Trying to fix a chinense with a plaster

Good morning!

We have had a couple of days with really strong winds. It's been a thriller to see how the plants almost lie horizontally in the wind. I expected more "victims" than the two broken plants, that I ended up with.

Yesterday we tried to fix the broken chinense with a plaster. A technique that worked last year. But since the winds continued all through the day, I guess it never got a chance to heal. So this is how it looked this morning.

As you see, not a major problem. It's more a technique for fixing broken plants, that I wanted to share with you. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Today is a new beautiful day :-) So - I'm wishing you all great Sunday.

Regards,
  Mats

What a week

A week ago, we had temperatures around 25C. Perfect for the pepper plants.

Then we got some winds from the north. And we had night temperatures around 6C. Daytime around 10-13C.

To spice that up a little, the winds have been strong.

Saying that. It's a mess on the balcony. But it's not too bad. It could have been worse. Some broken branches, and many leaves that have blown away.

I used chairs to support the plants in the strong winds, and I think that is what actually saved them from total destruction.

Later on today I will go and inspect the damages. I hope I will get a positive surprise :-)

It's amazing. Even the 2+ metre Capscium baccatum is still standing :-)

Phew. Life as a chile pepper balcony farmer is more dramatic than you can imagine :-)

Wishing you all a nice weekend!
   Mats

Tropical Stockholm part II

Hi!

I hear myself saying - never ever give up... But now I'm close.  For I-don't-know-how-many times, the strong winds have thrown the plants all over the place. It may not look very bad, but they get messed up with each other, the branches break, and the fruits fall off.

Even the super heavy big pot was thrown over today, breaking my dedo de moca, and my cumari. The one that I thought was bod'e but turned out to be a baccatum, was also broken, as well as another one. So I have thrown them away now.

Here is my involuntary harvest tonigt. Too bad about the dedo de mocas, I really enjoy them when they are mature.

I don't know what kind of tactic I should have from now on. I need to calm down, and think about it. A good idea might be to take some pots away. The ones that don't have any flowers, will never get fruit this year anyway.

I have not picked many fruits this year, so it may be too early to draw any conclusions. But none of the chiles that we picked have had seeds. Earlier, I've had a couple of chile without seeds, but this year we've had ZERO seeds. Isn't that weird? What is your experience?

Another one of my favorite sayings are - the only thing certain is change...

Stormy regards,
   Mats

Tropical Stockholm

Hi!

The "much above average" temperatures continue. Today we had strong winds and lots and lots of rain. Almost like the afternoon rain in more tropical places. I was greeted by chaos on the balcony.

A few branches broken, but no major damage...

Hot regards,
   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

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

Victim from the balcony

PI 596058 Chuquisac - one of the baccatum was broken on the balcony in the strong winds. I can sense a repetition from last year, when exactly the same thing happened. And from the years before.

Guarded by our Maya friend, I will see if it can develop roots. One has to try :-)

Wishing you all a nice week to come!
   Mats

Moving indoors

I thought I was going to keep my "darlings" out on the balcony longer than this. But today, it was like walking a devastation trail on the balcony. My cumari was broken because the dedo de moca fell over it in the storm. Tearing down other plants and breaking some branches, resulting in fruits on the floor...

Anyway, such is life as a balcony-chile-farmer-in-Stockholm. So the major question this afternoon was... Which varieties to bring indoors...

After some thinking, I decided that I bring the galapagoense, the broken cumari, cardenasii, rocopica and chilipiquin manor. The other ones are still freezing their roots off in the strong winds.

It's a little sad, but follows more or less the same pattern each year.

Next question. Where are we going to have dinner? :-)

Have a great weekend!
   Mats

After the storm

Yesterday we had very strong winds all day and all through the evening.

In other words - that was not a good day for chile plants on a balcony in Stockholm. Chile plants are not fond of strong winds.

Examining the plants this morning was not fun. My cheiro from Recife has lost all the leaves. The leaves on the cardenasii is dry and lifeless. Branches are broken, and fruits have dropped.

I will let the plants be until tonight, but I will need to dust off my barber skills, and start cutting them. Hoping that they after all are OK.