As usual we are growing a mix of our favourites which include mild to hot and some attractive pot plants. This years super hots include the Worlds Hottest, the Carolina Reaper, which turned out a bit disappointing with pod size although it did have a fierce heat. Nothing new to report on the growing equipment except we have a Duo Grow from Geenhouse Sensation which works in the same principle as the Quad Grow.
This Years Varieties
Aji Pulsar (Capsicum baccatum) Medium. Nearly white, erect fruit, turn orange then red. Fruits are sweet, crisp and crunchy with a respectable amount of heat. Good flavour. Low growing plants to about 60 cm.
Anaheim (Capsicum annuum) Mild. Famous development from the original New Mexico State University in early 1900's, low to medium heat with thick flesh, good for sauces and stuffing.
Assam Bhut Jolokia (Capsicum chinense) Plant produces good yields of 6 cm long by 2 cm wide by hot peppers. Peppers are extremely hot and turn from green to red when mature. Plant has dark green leaves, green stems, and white flowers. Reported to be measured over 1,000,000 Scoville Units! This variety produces higher yields than the other Bhut Jolokia. Assam is where the Bhut Jolokia originates. One of the five hottest peppers in the world from India.
Carolina Reaper (Capsicum chinense) This is a hybrid of the Capsicum chinense species, originally called the "HP22B", bred by cultivator Ed Currie, who runs PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The Carolina Reaper was rated as the world's hottest chilli pepper by Guinness World Records according to 2012 tests, averaging 1,569,300 SHU on the Scoville scale with peak levels of over 2,200,000 SHU.
Chocolate Cherry Bomb (Capsicum annuum) Small bushy plants produce round chocolate coloured chillis, green maturing to dark chocolate cherry shaped peppers. Can be eaten green or brown with a thick flesh which make them great for pickling or stuffing with cream cheese. These are mildly hot, round (1,5" - 2") chilli peppers start their growing cycle Green and then turn a bright, attractive chocolate as they ripen.
Fatalii (Capsicum chinense) The deadly hot pepper from the central African Republic. Fatalii is a Habanero relative, but the fruit matures to bright yellow and is long, wrinkled and tapers to a point - about 2 to 3 inches long. The plants produce lots of peppers - they start producing early and finish late. Fatalii's have a fruity, almost citrus-like flavour and they make a very attractive-coloured hot sauce.
Hot Cherry (Capsicum annuum) A great tasting hot chilli and perfect for barbeques and parties. 1.5 to 2" wide mature to bright red. Great for stuffing with cheese and grilling. Upright plants to 20". Good yields.
Krakatoa (Capsicum annuum) Compact Tabasco type fruits on a compact plant. Fruits ripen green with a purple tinge to fully red at Maturity. Fruits can be used fresh or dried and ground for seasoning. This is a great chilli for the kitchen window sill for plucking one off when needed. Very hot at maturity!
Lemon Drop (Capsicum baccatum) Hot. These bright yellow chillis grow to 1 ½" (4cm) long and ½" (1cm) wide, with a strong lemon flavour to them.
Nu Mex Sunflare (Capsicum annuum) These chillis are great together to make a splash of colour that will have peoples heads turning for another look, and you can eat them. Immature fruit colour is green, while mature fruit colour is yellow, red, and orange. The Sunflare chilli plant produces good yields of 3 ¼" long by ½" wide hot chillis. Chillis grow upright and turn from green to a bright yellow when mature. A great chilli for adding colour to cooking and a colourful hot chilli to brighten the home or garden. The chillis are hot, however, the level has not been tested.
Purple Serrano (Capsicum annuum) Beautiful purple version of the Serrano. The peppers are slightly longer than the regular Serrano, but they have the same bullet shape. This pepper originates from the mountains of northern Mexico. Serrano's means: from the plains or mountains. The plant, which has fuzzy foliage, can grow between 50 cm to 150 cm tall. The pods colour during ripening from green, to deep purple and finally red. The plant produces large purple flowers.
Padron (Capsicum annuum) Small sweet Spanish heirloom chilli pepper from Galicia, approx 1 in 10 harvested Padron chilli peppers are really hot the remainder have little heat, harvest can start from the green stage. Peppers mature from green to red, horn shaped and some get hotter as they mature, but which ones? Excellent for Tapas, stir fries, stuffed, grilled or fried whole in olive oil. They are usually pan fried with a pinch of salt and eaten by holding the stalk. From 1,000 to 12,000+ SHU.
Summer Fire (Capsicum annuum) A prolific fruiting variety which is dripping with small hot fruits on a compact leafy semi-trailing plant. The fruits mature from deep purple through cream and orange to mature to a bright red. Summer of Fire’s unique plant habit makes it a perfect choice for hanging baskets and containers. The plants have a good tolerance to cooler weather lasting well into the autumn. Harvested fruits are easy to dry as well as being ideal for fresh use. Grows to a height of 30 cm and spread of 60 cm.
This Years Equipment
Growth Technology Chilli Focus Chillis and peppers have specific nutritional requirements. While it is true that they can perform reasonably well with general purpose “feeds”, the best results will be achieved by using a formulation designed specifically for them. Chilli Focus is precisely formulated for the needs of chillies and peppers – it does not contain urea. It supports the production of healthier, more vigorous plants and colourful, juicier fruits.
Jiffy Jiffy Pellets The Jiffy-7® pellet: fine netting is filled with high-quality substrate and then compressed to form a handy pellet. Just add water, and the little planting wonder grows to up to seven times its size in a few moments. It is held together by fine netting, ensuring optimum air/water exchange.
Greenhouse Sensation Vitopod Precise control propagator- the accurate electric digital thermostat can be set to any 1°C between 5°C and 30°C and the display shows the actual and the set temperatures. The lower temperatures are ideal for over-wintering cuttings and prized plants, the higher temperatures are great for getting hot chillis and exotic plant seeds off to a flying start. Large vents in lids and sides – for superior humidity control, so your plants don’t suffer from damping-off. Even Heat - delivers an even heat throughout the base, so there are no hot spots or cold spots and your seeds and cuttings will germinate evenly. Height adjustable – add the extra layers to give plants more space. Perfect for when the weather is taking its time to warm up enough for you to plant-out and for protecting taller mature plants from the cold. Robust - the Vitopod is built to last. The lids and sides are made from a robust acrylic and are treated to protect them against the UV deterioration which makes other propagators turn yellow and brittle.
Greenhouse Sensation Octogrow takes 8 young plants in 11 litre pots and keep them perfectly fed and watered at all times thanks to the large Smart Reservoir and FeederMat controlled watering, so that you raise healthier plants with bigger harvests.
Greenhouse Sensation Duogrow Self Watering Planter - Grow 2x bigger harvests with our Duogrow planter. The impressive growth is thanks to the clever way the stylish Duogrow keeps plants perfectly fed and watered for 14 days at a time. The Duogrow’s 30cm pots are ideal for any plants usually grown in a pot or growbag –chillis, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, aubergines, peppers and any tall cropping plants.
Greens Horticulture The T5 grow Light is specifically designed for propagation and out of all single fluorescent lighting units available on the market; it offers the most even light dispersal. This is the 4’ 8-way model that measures 119cm (l) x 66cm (w) x 6cm (d), making it ideal for large propagation set-ups. The unit itself houses eight 54W blue spectrum lamps (red spectrum lamps are available if needed) and comes with two on/off switches mounted on the side. One switch controls the four outer lights and the other switch controls the four inner lights to give you complete control over the spread of light your plants receive.