The chillis are a mix of some I grow every year and some new ones, I’ve also got some chillis over wintered in the greenhouse. The tomatoes are my favourite varieties as I’ve just decided to grow the ones I like this year to save on space.

2012 Chillis (sown 22/01/12)

• Mixed Caribbean - A mixture of 5 very hot chilli peppers from the Caribbean, includes Habanero and Scotch Bonnet chilli peppers in different colours and shapes.
• Naga Morich -  is a small-medium shurub with large leaves, small, five-petalled flowers, and blisteringly hot fruit. It differs to the Bhut Jolokia and Bih Jolokia in that it is slightly smaller with a pimply ribbed texture as opposed to the smoother flesh of the other two varieties.
• Sweet Pepper – Traditional sweet peppers, I use loads of them so like to grow them.
• Guajillo chilli - The guajillo chilli’s thin, deep-red flesh has a green tea flavor with berry overtones. Its fruits are large and mild in flavor, with only a small amount of heat (rating 2,500 to 5,000 on the Scoville scale).
• Hot Portugal – one of my favourites and a type of Anaheim, great flavour and not too hot.
• Gold cone chilli - Capsicum annum that has small white/yellow pods that look great on a window sill or patio, brilliant for in salads or stuffed with cheese.
• Aji Pinguita De Mono - The name Aji Pinguita De Mono translates to ‘ little monkey dick’ a reference to the pods shape. The pods are small measuring only 0.5 to 1in long, are slightly curved and taper to a point. They mature from green to a bright scarlet. This variety is among the hottest of the little Aji’s known in Peru measuring 70,000 – 80,000 Scoville units. The Aji Pinguita de Mono is found in all regions of the Peruvian jungle, mainly in the central valley of Chanchamayo.
• Aji Limon – Another Peruvian jungle chilli, bright yellow pods with a distinctive citrus flavour, great in salads.
• Violet Cayenne – Brilliant purple and white flowers, 3″ long thin purple pods, a real stunner.
• Numex Big Jim – The largest of all the chillis, mild heat, perfect for stuffing, frying, battering etc etc.
• Dedo De Moca – Small Brazilian variety, often dried and ground also known as pimenta-calabresa.

2012 Tomatoes (sown 22/01/12)

• Beams Yellow Pear – Sweet, yellow pear shaped tomato.
• Hawaiian Currant – Tiny, pea sized tomato, perfect for salads and garnish. Great as a snack too.
• Red Cherry Tomato – Generic red cherry tomato, always a favourite.
• San Marzano Tomato – widely considered as one of the best tasting tomatoes in the world and a firm favourite of mine.

2011 Chillis (over wintered)

• Sweet Bell Pepper – Small, sweet, no heat but great for stuffing
• Hot Portugal – one of my favourites and a type of Anaheim, great flavour and not too hot.
• Naga Morich -  is a small-medium shurub with large leaves, small, five-petalled flowers, and blisteringly hot fruit. It differs to the Bhut Jolokia and Bih Jolokia in that it is slightly smaller with a pimply ribbed texture as opposed to the smoother flesh of the other two varieties.
• Yellow Scotch Bonnet – hot and fruity, great chilli
• Orange Habenero – like the yellow scotch bonnet but orange.
• Explosive ember – Purple leaves, purple chillis that grow upward.
• African sun – I don’t know much about this one, hoping it’s second year will prove more fruitful

you can see them by clicking the link below

http://www.asdamagazine.co.uk/2010/01/chillies/

I really should be planting my chilli seeds now but it’s still a bit cold with all of this snow we have been having so I have decided to leave it a few more weeks, maybe until the middle of Feb, I will just see how the weather plays out.

Everything has been a bit neglected of late because i’ve been so busy, things are calming down a bit now so you can expect to see more very soon.

In the meantime if you are wondering how to get your chilli growing off the ground then take a look at these posts from last year:

Growing Chills – Intro

Growing Chillis – Part 1 : Getting Started

Growing Chillis – Part 2 Germination

Growing Chillis – Part 3: Potting on

Growing Chillis – Part 4: Watering and Feeding

If you have any questions please get in touch

If  however you aren’t lazy like me and want to keep your plants alive over winter, then it is really easy and can be done in a few steps.

