Happy Midsummer

Today we celebrate Midsummer!

I went out on the balcony to check the plants, and found out that even though they are severly beaten, there are some pods. Unexpected, but a very nice surprise!

Here is my 7 pot brain strain red. (http://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.php?action=variety&id=1248)

And here is my 7 pot primo. (http://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.php?action=variety&id=1249)

What surpises me is that the pod shapes are so different. But maybe that will be sorted out later during the summer.

Wishing you all a great midsummer!

    Mats

Winds .........

Hi!

I *was* happy about my black cayman. It looked promising, and the plant was strong.

Until today. The winds were obviously stronger. So when I came home this afternoon, I found the plant broken. And not a small piece of the plant. Weird, it was broken very close to the soil.

Well, at least the sun is shining. That's the reason why you see the stripes on the picture. 

 If there is a will, thereis a way. I hope that this little fellow still will be able to make it.

Don't miss the next chapter in the super exciting world of chile peppers.

Take care,
   Mats

Strange leave

Hi!

I found this strange looking leave on one of the plants today. It doesn't have  the ordinary sunburned look. Rather I wonder if it is a damage from the cold nights and days with temperatures around 4-5 degrees C... Except this, the plant looks fine...

Regards from a rainy Stockholm. I read that we will probably end up having the rainiest June since 1901. And we're just a little bit half way through the month...

    Mats

Pure!

Hi!

The other day when I was exploring the neighborhood around the place where I now work, I found a hot sauce shop. At that time it was closed, but today they were open. And I found these two great companions.

Pure jalapeño and pure habanero red savina. What great names! The jalapeno sauce was absolutely great, and the habanero was also fantastic, but super hot. I think that one might even be hard to handle :-)

Hot regards,
  Mats

Expectations

Hi!

Almost half through June, and tonight is the first night that the plants will be without the protective fiber net. I hope it works fine. One night has to be the first... Well, here they are. All my beaten friends...

 But maybe, maybe, maybe, the "porta da rua" has got the first fruit. Still too small to tell if it will make it. But it looks promising. Keep your fingers crossed :-)

So, I hope (yes, I know, this year I'm using the word "hope" a lot, but I think it's suitable, considering the challenges this year...) that this marks the end of the cold, windy weather.

As always, time will tell :-)

Abraços,
   Mats

Not ready for a beauty contest

Hi!

It's Monday afternoon and the sun is shining! I took the opportunity to inspect the poor plants out on the balcony. I removed some leaves that have been damaged by the sun and the strong winds.

The typical look of a leave that has been burned by the sun.

And here is another one, that has the same look. But it has also been damaged by the strong winds. Therefore the ragged edges.

And here is a broken stem.

I think the plants will recover, but it will probably not be an early harvest this year. If they survive, it's going to take a while for them to set flowers and eventually fruits.

The nights are still pretty cool. It's around 10C at night. I still keep them under the fiber net.

I hope I have some more inspiring pictures to share with you later on. :-)

Wishing you all a great week!
    Mats

Challenges

Hi!

Last weekend was a challenge for the plants on the balcony. Usually I bring them inside when it's cold and strong winds, but this time I left them out. During the day it was:

I don't know how cold it was during the night. But I know it wasn't warmer...

It wasn't only the plants that were out freezing. It was also Stockholm Marathon.... I'm glad I wasn't one of the runners.

Here are the plants under the fiber net. Still looking quite good.

Below is my cumari. It got severly damaged during the strong winds, so it's half as tall today. I hope it will make it.

The same goes for my tepin. It's also half the size after the last weekend.

I will try to take extra care of them today. It's at least 12C now, so it's more than double compared to last weekend.

More pictures later. I have some damage control to take care of. Many of the plants are really struggling right now.

Wishing you all a great Swedish National Day!

Regards,
   Mats