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

Cardenasii, Albertos, Patriks and serrano

Time flies, and hopefully spring is getting closer. Today it's snowing and -6C. So what can be better than repotting some chile peppers :-)

CAP 1530 /97 - Capsicum cardenasii

This one is doing fine, and has developed nice strong roots. I have tried to grow this specific variety before, without realy succeeding. So I hope it works this time.

Another cardenasii that I grew some years ago was a very nice plant. Different to many other Capsicum.

Alberto's

Alberto's is another old C. baccatum favorite of mine. Here is a picture from previous years.

"Patrik's chinense"

I didn't expect all the seeds to germinate. So now I have six plants of this one. It's a wild chinense, and I love these small hot fruits. Even when repotting, it truly smells like a chinense. Fantastic!

Serrano

And, last but not least the serrano. I underestimated the viability of the seeds. So now I have six plants of these too :-) But that's nice. I love serranos!

The whole bunch

So, this is how this year's chiles look so far. Still waiting for some tiny tiny ones to grow up. Maybe the seeds are too old. But I'm waiting patiently.

 

Regards,
  Mats

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
  

Two more! Serrano and Peru Yellow

After sampling the "Hot-Headz! Pepper Sauce Classics Serrano" yesterday, I felt an urge to grow serrano this year. I have a special relationship with the serrano. It's definitely one of my favourite Capsicum annuum.

My chile pepper passion started in Austin, Texas in 1992. At that time, "Spanish pepper" was more or less the only fresh alternative in the food stores here in Stockholm. It's a hot variety, without any real taste.

So when I came to Austin, and tasted my first jalapeño, the passion was awakened. I was sweating through more or less every lunch and dinner. Wanting to learn and experience more every day :-) Jalapeño, serrano, habanero, poblano and so on. That's when it all started. Though it took 3 years before I started to grow my own chiles.

And while I browsed through my seed list, my eyes were attracted by the line saying "Peru Yellow". It's a good Capsicum baccatum, that could be a nice colour complement to the red serrano.

I think that's going to be about it for what I will grow this year. I'm planning to give the plants a lot of space, and nice pots this year.

Status of the ones growing this year can be found here: chiles2010.

In addition, I'm overwintering my galapagoense, tovarii, tabasco, habanero, dedo de moca, chilipiquin, chacoense and rocopica. I feel that this is a good mix!

Regards,

  Mats