Is it worth over-Wintering chillis?

For the past several years I have kept some of my chilli plants through the Winter, and re-potted them the following Spring. To be honest, it is always a struggle. They often get seriously infested with aphids; many (usually at least 50%) of them die (often for inexplicable reasons), and at best you have to worry all Winter about maintaining them at the right level of temperature and soil-hydration. Why do we chilli enthusiasts inflict this upon ourselves? The theory is that the mature plant will do better in its second (and possibly subsequent) year(s); it will be bigger and stronger, and perhaps most importantly it will produce ripe fruit earlier than plants grown from seed in the second season. But is this true? Heresy though this may be, I'm not convinced...

This past year, my over-Wintered chillis did better than usual, largely because I used a self-watering system marketed by Blumat to keep them evenly hydrated. I described it HERE.

Even with the aid of these devices, I still lost 3 of my 8 plants. To be fair, 2 of the 3 casualties were ones which had not had the benefit of the Blumat self-watering things (I only had six, as pictured above).

I have to admit that by the time Spring came around, even the surviving chilli plants didn't look great.

The plants didn't have a lot of leaves, and those that there were mostly had yellow edges and dry brown patches. I had had to trim off quite a few dead branches. Overall the plants were not in good shape. That photo was taken on 19th April, that's to say two months after I sowed the seeds for my other 2018 chillis.

It took a long time (and several doses of feed) for the over-Wintered plants to regain their vigour. The very cold spells we had in the Spring ("The Beast From The East" etc) didn't help. Luckily, from about May onwards the weather has been hot and sunny, perfect conditions for chillis. They are now good-quality plants. Only three of the five have fruits on them though, which means that it is unlikely that the others will produce any ripe fruit this year. Admittedly, they are both plants originally grown from seeds obtained in countries with very hot, humid climates - Panama and Mexico - so maybe even our 30C+ temperatures during July weren't sufficiently warm for their liking.

The other 3 plants have plenty of fruit on them, but I have noticed some differences, compared to normal. One of the plants is an Aji Limon, and this year its fruits are much bigger and fatter than previously:

Aji Limon over-Wintered from 2017 - very fat pods

This (below) is more like what I expect from Aji Limon. It's on the same plant.

Aji Limon over-Wintered from 2017 - a more normal pod

I have another Aji Limon plant, grown from seed sown this year, and its fruits are much slimmer, as is normal for this variety.

Aji Limon grown from seed in 2018

Curiously, the opposite has happened with Aji Benito. The over-Wintered plant has produced fruits which are a lot smaller and mostly a lot slimmer than it produced last year.

Aji Benito over-Wintered from 2017

An Aji Benito grown from seed this year has more normal fruits - wedge-shaped and very chunky.

Aji Benito grown from seed in 2018

In terms of fruiting, the over-Wintered Aji Limon and Aji Benito are probably a couple of weeks ahead of their equivalents grown from seed this year. The over-Wintered plants are also perhaps a little bigger than the 2018 ones, but not much, and the 2017 ones may yet catch up. The Aji Limons for instance are both in the region of 75cm tall, though the 2017 one is a bit bushier than the 2018 one. Here's a size comparison:



Aji Limon 2017 plant (it's the one at the back, nearest the netting)



Aji Limon grown from seed this year.

Since it is still only the first week of August and there is plenty of ripening-time left, I'm not sure that such a small difference is sufficient reward for all the TLC I have given those plants since last Autumn!

I can't complain about their colleague "Not Cheiro Roxa" though. It has really romped away and is now a very handsome plant, nicely shaped, with lovely dusky foliage and loads of gnarly / rugged fruits which will be bright red once they are ripe.

"Not Cheiro roxa"

"Not Cheiro Roxa"

My conclusion is that over-Wintering chillis can give an advantage in terms of earliness of harvest, but I don't think it is a big advantage, and it may be outweighed by the care requirements necessary to achieve it. Will I try over-Wintering some chillis again this year? I don't know. Maybe I will, maybe I won't... It depends how I feel at the time, I suppose!

Harvesting Maincrop potatoes

If you're looking for advice, or a tutorial, you'll be disappointed with this post! This year is the first time I have grown Maincrop potatoes, and the results have not been great...

Since it was my first experience with Maincrop potatoes and because I had no idea how things would perform in the new garden, I didn't want to go overboard and plant huge quantities of anything. This year was to be a trial run - and not just with potatoes either, but with all the other vegetables too. So in the Spring I planted 5 seed-tubers of each of four Maincrop potato varieties - "Desiree", "Setanta", "King Edward" and "Maris Piper".

The first problem I encountered was that a couple of the seed-tubers didn't grow at all, even though I had chitted them before planting, so my 20 plants became 18. This wasn't the biggest problem though. The biggest problem was the weather. From about the end of May until the end of July we had hardly any rain - just a few spots. The soil became completely dry and parched. There was only so much I could do to alleviate this. I would have had to have left the hosepipe running 24x7 for it to have kept the soil at a proper level of moisture! After a few weeks I realised I was fighting a losing battle and gave up watering the potatoes altogether. This is why I have been harvesting my Maincrop potatoes now, rather than in late August or even September, as would be more normal.

