Chilli! All Things Chillies.

[Tony]

Woo hoo..... came home this arvo to find almost all of my Raja Mirch Nagaland Naga Morich's up out of the mix.

Fingers crossed some more varieties start popping up over the weekend, as its warming up fairly quick this year.

For the seed raising mix i used about 50% Peat Moss, 30% washed sand and 20% used potting mix from a plant i tossed out from last year.
The peat moss really holds the moisture well as its important to keep the seeds moist, the sand and potting mix work together to stop the mix drom packing down and setting, which will stop your little plants popping up nice and stress free.

I keep it moist with a spray bottle using warm water and a couple drops (no more) of seasol.

Ooooooo i think its going to be a good chilli season

Feel the burn people....... FEEL THE BURN

 

[Tony]

Most of my seeds sprouted and are going well.

i have since lined the base with foil and glad wrap to hold water to bottom feed the seedlings. top spraying is not working well as the water just goes up.

cheers

 

[raven19]

Its been cold in Adelaide, but not cold enough it would seem to kill off my small chilli's, all grown from Tony's kindly donated seeds.

My seedlings are just stagnating around 4 - 10 inches in height.

Thinking of getting a new batch going, similar to your setup Tony. Got a heat pad recently, so it could be a good starting point for getting them going while winter still hangs on here down South...

Will also keep looking after the previous efforts too.

 

[Tony]

Wow the seedlings are going great....... much better than my plants did last year. The bottom watering and airflow ( put a fan in the box ) are doing wonders. another week and they will be ready to step up to 4" pots

Trinidad Scorpions

Nagaland Naga Morich

7 Pod Jonah

Yellow 7 Pod

The only healthy Rocotto i have is going ok too. The one i grew a few years back was HUGE and im hoping i can get a few good fruit off it this year now that i know how to stop them mongrel fruit flys!

Bloody Queenslanders!

 

[Tony]

Well folks its been a week and im very excited about the progress of the "babies" as my wife calles them.

Im planning to start moving them out into the big bad word of sunlight on the weekend as its warming up nicely here now. Will break em in slow and tell them to HTFU!

Yellow 7 Pod

Douglah

Trinidad Scorpion

Half of the crop

 

[raven19]

Looks like the beginnings of a potentially massive chilli crop this season Tony. B)

 

[Wolfy]

I thought my little "babies" (and my first attempt at growing chilli) were growing well .... until I saw those pictures.

 

[zebba]

How'd you go with the ones I gave ya Wolfy?

I had grand plans of getting something more exotic than my bunnings orange habs, but a mix of lack of time and an accident involving a toddler meant that even the orange habs are probably a bit dangerous with the current kid situation at the moment...

Seems the wife was cutting up some of the habs, then used the same knife to cut up some turkey for our little 18 month old. She gave him some, he ate, then started rubbing his mouth, the his whole face... Queue 20 minutes under the shower with him balling his eyes out. Not good... The wife learnt a valuable lesson about cross-contamination.

I thought my little "babies" (and my first attempt at growing chilli) were growing well .... until I saw those pictures.

 

[Steve]

How'd you go with the ones I gave ya Wolfy?

I had grand plans of getting something more exotic than my bunnings orange habs, but a mix of lack of time and an accident involving a toddler meant that even the orange habs are probably a bit dangerous with the current kid situation at the moment...

Seems the wife was cutting up some of the habs, then used the same knife to cut up some turkey for our little 18 month old. She gave him some, he ate, then started rubbing his mouth, the his whole face... Queue 20 minutes under the shower with him balling his eyes out. Not good... The wife learnt a valuable lesson about cross-contamination.

poor little kid

 

[BobtheBrewer]

How'd you go with the ones I gave ya Wolfy?

I had grand plans of getting something more exotic than my bunnings orange habs, but a mix of lack of time and an accident involving a toddler meant that even the orange habs are probably a bit dangerous with the current kid situation at the moment...

Seems the wife was cutting up some of the habs, then used the same knife to cut up some turkey for our little 18 month old. She gave him some, he ate, then started rubbing his mouth, the his whole face... Queue 20 minutes under the shower with him balling his eyes out. Not good... The wife learnt a valuable lesson about cross-contamination.

A tip I picked up in a local newspaper, and have used myself. Use milk instead of water to take away the sting.

 

[Wolfy]

How'd you go with the ones I gave ya Wolfy?

I had grand plans of getting something more exotic than my bunnings orange habs, but a mix of lack of time and an accident involving a toddler meant that even the orange habs are probably a bit dangerous with the current kid situation at the moment...

