Flowering Over wintered chilli plants?

Need to know the best time to plant?

Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter

User avatar
Primrose
KG Regular
Posts: 8054
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:50 pm
Location: Bucks.
Has thanked: 37 times
Been thanked: 281 times

I don't think chillies get blight but the pot on the right rather looks as if it has. Actually it looks as if it's been attacked by some kind of infection although I've never had this problem with chillies. it also looks as if a snail may have got at it. I've never tasted chilli leaves so don't know if they're hot like the fruits, but I've had my pepper plant leaves attacked by snails in my plastic greenhouse this summer. They seem to get everywhere.

I've only dried chillies once which I did in the airing cupboard. I don't think they could have been 100% dry before I stored them in a glass jar as they subsequently went mouldy unfortunately. These days we either deep freeze them whole and use as required or turn them into chilli paste which we store in small jars in the fridge and just use a teaspoon when we need some heat in something. We prefer this latter method as it saves you from the risk of chopping chillies and accidentally rubbing your eye, or something even worse !

If you try the airing cupboard method for drying them over a few weeks, I'd still perhaps finishing the drying in a very low oven for a short period just to wring out the last vestiges of moisture, otherwise you could end up with them going mouldy.

I've successfully over-wintered chilli plants by pruning them back drastically at the end of summer cropping and changing a little of the compost but I always lose a few to sustained whitefly attacks. I suspect this is because outdoors they're up against a house wall and are sheltered but catch a little breeze whereas indoors the air is very still and this seems to produce a very favourable breeding ground for whitefly unfortunately.
Westi
KG Regular
Posts: 5908
Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 4:46 pm
Location: Christchurch, Dorset
Has thanked: 671 times
Been thanked: 238 times

The way the leaves are curled on the plant on the right seems like there might be something trying to wrap the leaves around them to make a wee breeding/hiding spot! Or it could just be dead, or is there is something in the soil, tip it out - have a poke around, it's not saveable anyway by the look of it!

Westi
Westi
User avatar
Pawty
KG Regular
Posts: 604
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 6:12 pm
Location: Hampshire

I do find that spiders love them and have found caterpillars in the past making a nest. It's odd that it's just the one plant.

Primrose, how do you make chilli paste and how long does it last in the fridge? I tried to make the river cottage harrisa paste which you also keep in the fridge but it went mouldy even though you keep the top covered in olive oil.

Thanks

Pawty
User avatar
Primrose
KG Regular
Posts: 8054
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:50 pm
Location: Bucks.
Has thanked: 37 times
Been thanked: 281 times

Pawty. I grow the Hungarian Wax chillies which produce a large fleshy fruit (which are supposed not to be too hot but occasionally you get a rogue one which blows your head off!) and I usually grow half a dozen plants so accumulate enough in the freezer until they're ready to be cooked down in one bulk batch. If the chillies you have on those two plants are all you have, you may not accumulate enough to make it worthwhile doing.

Anyway, I've posted the recipe in the Recipe Section. Our paste stores in the fridge for several months but as mentioned in the recipe, don't cover the paste with olive oil as this could trigger botulism. I once did this with a jar of slow oven dried herby tomatoes and they all went mouldy in the jar which I had topped up with olive oil. (Very annoying because you have to cook down quite a lot of your valuable tomato crop to make them and I thought I would save a lot of money not having to buy these expensive ones from the supermarket delicatessen !)
User avatar
Tony Hague
KG Regular
Posts: 691
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2005 5:26 pm
Location: Bedfordshire
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 13 times
Contact:

If you want a chilli that looks a bit like Hungarian Wax, but does more reliably blow your head off, seek out Ohnivec :D

I'm plucking up courage to do something with the Red Savinas I have ripening nicely at the moment.
User avatar
Pawty
KG Regular
Posts: 604
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 6:12 pm
Location: Hampshire

Hi,

These are this years chillies - dried and very hot! Mixture of hot mix and orange wonder.

My method for drying (due to them going mouldy with the string up method in previous years) is split them open with a very sharp knife then place in a sieve and put them on top of a warm radiator for three days. And this is the result.... Although they do loose a little colour they don't loose the heat!

Pawty
Attachments
image.jpeg
image.jpeg (424.8 KiB) Viewed 2678 times
Westi
KG Regular
Posts: 5908
Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 4:46 pm
Location: Christchurch, Dorset
Has thanked: 671 times
Been thanked: 238 times

That's one hell of a lot of chillies Pawty!

Like your tip for drying. Mine are only mild to medium types, but all got caught in the frost, so will be buying in this year. I got distracted with hedge row trimming when should have been potting them up!

Westi
Westi
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic