Moving out

Already June, and for the first time the plants have been inside. Until today.

Cloudy. 16C and not so much wind. Hopefully good conditions for them to move out to the balcony. Usually the sun is too strong for them in the beginning. And if it isn't the sun, it's the wind.

Anyway. Now I throw the dice.  And here is a short video with them.

I have cut down on the amount this year. Sizes vary, because I have started them at different times. The tallest baccatums are almost 1,5 meters tall already. Amazing.

Wishing you a hot weekend!
   Mats

Moving out all of them

Hi!

Today I'm throwing the dice, and move out the rest of the plants. Some are in better shape than others, but I think it will be fine.

Patricia asks the usual question. Where will we sit?

Wishing you a great weekend!
   Mats

Moving out a few of them

Hi!

I guess I have too many peppers. Some of my Capsicum annuum got spider mites. Not fun at all, but hopefully they will survive.

The ones under attack are:

• Serrano
• Mareka Fana (Berbere)
• Roumanian Giallo
• CA1

So in order to avoid that these little bastard mites do not to spread to other plants, I moved them out to the balcony today. and they will stay out there from now on.

Here they are under the protective net

But there is still a happy bunch inside.

Happy bunch

Last year's "Wild Brasil" has one ripe pod. They were very hot, but without any special taste.

The chiles are not alone out there. The black currant is outside all year around. Amazing that it survives being deep frozen during the winter. Here together with my peppermint and aloe vera.

More friends on the balcony

The agave will also stay there for the rest of the season. The defense system of the agave is amazing. I don't know how many times I have got one of those thorns in my forehead, legs, arms or hands.

Don't mess with me

Hot regards,
  Mats

Is it warm now?

I hope that the cold days are over for this spring, or summer, or whatever it is.

This is how my wind battered plants look like... Most of them are actually very nice looking. But they have had some tough days and nights in the cold winds.

The tepin hasn't enjoyed it (left), but the malagueta is fine. I picked some green malaguetas today, and had with the dinner. They were hot as !"¤#%" :-)

This wall of leaves is interesting. I don't even know how to move them out to the balcony.

The rocoto is OK. Starting to flower now. (It's our old agave in the front. Much more resistant to winds. Strong one. It has happened more than once that I have got one of the sharp "needles" in my forehead when I water the plants. It's such a strange feeling to almost hear how the bone cracks :-)

And here are some baccatum to the right. I use that protective net for a while. It's quite windy. In the upper left front, there is an aloe vera from the Azores. Considering how fast they grow, they will be huge soon. And to the left, bottom, there is my peppermint. Makes great tea!

Hot regards,
  Mats

Good news, bad news

An update...

It's been a windy day. The bad news. This is how one of the branches looks like. One that hasn't been under the net. Not a single leaf left... The good news. After cutting it, it now fits under the net :-)

It's Stockholm Marathon today. Usually we watch the runners. Today, with the rain and winds, it's enough to watch them from the balcony...

More later. Take care,
  Mats

Moving in... staying out... moving out... staying in...

This situation reminds me of the Clash. Should I stay or should I go. Don't know how my synapses in my brain work, but somehow I heard the song when I was faced with reality this morning.

I thought I was clever yesterday. Maybe not. It's been really windy tonight, and pretty cold.

So a few of the "hero peppers" were a little broken and soft. So they had to move back in today.

The overwintered ones, to the left, remain outside. And the shorter, more solid ones, to the right will stay there. I think....

That reminds me of another saying - what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. I hope it works with chile peppers as well. Actually, I've read that the harder/tougher surrounding for the peppers, the hotter they get. I already fear this autumn :-)

The weather forecast doesn't look so pepper friendly. It says wind 7 m/s, which isn't that bad. But the wind/gusts are quite strong, and that is what breaks them. 7 C at night is also a challenge, but I think it won't go below 10C under the "net". There is some heating coming from the house facade,

Hmmm, next year... I think I will grow fewer of them :-)

Have a great weekend!
  Mats

The middle ones moving out

What a spring...  I sure didn't plan for this. It's been a little too cold for the plants to move outside. That results in big and tall plants inside. Which makes it harder to move them out. Negative spiral...

But this morning I decided to do the move for most of them. The weather forecast predicts pretty cold nights, but OK temperatures during the days.

At least they won't be burned by the sun...

Here they are under the net. A happy crowd :-)

And here are the too-big-to-move-out-ones in the window... Actually, I don't know what to do with these guys. The habanero to the left already has one big fruit. That's nice.

A few are still in the kitchen. What did I think when I put all those seeds in soil... :-) Learning is good. But some things are hard to learn.

Well, the adventure continuous :-) Have a great weekend!
   Mats

The really big ones, are still inside.