To be honest, I have been putting off this task for quite a while, in the vain hope that a change of weather might happen, giving the potato plants an opportunity for a final growth spurt. No such luck! We had some hours of decent rain last weekend, but it wasn't enough, and the potatoes had come to the end of the line anyway.

The job of harvesting was a brief one, perhaps 20 minutes all told. I didn't even have to dig, I just pulled off any remaining foliage and lifted the potatoes out of the sandy dust with my hands!

Well here are the stats: the overall total (from 16 plants remember, because two of the 18 were dug up prematurely by foxes the other day and didn't get weighed) was a mere 6.53 kgs. Yes, pathetic, I know!

This is "King Edward". Yield: 1.88kg - plus about 500 or 600g from the two dug up by the foxes.

This is Desiree. Yield: 1.69kg.

This is "Setanta". Yield: 1.59kg. Skins very rough, you'll note.

Finally, "Maris Piper". Yield: 1.33kg. A couple of very nice tubers, but not many of them. The two "No -show" seed-tubers were of this variety.

Overall, I think this is a pretty poor result. The trouble is, how much can I blame the weather? Should I try again next year and hope for a more normal (wetter) Summer, or should I just conclude that the Courtmoor plot is not suitable for growing potatoes? I'm mindful of the fact that the Earlies didn't perform well either, whereas the ones I grew in containers in my home garden were all pretty decent. There is no doubt that the soil at the Courtmoor plot is exceptionally dry and its moisture-retaining qualities are not good. What it really needs is a couple of truckloads of well-composted stable manure! I know that this is what it used to get once a year, in times gone by, but I think those times were a long time ago. What do you think I should do?

Courtmoor plot - end of July update

The long spell of hot dry weather finally came to an end last weekend, with our first significant rain in two months. It's such a relief not to have to spend hours watering the plot every other day!

My efforts with the hosepipe seem to have paid off though, because I have been bringing home some nice produce.

The most prolific crop has been the Dwarf beans. I have been giving alternate pickings to my hosts, but we have certainly not gone short. Interestingly, the "Jean's Beans" unknown variety grown from last year's harvest have not been very good. They have produced very small, often tough and stringy pods. I think maybe they are inbred. I've also had some "Canadian Wonder", which have been a lot better. I think "Jean's Beans" may have to just softly and silently fade away.

I have been very good with my "Successional sowing". I now have four little blocks of Dwarf bean plants, one of which is just about finished, one is in full swing and then I have these two lots, planted only about one week, and two weeks ago respectively:

The shelling beans are doing well too. Their leaves are just beginning to go yellow, and the pods are shrivelling.

Cherokee Trail of Tears on the wigwam (L) and Tunny Beans at the end of the main line of beanpoles (R)

Cherokee Trail of Tears pods looking dry-ish

Tunny Beans

The "Boltardy" beetroot are doing OK, though they have developed slowly. I have been pulling a few here and there, choosing the bigger ones for us to eat, and the gaps caused by this will allow the remainder to swell. I suspect they will take off now that we have had some decent rain.

This week I took the first harvest from my Kaibroc plants. You may remember that they are my second sowing, since the first batch all succumbed to Cabbage Root Fly.

I'm wishing now that I had more of this stuff. The long slim spears are really succulent and tasty, but I think each plant will only produce about 8 or 10 of them.

The squashes are coming on nicely, kept going by my watering efforts, I'm sure. I now have two Crown Prince fruits, three Uchiki Kuri and six Butternut Squash.



"Crown Prince"

Now that we've had some proper rain at last, I'm expecting these to have a growth spurt too - which would be nice.

"Sweetmax" Butternut Squash

Over last couple of weeks I have managed to harvest 3 more small cabbages. They were the "Golden Acre" and "Greyhound" ones, which nearly got killed off by the pigeons a couple of months back. Some of them were so badly damaged that they haven't produced any hearts at all - just some rather weirdly-shaped leaves - but some of them have still been worthwhile, even if smaller than normal. Each one has only made about two servings, which is about half of what I'd expect.

"Golden Acre" (foreground) and "Greyhound" (background)

In similar fashion, some of the Red Cabbages have recovered, albeit very slowly. One or two of them look as if they may eventually be worth using, perhaps in about two months' time.

"Red Drumhead"

The other cabbages, the ones I planted after I had learned my lesson about anti-pigeon measures, are looking much more promising. I have a few of "Predzvest" (a Czech variety) and a few of "January King".

2 x "Predzvest"

My Huauzontle (Aztec Broccoli) has grown to about 3 feet tall now, and is recovering from a serious leaf-miner infestation.

Aztec Broccoli in foreground, towering over the Squash plants

The friend from whom I got the seeds for this vegetable tells me she has harvested some of hers, and eaten it stir-fried with garlic and chilli, so maybe I'll soon be doing the same. You pick the small flowering shoots, just like PSB, but perhaps in greater profusion.

