Chilli Babies Spring into Growth

Spring has to be my favourite season; it’s nature’s season of birth, growth & regeneration. Corny I know, but in the greenhouse today, whilst potting up more chilli babies, the sun was shining, Blackbirds were singing and blossom on the fruit trees was gently fluttering in the breeze; so you do tend to get a bit contemplative.

From New Year’s Day we start nurturing our chilli babies. First in heated propagators, then as soon as they pop their heads through the soil they are transferred under lights. Once they are strong enough we move them into the heated greenhouse, which is where we are up to now.  This is where things start to spring forward (pardon the pun!)

They will stay in the greenhouse to for a while and then be potted up into buckets and moved into their permanent position in the polytunnel.  Apart from a few special plants that Mr C likes to keep a watchful eye on, they stay in the greenhouse; easier to talk to and gives him an excuse to have a Thatchers in the greenhouse each evening!

So what are we growing?  Well, all the chillies used in our sauces for a start:

Aji Lemon Drop (Not so Mellow Yellow)
Bengle Naga (Strawberry & Bengle Naga Jam)
Butch T Scorpion (No.5 Sauce)
Carolina Reaper (Beet the Reaper Sauce)
Cayenne (Cayenne Sweet Chilli)
Dorset Naga (Naga Burn Sauce)
Fire (Indian Fire Sauce)
Jamaican Jerk (Indian Fire Sauce)
Jalapeno & Ancho (Smoky Jo Sauce)
Orange Habanero (Orangatongue Tingler Sauce)
Red Habanero (Naga Burn & No.5 Sauces)
Scotch Bonnet (Wake Me Up Before you Go-Go – Chilli Marmalade)
7 Pot Yellow (Twisting my Lemon Man Marmalade & Yellow Peril Sauce)
Trinidad Morouga (No.5 Sauce)
Turtle Claw (Tangy Turtle Claw Sauce)
Yellow Fatalii (Yellow Peril Sauce)

Plus various other varieties Mr C likes or wants to try; once a chilli addict, always a chilli addict!  We’ll tell you more about them in future blogs.

If you would like to try growing your own chillies, give it a go.  There are so many wonderful varieties out there and although it’s a bit late to grow from seed, there are a couple of seed producers we highly recommend that provide plug plants.  Joy and Michael from Sea Spring Seeds (developer of the Dorset Naga and the new Spaghetti Chilli) also Matt Simpson of Simpson Seeds (the grower Naga Nick intrusted with his “Katie & Lucy” Chillies)

For a colourful chilli, try “Numex Twilight” a simply stunning, bushy plant that produces medium heat chillies in an array of colours in Red, Orange and Purples. 

Until next time, enjoy the Spring and of course Chilli too.

 

Mrs C. x