirds in the garden just recently. Here is one at the larval stage.
The remaining fruits on the "Not Gusto Purple" plant are now turning red.
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| "Not Gusto Purple" |
Several of the Habaneros are ripening now. Most of the fruits are very tiny, although there are a few decent-sized ones as well.
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| Orange Habanero |
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| Red Habanero |
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| Immature Red Habanero |
This next one is a variety whose name I don't know. I think it may be a local hybrid. Definitely not one I deliberately grew. The fruits have a lot of similarity to "Nosferatu" and the plant itself has a strong resemblance to my "Turkey, small red" type.
The fruits start off being a mixture of green and black (hence I have started referring to this type as "Camo").
It also has a brown stage, which comes between the black and the red!
I'll end today's post with a photo which confirms the presence in my garden of Harlequin Ladybirds. This one is lurking on a "Nosferatu" fruit.
What a fabulous collection of colours, shapes and sizes. I love looking at other people's chillies almost as much as I love growing, admiring and eating my own :-)
ReplyDeleteLoved seeing your photos and reading this post. I have a question re the Not Gusto Purple and the markings on the skin. I had these on my peppers and am not sure why they are there. The other question is, have you grown the variegated foliage Fish Pepper? Beautiful plant. Chillies are also variegated..have not had any red yet. The last photo is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteBren, do you mean the holes in the chillis or the "cracks"? If it's the former, I don't know what makes them - some sort of flying insect I think, because inside I find little caterpillar-like grubs. If you mean the cracks, then some cracking is normal in many types of chilli, e.g. the Jalapeno, and is considered desirable (for some strange reason!). I have not tried the Fish chilli, but I have seen photos. I suppose the name puts me off, because I do not eat any fish!
DeletePeppers are so pretty. What all do you use your peppers for? Certainly you can't eat that much chili! I chop mine up and freeze them to add to soups and omelettes and, of course, chili. This year I've tried my hand at making "poppers". I don't know if those have reached England but they are jalapenos halved and stuffed with a sausage/cream cheese mixture wrapped in bacon strips. I know you all have different bacon than we do over here too.
ReplyDeleteThey make a great party appetizer and any leftovers can be chopped up and used for omelettes. I pulled all of my plants today so I have a batch of peppers waiting to be stuffed and put in the freezer for the holidays.
We put chillis in lots of dishes - particularly curries of course, but also things like bolognaise sauce, sausage casserole, salsa, chilli-con-carne etc. Most often we used them as dried flakes, but sometimes fresh.
DeleteThat's so interesting - we have poppers here in Canada too, but they are different: stuffed with cream cheese and then dipped in egg and breadcrumbs before being deep fried. So yummy - I'll have to give the bacon version a try.
DeleteThanks for sharing you chilli photos Mark. I love growing them too. I don't even know why because I really can't take a lot of heat in my food. Here in my part of Australia we had a cold and wet September so it makes sense to me you got our warm and dry weather there.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that your chilli's are doing so well (other than those nibbled ones) - I know you were a bit apprehensive earlier in the year as to whether or not they would ripen in time. Looks like Mother Nature is on your side this fall :)
ReplyDelete