Naga X Begins

Two Naga X plants I intend to interbreed. Both the seeds were planted on the 28th of February making them exactly 2 weeks old today.

These seedlings' cotyledons seem to be more linear than all the other chilli seedlings I'm growing. What does that signify?... I suppose it signifies that the cotyledons appear to be more linear. You may be able to tell that I really wanted to have some writing with this picture.

State Of Play 7 Weeks After Planting...

The white habaneros are still trailing the pack... And what's the betting that the scotch bonnets are from different stock¿ I only mention this because all are exposed to the same amount of light and should be, more or less, uniform if sharing the same genetics.

Off Topic: Early Tomatoes... Revisited

Well... Here's the mocked-up greenhouse within a greenhouse that I proposed in my earlier post 'Off Topic Early Tomatoes...'. Whether it's effectiveness will be enough to negate the cold days ahead is yet to be tested, but I think I now have a better than evens chance of success.

I constructed the main body of the cloche from some type of stiff polyethylene sheeting, similar to drinks bottle except thicker, which I found in the shed. I capped this with some LDPE sheeting (food storage bag material) stuck down with some gaffer tape.

The black plastic sheeting acts as a blanket to warm the soil. The brown thing at the base of the plant, that looks like a terracotta pot, is actually a section of drainage pipe acting as a tomato collar. This will channel the liquid feed to the roots that matter because the tap root of the tomato will go down to find a consistent water supply, whereas the roots closest to the surface are better geared towards utilizing nutrients for the plant.

All I need to do now is maintain my optimism, and get the tomatoes best companion plant growing... The marigold.

A Living Example

As promised, here is the Naga hybrid that I gave to my sister last summer. As you can see it's doing quite well considering my sister keeps it on a north facing window ledge and feeds it only hard tap water. There has been no cutting back of the foliage or root ball during the winter, which makes me quite happy about the seeds genetics being pretty hardy. All this aside it'll still be a while before those fruits ripen up to the glorious red.

In one of my previous posts, 'Nature and Fate Conspire', I made a statement about this being an Apache x Naga hybrid. The reality is that I'm still not entirely convinced about the Apache's fatherhood. It's always going to be a guessing game when hot mama Jolokia gets promiscuous with every chilli in the greenhouse. I'll have to wait until they ripen and do a comparative study. In the interim I'll dub it Naga X... Even if it does sound more menacing than it actually is.

Off Topic: Early Tomatoes...

Just to cover my jacksy. I know this is a chilli blog, but some chilli dishes and hot sauces just wouldn't happen without a tom. Anyway, this post can be seen either as a warning, a declaration of my naïvety/stupidity, or a learning curve... I like the sound of the latter.

I've grown tomatoes for a few years now and have always been modestly successful, but this year I broke with my April sowing and followed the packet instructions of a February sowing indoors; in the hope that I could get an earlier summer crop. It always pays to do the homework because I would've known that to try and grow tomatoes in February without a heated greenhouse is leaving too much to chance.

In this part of the UK we are in hardiness zone 8. The hardiness zone is determined by the average minimum temperature, which Norfolk is averaged between -7 °C and -12 °C. I had lulled myself into a false sense of security by the combination of a rather mild January, the appearance of all the spring bulbs, and being able to work outside without my big jacket. I neglected to recount the years before when a hard frost has appeared as late as May.

Beefsteak and a Gardeners Delight Tomatoes The two top candidates for the Frankenstein greenhouse

I'm now left with some comparatively super-sized tomato plants that really need more light and to get their roots down. So now I'll have to improvise a method to defend my plants from the cold. My preliminary plan involves warming the soil by covering it with polythene, and mocking up some mini greenhouses to cover the plants themselves. A greenhouse within a greenhouse is new one to me, though all this could be a vain attempt if the temperature falls below 0 °C for more than a day and a night. I will post an update at some point with either a pic of some Frankenstein's monster of a greenhouse... or some dead tomato plants.

My Method... For The Record

First off! You'll have to forgive my use of the odd 'science-ism'. I'm a student of science, but hope never to be a biologist. I've felt, in the past, like my head has been in a vice whilst trying to wrap my brain around all the ecosystem classification systems out there... Give me a bit of physics any day of the week.

Over the years I've used different methods of germination and have found the method I'm using now the most successful for chillies, peppers, and tomatoes. I do have other methods for other types of seed, but this is one I use for flat seeds of the Solanaceae family.

Número uno on the list is a seed soak. This consists of rain water with a tiny bit of seaweed extract mixed in. I use rain water because of the working hypotheses that acidic water should help break down the seed casing to allow the moisture in and the plant out. Other solutions involve the use of bleach, or citric acid, but these are a bit too hardcore for the humble chilli seed. The seaweed extract isn't particularly necessary, but the alginic acid adds to the overall acidity of the water. I'm also of the thinking that any diluted residue extract on the seed will give that first tiny root (the radicle) a decent meal. I keep them in the soak for 18-24 hours.

