SDCF - South Devon Chilli Farm - Web Log.
Growing chillies and cooking chillies - regular postings throughout the year from the South Devon Chilli Farm : www.southdevonchillifarm.co.uk | Newsletter Subscription | steve@sdcf.co.uk | Blog Subscription |
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Chilli Seedlings now available!
See our competition to win one of seven sets of six chilli seedlings: www.newsletter.sdcf.co.uk
Advance orders can be place for two delivery periods:
Mid-March to Mid-April and Mid-April to Mid-May.
The seedlings available have been selected as sets of six and are shipped as seedlings with one or two sets of true leaves in Jiffy-7 plugs all ready to pot-on into pots.
We currently have the following sets of six available:
Hot Six - Six very hot seedlings (including Bhut Jolokia and five varieties of Habanero)
Tasty Six - Six varieties that are great to cook with.
Super Six - Six chilli plants we return to year after year.
Sweet Six - Six less-familiar sweet peppers - all with great flavour.
Stunning Six - Six really stunning chilli plants just right for a windowsill and adding some heat, flavour and colour into your cooking.
Extreme Six - Six Bhut Jolokia seedlings. If you have tried to germinate Bhut Jolokia in the past, you may have noticed they can be difficult - so why not start with seedlings.
Same Six - Six all the same; you choose.
The seedlings are germinated and cultivated in Jiffy-7 plugs and mailed in robust blister packs, with full care instructions. We recommend potting-on into John Innes No.1 or No.2 into 10cm pots and keeping the seedlings warm (20c -25c).
Read more on our shopping page: Chill Seedlings.
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Saturday, November 24, 2012
November Newsletter - win a chilli hamper (UK only)
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Extreme Chilli Chocolate - coming very soon!
Extreme Chilli Chocolate - coming very soon.
We have been working to perfect the Bhut Jolokia chilli chocolate and have had a lot of very good feedback from the tasters we enrolled via twitter (www.twitter.sdcf.co.uk). Thank you to everyone that helped and all the supportive comments. We made the first 50kg batch this week and we are now just waiting for the two labels we need to package the product.
The Extreme range products all carry the skull-and-crossbones brand - to set it apart from our other products and to give good warning that the products are HOT. The Extreme chocolate brings our Chilli Chocolate range up to six.
Once the Extreme Chilli Chocolate is available, we will be packaging all six flavours into another 'HOT SIX' box - in a similar format to our HOT SIX chilli sauces.
Based on the reaction we've had so far, I think Lucy, chocolatiers here at the farm, will be making a lot more Extreme Chilli Chocolate this year!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Growing Chillies from seed - Part 1
This article is available as a pdf download from:
Growing Chillies from Seed: Part 1
What time of year is best?
In the UK, March and April are the best months to get going with chilli seeds – this should then mean you are picking fruit from July onwards. Some chilli varieties are also suited to being sown later in the year, for example, varieties with fruits that are typically eaten ‘green’ or immature, and for varieties that ripen very quickly. Because chillies need warmth to germinate and grow, later sowings have been known to do better than an earlier sowing because there is less risk of their growth being checked by a period of cold weather.
What temperatures are needed?
Chilli seeds need warmth to germinate - 25˚C is about ideal for the highest percentage of germination. Chilli seeds are unlikely to germinate below 10˚C, and they will germinate most quickly when the compost is about 35˚C. Once germinated, a soil temperature around 20˚C is ideal. Germinating indoors during the Spring will make life easier.
What equipment will you need?
Since chillies do like to be warm, some sort warming equipment is helpful to keep an even temperature:
- Free draining compost
- 3” pots and 6” pots
- A dibber is useful for pricking-out seedlings
- Plant labels
- Warming mat or heated propagator (no essential, but very useful)
- Liquid feed
What to do?
For each variety of chilli you want to grow, fill a 3” pot with good quality, free draining compost – to within 2cm of the top of the pot. Lightly firm the compost down, then sow the seeds evenly on the compost - we tend to sow thickly – then lightly dust some compost on top of the seeds – just a few millimetres (if you have some vermiculite, that can be used to cover the seeds instead). Stand the pots in a deep saucer of warm water until you see signs of water on the surface, then let the pot drain a little.
Keep the seeded pots warm (above 10C, ideally 25C) and inspect daily. Keep the surface of the compost moist. Once the seedlings start to emerge, find a bright position for them.
What varieties are good to start with?
We have found the following varieties to be very reliable and productive:
- Cherry Bomb – Very attractive fruits, first to ripen each year. Good for salsa and stuffing.
- Ring of Fire – A Cayenne variety. Prolific, good for cooking. Can be used green or red and dries very well.
- Padron – Very popular tapas chilli. Prolific, picked immature and lightly fried. Delicious!
- Aji Limon – A hot Peruvian chilli with fruits that ripen green to yellow. Very easy to grow and does not need support. Chillies have a lemon flavour and are good for salsas and cooking.
What next?
In part two will look at pricking out the seedlings and potting on.
Good luck, Steve.
SDCF
Saturday, January 30, 2010
How to identify your chilli plant species
If you are given a chilli plant of misplace a plant marker, this guide should help identify the species:
Pubescens (e.g.Rocoto)
- Seeds Black
Annuum (e.g. Jalapeno)
- Seeds tan colour
- Corolla White (no spots)
- Flowers solitary per node and filament NOT purple
Baccatum (e.g. Aji)
- Seeds tan colour
- Corolla has spots
Chinense (e.g. Habanero)
- Seeds tan colour
- Corolla white or greenish, no spots
- Flowers two or more per node and filament purple
Frutescens (e.g. Tabasco)
- Seeds tan colour
- Corolla greenish, no spots
- Flowers solitary per node
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Chilli Growing Kit - user's guide.
Using the kit. The kit is shipped with seeds for three of our favourite chilli plants - and 60 seeds in all - check our web pages for more details on the varieties you have and what they can be used for. The best time to sow most chillies in the UK is in March and April - maybe late February if you have access to a heated greenhouse. Once you find time to make a start, follow the instruction with the kit to get the seedlings started. Using the Jiffy7 pellets supplied, the seedlings do not need pricking-out - once the seedlings are a few inches high, just pot them on. We recommend a 6" pot with a good soil-based compost - half-fill the pot, pop the seedling and Jiffy plug on the soil and fill-in around it.
After five to six weeks you will have a well establish chilli plant that is starting to develop flower buds. The kit also includes 100ml of 'Chilli Focus' plant food to help development and cropping.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Selecting A Chilli For A Recipe
Have A Taste. Provided you can access the chillies without committing yourself to an entire bag of them, take a chilli, place it in a bag of some sort, and break it open. Reach into the bag and wipe a finger on the area with the seeds; then lick your finger. You may need to wait a few seconds to decide, but it you don't get the heat or flavour you're looking for, try another type.
Selecting From Many. The 'lick-a-finger' test can also be handy if you have a selection of chillies to choose from at home, and want to taste a few to remind yourself of the flavour and heat to help you pick the right one for the dish. Take care to wash your hands before you inadvertently rub your eye.