The first ones moving out

Hi!

Today I decided to move some of the peppers outside. I chose the overwintered varieties. It's always a thriller and kind of a big moment to move them out. The weather is not so predictable, but I think they will be OK.

Here you see a tepin to the left, a malagueta in the middle, and a rocoto to the right. The rocoto doesn't really show, but it's there. The malagueta is full with flowers, and some pods. Some mature, and some new ones.

And here is an overwintered Brazilian chinense. It has flowers too, and maybe it will be too cold for it at night, but I give it a try...

And here is a happy me, enjoying the sunshine :-)

Have a great week!
   Mats

Looking good, so far :-)

Hi,
 a short update. So far, the plants look fine out on the balcony.

This is the view from the kitchen window. Even the tall Dedo de moca is OK. (Phew!)

And my chinense on the other balcony is fine. It is not totally covered by the protective net, and it gets very windy there. But, so far it's OK.

Under the net, there is another "climate". Nice looking plants.

Here are some pictures from my walk to a conference this morning. Passing the City Hall.

Further downtown...

Under the bridge...

At my destination. Viewing the Royal Palace

What a fantastic summer day!

Wishing you a hot weekend!
   Mats

Moving out

Hi!

A week ago, weather was like in November... Today it was more like July..

I checked the weather forecast, and it looks promising. So today, I moved the peppers outside. It's earlier than previous years, but I'm tired of having a jungle indoors... :-)




Here I am with the dedo de moca. I'm almost 2m tall, so it's a tall plant. Amazing. It's from seed that I started four months ago. Cool.

  

The shorter ones are under a protective net on the smaller balcony. The sun and the wind are the two forces that can break the plants before they are hardened.

My overwintered pequin from Ischia has some pods turning red already. And the dedo de moca from last year  has one pod that soon will be ripe too. Quite a luxury to harvest nice peppers in mid May :-)

Wishes for a hot week!
   Mats

Moving out

Hi!

I had planned to wait another week before moving my little "darlings" out on the balcony. But with summer temperatures and sunshine, I made a quick decision this morning to move them out today. It was a light panic mode this morning, since I'm on a course, and it starts at 8.00. The whole family was engaged and we ran and carried like maniacs :-)

And checking previous years' notes, it's this day +/- 1 day that I usually move them out. So I think it's a wise decision. It should be fine. (Exactly one year ago: http://chilesinstockholm.blogspot.se/2011/05/but-where-will-we-sit.html)

This blog is of course about chiles, and not about me. But for a change, I thought that I want to be on the first picture. Here I am posing next to my pimenta cumari. The plant is already 1,6m tall. I hope it won't break if there are strong winds. But, not it's out there, so it's going to stay there. Keeping my fingers crossed for it.

Here are some of the smaller ones.

Another view...

Getting ready to wrap them in in the fiber net...

And here they are. Now we can't go out on the balcony. My plan is to use this fiber net for some days, and then they are used with their new environment. The sun is strong, and can hurt them bad. But the worst enemy is usually the strong winds on the balcony.

As all previous years, it's always a little nervous the first days they are out. But as all previous years, I expect everything to be fine in the end :-)

Wishing you all a nice week!
   Mats

Moving out (again)

We couldn't stand all the aphids, so I moved them out to the balcony again. And now I will keep them there. No way I'm taking these aphid-loaded plants inside again.

That's sad. I was really hoping for saving a couple of plants for the winter. But I don't see how I will be able to get rid of all the aphids. It's better to start from scratch next year (again).

Well, it was a beautiful day anyway, and I'm not complaining. Here I am enjoying a beer in the sunshine :-)

Have a nice weekend!
   Mats

But.... Where will we sit?

A sunny Sunday morning!

The question for today is - where will we sit???

Have a great Sunday everyone!

  Mats

Trying to learn from experience

At least I hope that I'm a learning being. I try. But it's not easy!

Last year at this time, I moved the plants outside. Actually like I do every year. May 19th, as you can read in this post: http://chilesinstockholm.blogspot.com/2010/05/moving-out.html. It was not very successful... Plants broke, and were tortured by the strong spring winds.

So this year I will at least try to be more patient, and take care of them better. I don't have so many plants this year, so it's actually doable.

Here are the small ones. Shelter behind a fiber net. The sun and the wind makes it tough for them.

And the bigger ones, between chairs to get some shelter from the winds.

And the biggest one had to be moved inside. The winds were not easy for the plant, so it has to rest behind windows.

I plan to take them out in the mornings and in in the evenings for at least a week. Depending on the weather of course. Then I think they can be outside for the rest of the summer.

Wishing you all a nice weekend!

   Mats