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? :-)

With a little help from my friends

With the chiles out on the balcony, I got unexpected help with the aphid problem today. It definitely came from an unexpected source.

A tiny spider got a good meal tonight. Actually, I didn't know that spiders eat aphids. Flies and insects yes, but not aphids. But now I know!

I think this specific spider will take some time to digest tonight's meal :-)

Sorry for the unsharp images, but it's windy tonight, and I was in a hurry :-)

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