Moving out

Without a warning, summer temperatures arrived Stockholm.



So, I have kept some plants out on the balcony during the days.

And tonight it looks like it's going to be a warm night, so I decided to move all of the plants out on the balcony, and keep them there during the night.

It's always exciting for me and a struggle for the plants in the beginning. If it isn't too cold, the sun is too strong for the young leaves. Or, the winds are too strong.

More details later...

Hot regards,
  Mats

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!

Ninety seven days

Growing chiles brings things into perspective in many ways.

After growing chiles for some years, I still think it's fantastic that you start with a small seed in soil in the beginning of the year. And a half year later, you have a big bush with lots of fruits. Many factors come into play when growing chiles. The kind of soil, the light conditions, fertilizer and so on. But even if they all are treated more or less the same, some varieties or even some plants from the same variety grow differently.

Another perspective that continues to amaze me is the relativity of heat and taste. But of course that's another story.

Today, my wild Capsicum chinense that I got from my friend Patrik opened its first flower. Tiny tiny flowers. Looks promising. I love the heat and taste of the wild chinense. I put the seeds in soil on January 5th, so it's quite fast for being a Capsicum chinense. 97 days.



So my conclusion is - maybe 2010 is a chile pepper year. I have kept growing notes for at least 10 years now, and I actually believe that some years tend to be good for chile pepper growing, while other years are not so well suited. I wonder about the factors that come into play here. Have you experienced the same?

Spring equinox

What can be more suitable than repotting some chiles on the spring equinox?

This morning I repotted three old favorites.

"Albertos"

Which is a nice C. baccatum that I got from the farm of Patricia's uncle near Rio de Janeiro. Though it usually grows quite big, I keep three in the same pot.

Capsicum cardenasii

I've never really succeeded with the cardenasii. But I'm trying once again.

Cheiro from Recife

This one is from seeds from a cheiro that we bought in Recife. I appreciate the cheiro a lot, and enjoy the typical habanero taste, without really being especially hot. Great on crisp bread :-)


Regards,
  Mats

Coffee grounds and baking soda?

Hi!

No illustration this time, but want to tell that I'm trying a new fertilizer on some of my chiles. I've read the coffee grounds (Swedish translation: kaffesump) and baking powder can be used as fertilizer. So that's what I started to use today. I'm an espresso guy, so I use some of the "left-overs" from the espresso in the water. And also a pinch of baking powder.

Anyone with experience from this?

I use a lot of chick peas, beans and sprouts in my cooking. I've used the remaining water from the soaking the beans, to water the chiles. And I think that has worked well. No scientific study behind that, but my habanero is flowering, and looks good anyway. So it can't be wrong. Or?

Regards,
  Mats

First flower

A sign of spring. My overwintered habanero is starting to set flowers!

Isn't it great :-)

Hot Regards,
  Mats

Major repotting day!

It's been a month since my last update. Actually not much has happened in the pots. Well, that's not completely true. Of course - the chiles have grown quite a lot. So today I repotted some into the large pots.

Spring feels closer, but still distant. This is how it looked just a week ago. Carl is acting reference point for the snow and the bench.





Olho de pombo

Serrano
Serranos make my mouth water, so I have six plants. Three in each pot. That's probably going to be a little too crowded. But they have to learn how to adjust :-)

Prik dae luang
This is a new one for me, and I'm happy that it's looking very strong and healthy!

Patrik's chinense
This is a small plant, but they all had huge roots. So I repotted them today. I think it's actually a tiny tiny flowerbud on the right plant on the picture. (The light green thing in the middle.)

Rocoto manzano grande (red)
This is not very uncommon. Two plants in one pot. One plant grows really big, and the other stays small. But I keep them together, and will probably repot them in an even bigger pot later on. I'm hoping for some good manzanos this year!

I have also repotted my Peru Yellow(s) and my cheiro from Recife. They are still quite small, but looking fine. I'm also waiting for some other tiny ones to start growing, but maybe they just are not going to make it. We'll see.

Hot regards,
   Mats