Chillies 2024

Deub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122140931#Comment_122140931

I think the pots are warmer. In the ground, the roots can go where they want to get nutrients. In the post, they cannot so you have to “feed” them and water them more often.
We will see what @ECO_Mental say at the end of the season. The ones in the ground may take more time but could produce more overall.

scarepanda

I fecked them straight into the beds today with the toms. They do what they do, can't be any worse than last year anyways, I was so poor with watering , even though I was out there everyday 🫣.

It will be interesting to see what over all difference eco_mental notices with theirs.

ECO_Mental

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122143285#Comment_122143285

Certainly, the soil in the pots is warmer, even to the point where you could say it's hot. My dark gray pots absorb the heat on sunny days and become quite warm to the touch. The plants in the ground are progressing much better now, and it's possible that the nutrients in the soil could be better to those in the potting compost in the long run. Also I believe the plants in the ground were held back because they were eaten by slugs, which took some leaves off the plants and may have stunted their growth.

Anyway it's a worthwhile experiment, and I'll keep everyone updated on the progress.

ECO_Mental

The chillies are thriving in this heat, and the fruit is beginning to come in as well. Since I haven't labeled any of them, it's going to be like playing Russian roulette later in the year….should be fun😋

The plants in the ground have made significant progress and are somewhat catching up.

The pots are still a lot leafier and look healthy, but the ones in the ground just have as much fruit as the ones in the pots

ECO_Mental

Chillies are flying along, to be honest I think the plants in the ground are over taking the ones in the pots…they are putting on a load of fruit. The more spicier ones like the Carolina Reapers are only now starting to fruit so we will see how successful they have been. Weather has been great not too many sunny days to bring them on but My tunnel has good heat especially into the afternoons .😪

ECO_Mental

Harvested my first chillies today…they are a lot smaller than I thought they would be, maybe there will be bigger ones later

This one was a Khang Starr Leamon Starrburst (3 out of 4 heat level from the seed packet), had a little sliver off it it

actually had a really nice sweet flavour but you could deffo feel the heat! eat a whole one and you would be in trouble.

This is a Purple Carolina Reaper…again smaller than I thought it would be and I might have picked it a few days early as the other side still has some green. I DID NOT TASTE THIS ONE yet!! 😉

Could do with some sunshine to bring on the rest of the chilles…

Supercell

First of my chillies ripening outside, pleased to see it, hasn't been the most sunny of summers, hopefully enough warmth left in the season for a lot more!

ECO_Mental

Coming to the end of the season …here are some of my chillies that I picked yesterday… the Carolina Reapers are mega hot! Even the bigger peppers here have a nice bit of spice to them.

For the smaller super hots and just ordinary hots, I dehydrated them in the air fryer (it does a great job!) and then blitzed them to make chilli flakes/"Devil Dust". I will pickle the medium-sized ones today and see how that works out.

All in all, a good enough season. I think for next year I will plant all my chilli plants in the ground; they did a lot better, and there wasn't half the hassle of looking after them, e.g., watering all the time.

Devil Dust…!!

SouthWesterly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122686511#Comment_122686511

What do you use the pickled ones for?

ECO_Mental

I havent pickled anything yet but normally use them then on pizza toppings, fajitas, tacos etc

SouthWesterly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122686582#Comment_122686582

I Pickled a load last year and don't know what to do with them

LambshankRedemption

Picked one of mine last night for a spicy shrimp stir fry. It was lovely.

I Pickled a load last year and don't know what to do with them

Add a spoonful to things like bolognese or chilli con carne. Add to a pizza.

After pickling did they retain their heat?

SouthWesterly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122692870#Comment_122692870

No idea. I've not eaten them yet 😁

Supercell

Found out something interesting this year - Chillies need watering. Despite last year being much wetter I got a far better crop out of less plants. It was only after a wet week that the plants went into overdrive this year. I had wrongly assumed they liked dryish heat which was the case this summer.

My wife's Chinese chilli sauce is still crazy good even if most of the crop didn't get a chance to ripen.Just mostly green instead of the usual red.

Bill Hook

@Supercell "My wife's Chinese chilli sauce is still crazy good even if most of the crop didn't get a chance to ripen.Just mostly green instead of the usual red."

Do you have the recipe please? There's a bag of green chillis in the fridge waiting for inspiration.

SouthWesterly

Im going to have to pick mine soon.

A few going red but mainly yellowish