Chilli Growing 2000


Growing Diary 2000
Each year we grow a varied selection of plants from small ornamentals in pots to larger bush types in the ground in the greenhouse, see what was grown and how well it performed for the following year

Other diary years to look at:

Ancho Poblano: The name ancho means 'wide,' an allusion to the broad, flat, heart-shaped pods in the dried form. The fresh pod is called poblano, are pendant, vary between 3 to 6 inches long, and 2 to 3 inches wide, and conical or truncated and have indented shoulders. Immature pods are dark green, maturing to either red or brown, and the dried pods are a very dark reddish-brown, nearly black. Cascabell: Means "rattle" and the name refers to the shape of the chile as well as the sound the seeds make when a dried chile is shaken. The cascabel chile is deep red to brownish in color and when mature is about 1 1/2" in diameter. Jalapeno: The fruits are dark green, tapered, three inches by one inch, turning red when mature. Good for pickling or used fresh in salsas. They have thick walls so do not dry well. Medusa: Ornamental chilli pepper which grows upright, brightly colored fruit, which is long and thin, producing a "hair of snakes" look akin to that attributed to Medusa in greek mythology. The fruit is sweet, unusual for ornamental pepper, and goes from green through yellow and orange, to become red when fully ripe.Mexibell: Mirasol: This is a 4" x 3/4" chile which is medium in heat. MIRASOL means "Looking at the Sun" which describes its erect growth habit. Fruits ripen from green to translucent red an have a fruity flavor. Nu Mex Sunrise: About 12cm long, medium fleshed varying in heat, sweet and earthy ripening to a golden yellow. Pasilla: This chile makes a good substitute for Ancho and Mulato chiles. It's called a Pasilla when fresh and Chile Negro only when dried. The fresh Pasilla is thin, 5-7 inches long, and dark green, doesn't look anything like the dried variety, which is almost black. Peter pepper: Named for its similarity in appearance to an anatomical part. Medium hot and good tasting (great for spicing up salsa). The plants can reach two feet and produce good amounts of fruit

	February 2000 This years seeds were planted at the end of February 2000, and although they germinated fairly quickly in a heated propagator weather conditions always take a turn for the worst as April starts, frosts, snow and low temperature always seem to slow them down. (1-2 inches high)

Its nearly June now and still no sun and warmth to get the chilli plants growing although the tomatillo (right) has shot up. So much for global warming more like global soaking in the UK are we ever going to get the summers again to grow these plants. Because of weather conditions all chillis are now being raised in greenhouses as a few outdoor ones have not grown at all.
	July 1, Still not much sun, but warmer and the plants are coming into flower, the robustini is the first one to show its fruit as can be seen left. Above can be seen the tomatillos which are now approaching 5 foot high. The fruit develops in the lantern like husk starting the size of a pea, maturing to a golf ball size. Plenty of fruit from the 2 bushes, some of it being frozen for later use.

Robustini, (end of July), Good crop of early maturing chillis, picked mostly green as they are good for pickling. Bush about 2 foot high.	Mirasol, (end of July), means 'Looking at the Sun', describing the growing habit of this medium heat chilli. Ripening from green to translucent red with a fruity flavour. Good clusters of chillis now forming on the plants.Bush about 2 -3 foot high. (End of oct), Chillis now starting to turn red.

Numex Sunrise, (mid Aug), medium fleshed chilli, varying in heat from medium to hot, this pepper has a sweet earthy flavour. Good for freezing. A few were left on the plant and these started ripening at the end of October to a golden yellow.	Mexibell, (end of July), bell type of pepper with some heat, ripening from green to chocolate to red. Most of the peppers were harvested green , but a few which were left on the plant did turn red.

Jalapeno, (mid Aug), medium heat thick fleshed chilli. Popular with everything from salsas to stews to dips to snacks. Good pickled or smoked (known as Chipotle). We usually freeze a batch of these chillis to keep us going through winter as they freeze well and can be sliced up finely while still frozen to be added to all dishes that need a kick in the colder months.	Ancho-Poblano, (end of July), large mild heart shaped chilli, ripening to red. When dried it is used in sauces or ground to powder. A few ripened to a deep red by October but the majority had been eaten baked and stuffed while they were still green.

Chilaca, (end of July), or Chile Negro, mild to medium heat chilli, often dried then known as Pasilla and used to make moles. Plenty of fruit on 2- 3 foot bushes. All these chillis were harvested together and laid in a tray on top of a boiler where they successfully dried, see the pasilla photo on the varieties page.	Peter Pepper, grown as an ornamental but is edible with a fair bit of heat to it. (end of Aug) Late forming but did start turning red by the end of October.
	Cascabel, (Sept 10), latest of them all which we are growing this year. Plenty of fruits on the bush but none looking to ripen for drying. Unfortunately none of the chillis had ripened to red for drying by the end of November so I gave up on them as they were not very edible in the green state. I'll forget about these in future as they seem to need a very long growing season. All varieties have done well except the cascabel although it had plenty of fruit on. Most of the plants produced plenty of chillis but due to poor weather conditions all summer many of them did not ripen until September onwards, giving them all 7 - 8 months growing time, – the whole of the British Spring, Summer and Autumn !! Different Varieties will be tried next year. Back to Growing Tips