The Maincrop potatoes are definitely ready for harvesting now. Their foliage on most of them has died back completely.

I'll try to get round to lifting them very soon and will report on the result - I'm prepared for it to be very poor!

The last thing I want to show you today is this clump of shallots:

These are the result of planting the final one of the 45 very bedraggled shallots I saved from last year's harvest.

It was very slow to get going in the Spring - last by a long way - and when it was ready for planting out the main shallot / onion bed was full, so I just stuck it in at the end of a row, near the fence. I really didn't expect it to do much, but I was wrong - it has turned out to be one of the best of the crop! It has produced 11 'babies'.

This plot at Courtmoor Avenue seems to be well-suited to growing alliums, so I think next year I will plant a lot more onions, more shallots and probably some garlic too.

Chicken Of The Woods

I'm sure that many readers will know by now that I am a keen forager and amateur fungi-spotter, and I sometimes write about the fungi I have seen. Well, today's post is about Laetiporus sulphureus, aka "Chicken Of The Woods" (often abbreviated COTW).

Unlike many nondescript fungi, COTW is one that you will recognize very easily once you know what you're looking for. Whilst its shape is infinitely variable, its yellow-to-orange colour is its most striking feature - not for nothing is it sometimes called the "Sulphur Polypore"!

COTW is a saprobic fungus, which means it feeds on dead wood. It favours deciduous trees like Oak, Beech and Chestnut. It seems to like the presence of water and is reportedly quite common on the big trees you often find alongside riverside walks - even in cities. Very rarely does it appear on conifers, and when it does, it is normally the Yew which hosts it. Be careful if you harvest COTW from a Yew tree because it is believed that the fungus can absorb the toxins from the highly-poisonous Yew tree.

The COTW is highly prized in the fungi-foraging community not only because it is spectacular to look at and easy to identify, but also because it is delicious to eat. Many people think that it closely resembles real chicken, in terms of taste and texture when cooked. It is also one of the few fungi said to freeze well in its raw state, so easy to preserve.

I have been actively interested in fungi-hunting for the best part of 3 years now, and until this week I have never found a COTW in good condition. I had only seen one or two very old and ragged specimens. However, Hampshire (where I live) is supposedly a good area in which to find it, so I have dutifully scoured most of the woodland within easy reach of our home. Walking in the woods last week I spotted something long and pale on a very old dead Oak tree, in an area that would normally be virtually inaccessible due to it being very boggy. With the recent prolonged period of drought the ground had dried up, so I went in for a closer look. It looked almost like that foam filler you use for filling gaps in walls when you are doing some DIY! Based on research I have done, I was fairly sure this was immature COTW.

As I was photographing it, I became aware of something even more interesting on the other side of the tree...

Notice the vertical line of very immature fungus on the left side of the tree.

It was a huge patch of COTW. Very spectacular, but unfortunately far too old to be edible. Humph, on the one side of the tree, COTW that was too old, and on the other side COTW that was too young. How frustrating!

So, apart from some photos on my camera, I went home empty-handed. Since this was the best result for this particular fungus that I had had to-date, I resolved to go back another time and try for some of the "too-young" stuff, once it had matured. I asked around in the fungi-spotting community and established that the young COTW was likely to reach a decent size in another 4 or 5 days.

I should say that my first visit was on a Wednesday afternoon, and the weekend that followed saw us getting two days of more or less solid rain (which is good for making fungi grow). On Monday morning the rain had stopped so I went again to the same place - earnestly hoping that no-one else had got there before me! I was amazed by what I saw. The young fungus had "blossomed" and grown enormously:

Now, I don't claim to be an expert on this, but I reckon this COTW was well-nigh perfect. Big enough to provide a very substantial harvest, but not too big and leathery.

I cut a small portion - about two "leaves", from the top part of the fungus.

Since we have not eaten this type of mushroom before, it makes sense to be careful and try just a little portion to begin with. As with many fungi, some people experience an adverse reaction to this one. Those people with whom the fungus disagrees report symptoms similar to food-poisoning, like you might get if you had eaten bad seafood.

The best part of the mushroom to eat is the youngest part, which should still be moist and pliable, not stiff and dry. This bit looks good to me...

When I showed the mushroom to Jane she sniffed it and said it smelt like the best Chanterelles, with a scent almost like ripe apricots.

Playing really safe this first time, I boiled the mushroom in water for 15 minutes, drained it and then fried it in butter for a further 15 minutes.

Despite all that cooking, the mushroom retained a good colour, texture and flavour. Jane and I both liked it a lot, agreeing that it was probably the best wild mushroom either of us had eaten - except perhaps the Cep. I don't think I would mistake it for chicken, but I do agree that it would make a good substitute for it.

I'm pleased to report that neither of us has experienced any adverse effects from eating this mushroom, so we will definitely be eating it again.

P.S. Following our successful first taste of COTW, I cooked some COTW Goujons:

Boiled in water for 15mins as before, then floured, egged and breadcrumbed and fried in sunflower oil. Served with homegrown salad, homegrown tomato dipping sauce, chips and a slice of Black Pudding. Delicious!