1. Take any chillis that are still on the plant, if they haven’t ripened put them on a bright windowsill
2. Cut the plant back so that all you have left is about 12-15cm of the main stem.
3. Wrap the pot in bubblewrap to help insulate it and then place in a warmish but light place, If you have a greenhouse they will be fine in there otherwise a windowsill, conservatory or near some patio doors would be fine.
4. Now leave alone until it starts to show signs of life in February/March

Just remember not to water the plant, if you do you may rot the roots.

I will upload some pictures later as soon as I have cut my two plants back.

In the mean time if you have any questions please let me know!

Ingredients

• 1 pack of your favourite corn or flour tortillas/wraps
• 1 425g tin of chickpeas
• 1 lemon
• 2 chillis
• handful fresh coriander
• few cumin seeds crushed
• 2 cloves of garlic
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil

Method

1. Heat your griddle pan up really hot and toast the tortillas until crispy (you can also bake them in the oven as that works but doesnt give you the smokey flavour)
2. Leave the tortialls to cool then cut into triangles.
3. Drain and rinse the chickpeas then put in the blender with the chillis, garlic, salt, pepper, coriander and crushed cumin seeds, whizz until smooth ish, then add a little olive oil to thin.
4. Chill until ready to use then spoon some of the humous onto the triangles and serve

Once dried you can leave the chillis whole or grind them up into chilli flakes or chilli powder, they give a lovely deep flavour if used dried or a slightly more mellow flavour if you re hydrate them in water first.

In the mean time if you would like to dry your chillis there are 2 ways i would suggest:

The first is to put your oven on a very low setting say 50 degrees, place the chillis on a baking tray in a single layer, place in the oven and bake for a couple of hours until dry, turning occasionally.

The second method is to simply leave them on a plate on a light and airy windowsill, making sure they are dry and any moisture is wiped away, this takes longer but it’s a great process as you can see the chillis drying out almost daily.

I will post a full seed saving guide on the website as soon as i can but in the mean time the quickest way to do it is as follows:

1. Gently scrape the seeds from your chosen chilli
2. Remove as much of the white pith as possible.
3. Place the seeds onto a piece of kitchen towel and then fold up securely or place another piece on top.
4. Leave in a warm dry place until the seeds become snappable.
5. Place in an air tight container and keep until next year.

• Chilli Hot Chocolate – a delicious hot chocolate drink perfect for warming you at any time of the year.
• Vodka Soaked Chillis - grown up treat courtesy of Green and Blacks, perfect for with after dinner coffee
• Chilli Chocolate Microwave Mug Cake – A quick and scrummy desert that’s great to eat snuggled up on the sofa
• Chilli and Cheese Bread Swirls – Scrumptious buns that are great for with soup or stuffed full of ham and more cheese.
• Fish Cakes with Tomato and Chilli Jam – A light and delicious starter with a lovely sweet chilli kick
• Chilli Yorkshire Puddings - My twist on the legendary Yorkshire puddings
• Chilli Chocolate Flapjack – Flapjack with added heat, makes a great hiking or lunchtime snack
• Chilli and cheese loaded potato skins – great party food or side dish

There are loads more recipes in the chilli recipes section of the blog too, i hope you enjoy cooking and eating them, either way please let me know what you thought by leaving a comment on the blog.

They keep really well but they might go a little mushy when you defrost them it just depends on how long they have been in your freezer.

The answer is simple, by giving a way a few chillis to friends and family not only do you put a smile on their face and save them some money but you can show them how easy it is to grow fruit and vegetables and with any luck you can inspire them to give it a go for them selves.

You could even show them how to save the seeds to get them started next year, then with any luck they will grow something you haven’t, then you will have someone to swap produce with.

I always remember picking my first chilli and how it inspired me to learn more, little did i realise how much i would become addicted to growing things and how much i would enjoy it.