I enjoyed them actually, but still learned to respect them by rubbing my eyes/lips not long after chopping them up without washing my hands after.
But you did inspire me to try to grow my own this year, even if my tastes are a bit on the tame side.
Got some Jalapeno seeds ($1 Ebay), saved some seeds from your habs and whatever these little red ones are that I buy from the green grocer in Springvale:

Don't really know what I'm doing and my growing attempts are amateurish compared to Tony's but here is my effort so far:
3rd Aug:

A bit of water and keep the plastic tub in-front of the heater or on-top of my computer to keep them warm:

A week later they had sprouted:

So I transferred them to pots:

again in a plastic tub in front of the heater:

And this week they have moved outside, under an old up-turned glass fish-tank:

So far I'm just happy they are still alive and growing, most likely I will just keep 1-2 plants of each to grow pots, so if you want to visit in a few weeks can give you some of the extra seedlings. I'm not a chilli-connoisseur so the varieties might be a bit more child-friendly.

 

[Phoney]

I already grow habanero's & jalapeno's but im after more Mexican varieties, for cooking Mexican cuisine. Unfortunately im finding it impossible to find the following varieties in this country;

cera, guero, manzano, poblano and serrano.

Ive emailed http://chilliseedbank.com.au and no response

I can find them on ebay from the USA, but im not sure if they'll make it through customs...

 

[Wolfy]

Unfortunately im finding it impossible to find the following varieties in this country;

cera, guero, manzano, poblano and serrano.

Ebay is your friend for the last 3.
TheChilliMan has Manzano and Poblano listed, two other vendors have Poblano and a number of sellers have Serrano.

 

[Tony]

Hey Wolfy.

here are some tips on growing little chili plants in "captivity"

Yours are looking what is called "leggy" where they get really long stalks stretching for the light. If the pots were filled to the top with soil they wouldnt need to reach so high to get to the light. If they get to long they tend to fall over easy and die. another thing to stop them getting leggy is to put a light source like a $40 double 2 foot fluro with cool white tubes in it (important) about 6 to 8 inches from the top of the plants.

Also what i have found is that a bit of airflow over the plants really gets them going and helps them develop strong stems which will help them out when they meet with the elements.

When you put them outside for the first time you will need to slowly introduce them to sunlight a little bit at a time..... its called hardening off. If you stick them outside in the sun they will burn like someone hit them with an oxy. Its quite depressing i tell ya. I now start mine off in a shaded area with no direct sunlight for a week and then start giving them quick stints in the sun each day.... slowly increasing and watching for burning...... a bit of burn wont hurt but dont over cook them.

here is a picture of my grow box. It has 8 x 4 foot fluro tubes in the roof and the fan underneath circulates air without blasting the plants with a direct wind.

cheers

 

[Wolfy]

Yours are looking what is called "leggy" where they get really long stalks stretching for the light.
...
When you put them outside for the first time you will need to slowly introduce them to sunlight a little bit at a time..... its called hardening off.

Yep, you're totally right, the ones on the left are even a bit yellow because they were been grown inside with no direct light until I put the outside today - we've got some fish-tank-grow-light/tubes so if I get serious they'd be ideal.
However, they are 'protected' from direct sunlight most of the day by the other larger pots around them, not so clean glass and I'm not sure I recall when I last saw direct sun here anyway.
I didn't think about filling up the pots to the top, would have been a much better idea.
Lots to learn and I should do better next time, but if these survive its a nice start.

 

[Tony]

cera, guero, manzano, poblano and serrano.

I can find them on ebay from the USA, but im not sure if they'll make it through customs...

http://www.chileseeds.co.uk/hot_chili_pepper_seed.htm

9 ot of 10 packs make it in from the UK....... 2 in 10 from the US

I have a Manzano red growing for this year. I grew one a few years back and it was a massive plant.

cheers

 

[shonks69]

I already grow habanero's & jalapeno's but im after more Mexican varieties, for cooking Mexican cuisine. Unfortunately im finding it impossible to find the following varieties in this country;

cera, guero, manzano, poblano and serrano.

Ive emailed http://chilliseedbank.com.au and no response

I can find them on ebay from the USA, but im not sure if they'll make it through customs...

Try Wildfire Chilli in Perth
http://www.wildfirechilli.com.au/
Serrano should be fairly common at most nursery's (when it gets warmer)

Cheers

 

[Phoney]

Thanks for your help guys, seeds ordered.


My habanero & jalapeno's plants are still looking very sick however. the Habanero has stunted leaves about half the size of a 5c piece and it hasnt grown since last summer. The Jalapeno has blotchy yellow leaves and isnt growing nor flowering. im thinking I might just yank them out and plant new plants for spring.

 

[Tony]

No..... dont yank them

Chilli plants die back to sticks during the winter.

Prune them back like you would a rose bush and watch em go again when it warms up.

 

[zebba]

A tip I picked up in a local newspaper, and have used myself. Use milk instead of water to take away the sting.

Yeah I know, but after it first started irritating him he started rubbing all over his face - making the problem far worse! Didn't have enough for the whole face, so he had his bottle with milk and the shower to help cool him. It worked, even if it wasn't ideal.

I believe milk is good because capsaicin [sp?] is not water soluble but is fat soluble.