Olho de pombo

Olho de pombo stood out from the beginning this year. It was a beauty with dark stems, and it was severly broken during a storm in May (http://chilesinstockholm.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html).

But it recovered and produced lots of pods. Not very easy to get a good picture of the pods, since they are quite well hidden under the leaves. Here I got a shot of our house spider. We call him Janne Långben (Jan Longleg).

 

And here are some pods. The almost look like coffee beans.

 

A nice harvest. The pods were hot, with a typical chinense flavor.

More pictures here:  http://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.php?action=variety&id=1206

Beautiful pods on a beautiful plant

The plant that was more or less destroyed in the strong winds earlier this spring, was olho de pombo. Check this out http://chilesinstockholm.blogspot.com/2010/05/challenges.html to see the destruction...

But chile plants are strong, and it recovered well. Now it has lots of beautiful purple/brown pods.

Thank you Peter for the seeds. It sure is a nice plant. I'm not sure about the species though. First, I thought that fudging from the flowers, it was a chinense, but maybe it is an annuum? Anyone who knows?

Hot regards,
   Mats

Me and Mr. Miyagi?

Sunshine and 25 degrees yesterday. Strong winds, rain and 10 degrees today.

Can you guess what that means for a chile grower who has moved the plants out to the balcony?
























Yes... I sort of knew it when we went out at lunchtime today. That the winds would do some harm. But I didn't take action. It has happened before, and it will probably happen again.

When we came home in the afternoon, a chair had fallen over one of the plants. Breaking two branches completely, and damaged two other branches.
















It's sad. It's my "olho de pombo", Capsicum chinense. Full of flowers.

So I tried to do my best with surgery tape, and try to fix the damaged branches. The other two I will try to make them develop roots.














Anyway, I felt a little like Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid, when he fixed the broken bonzai tree. What do you think about my new skills? :-)

Can chiles be lovers?

This is my "Olho de pombo". I didn't know the species when I started the seeds, but I think it's a Capsicum chinense judging from the flowers.

I've grown chile peppers for 15 years now. But - I have never seen two flower buds hug. It is almost like they are in love. Aren't they beautiful? Nature is fantastic!

First repot!

y chile plants this year are for sure of various sizes. It's really not unexpected, because some seeds are over 12 years old. Some germinate, and then die, while others strugge, and at least now seem to make it. The one in the middle of the front row on the picture below is from fresh seeds. Prik dae Luang. It's the first time I grow it, and it seems to be a fast grower.

Here is a tips how to do when the small plants have grown too tall. You simply plant them deeper in the new pot, and let just a little bit of the plant stay over the soil. The stem under the soil will develop roots, and it will get strong and good looking :-) On the left picture below you see that they are quite tall and will probably need support in order to grow OK. On the right picture, you can see how deep I have planted them.

Prik dae Luang

Olho de pombo

And even more obvious with this one.

And a few more
I really want to have some Peru yellow this year, so I decided to start some more seeds. And while I was at it, I dug deep in my seed box, and found some very old favorites. Not sure at all if they will germinate, but I give it a try.

• Cumari Enio
  
• Cumari
  
• White habanero
  
• Cheiro de Para Recife 2001
  
• Peru Yellow '02