Next I take a seed tray (without drainage holes), or a plastic storage container, and line it with a single sheet layer of toilet tissue. If the tissue is thicker than a single sheet I'd pull the different plies apart. Lay out the pre-soaked seeds on the tissue and cover with another sheet of toilet paper. The tissue can now be dampened with water. I use toilet tissue because it breaks down easier and allows the embryonic shoot through. Cover the seed tray with cling film, or plastic wrap, and place in a warm position, preferably with a light source to prevent the seedling stretching when you're not looking. Keep checking the seed tray at regular intervals; making sure the tissue still has moisture in it. If the seeds are left to dry out; it's game-over.

Once the shoot breaks through the tissue prick out the seedlings and plant in 5 cm (2-inch) pots with John Innes No. 1 compost. You could also plant in seed compost. I've heard that others have success with plain old general purpose compost, but this may be a bit too nutrient rich. If you decide to use the general purpose route you might think about mixing some sand with it.

When it comes to potting these on into bigger pots I'd just stick 'em in either the general purpose compost, or my personal choice of John Innes No. 3.

Now these methods are only my way of doing things. Alternate methods, like sowing straight into soil or rockwool, are equally acceptable and may work better for you... I don't want to be divisive about these things and provoke a chilli growers comment backlash.

I am by no means the bees' knees, but I hope I can help someone on the road to a chilli cornucopia...

Trinidad Scorpions Are Set Up To Sting!

Received Trinidad Scorpion seeds this morning and have wasted no time getting them into a soak. I can't wait to get my hands on these. They're mean looking little buggers!

As I mentioned, in my last post, I've now got my Naga Jolokia x Apache seeds going too. They've been in since the 28th and haven't showed any signs of life yet, but still early days.

As a BTW... The sickly Bhut Jolokia has bitten the dust. Oh well! C'est la vie... Ironically

Nature and Fate Conspire

A couple of years ago I bought some Naga Jolokia seeds and decided to grow them in my greenhouse with a few other varieties. At the end of that season I was making some chilli powder and decided to hold a few seeds back from the Naga pods.

As it turned out, these pods were packed with seed and so I germinated them the following spring. I ended up with nearly 90% germination success. Out of ~100 seeds I had over 90 healthy seedlings. Due to my lack of ruthlessness I decided to keep them all; but making presents of some to friends, neighbours, and also selling a few (aided by the honesty box).

Thinking that the poly pots may restrict their growth I decided to plant them out behind the rose bed (The only free space, but plenty of light). The sight I had at the end of the summer was more chillies than I'd ever seen before. I made jars of chilli powder, hot sauce, curries, ristros, and jars of chilli flakes, although I didn't freeze any for some reason.

The look of the chillies was unexpected though. The result was an unintentional Apache hybrid cultivar, which looked like a small wrinkled Naga without the girth; or should I say 'They looked like Apaches'. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the autumn and winter killed these plants. My sister has still got hers on a windowsill. Apparently, it has started flowering and bearing fruit already. I will try to get a pic.

I have decided to germinate some of last seasons seeds. I may try to produce an F1 hybrid by inbreeding the plants produced. Perhaps getting a few more Naga-ish traits coming through. I hope I don't bite off more than I chew though. One thing's for sure; It won't be the hottest in the world, but it will be mine. And you never know I may just make the effort to produce my own super-hot chilli... I have the Bhut Jolokia going and some Trinidad Scorpions on the way... Let's see what happens.

State Of Play 5 Weeks After Planting...

The First Post

Inspired by the recent domino effect of tumbling world records, and watching the exploits of those chilli eating nutters on YouTube; I have decided to record my own chilli growing escapades in this blog.

It is now late February and I started germinating my first chilli seeds of the year about 5 weeks ago. I decided to try and germinate 4 each of Jalapeño, Scotch Bonnet, White Habanero, Bhut Jolokia, and some old California Wonder Sweet Pepper. Being my first grow of the year I neglected to do a seed soak, which may have affected their overall success and resultant staggered germination.

The below table tells the tale...

Plant	Number Successfully Germinated
Jalapeño	2
Scotch Bonnet	3
White Habanero	3
Bhut Jolokia	3*(1)
California Wonder Sweet Pepper	2*(1)
*(sickly, deformed plant)

Although the Jalapeño showed the worst success rate they did germinate first and have been the most vigorous growers since. The Scotch Bonnets and Bhuts are going good; apart from one Bhut that's still green but the future's looking ominous. The White Habaneros are looking healthy enough, but are looking to be slow growers. The peppers were old, old, old stock; so the 75% success is a massive and surprising plus.

As an aside, I also got some toms on the go at the same time... Some Beefsteak, Gardeners Delight, and Maskotka. The toms get going quicker than the chillies and peppers.