I’ve been looking into preserving them. Other than cutting them up and putting into ice cube trays, I’m guessing they can be bagged up whole and frozen in bulk?
They can also be dried @LeadFarmer Either outside in the sun on a very dry day or in a slow oven or in one of those drying appliances. I deseed mine then blitz to have flakes or powder. Keeps f'rages.
The good thing about chillis is that they're small, so it's easier to keep/store them too if you have too many, regardless of which way you do it.
That's also the problem with chillis. You end up with a freezer full of last year's & the year's before that, but they're such fun to grow you'll still plant a load more the next year
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
@LeadFarmer I only grow the Cayenne chillis but I tend to dry them rather than freeze. I use a sharp needle and cotton thread. Pierce the stem and thread each chilli so you make a chain. If you can't dry them outside in the sun, you can hang them in your airing cupboard if you have a hot water cylinder in there. Can take 3 weeks or so if the temp is reasonably consistent. Store whole in jars and then use as needed - either chopped or ground whichever suits. You can also make chilli oil with the fresh ones
My chillies are nearly ready for picking from my 3 year old plant. Take your best ones and at the end of the season cut all branches off and leave a length of bare stem and winter somewhere warm like a heated tray indoors.
My chillies are nearly ready for picking from my 3 year old plant. Take your best ones and at the end of the season cut all branches off and leave a length of bare stem and winter somewhere warm like a heated tray indoors.
So just a bare stem and no branches? Does it need to over winter where there is good light, or would a garden shed be ok? Any watering involved?
Very interesting post with lots of good information. I grew
x1 Basket of FIRE and x2 Poinsettia last year, fed almost daily of chilli
focus. The were grown from seed on a south facing window sill and remained
there until the frost had gone. I then put these outside in the sunniest spot I
could find where they remained until the first risk of frost and they came back
inside. The Poinsettia produced chillies most of the year (can’t recall when I
cut them back) and the BOF up until Christmas. I had new chillies picked by
April this year even though the plants looked in pretty poor shape due to my
“pruning”. The BOF is our favourite as we like a reasonably hot chilli. Really
good to hear someone has had plants for 3 years….
Yorkshire, ex Italy and North East coast. Growing too old for it!
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Or you can pickle or brine them 😋
I’ve not done it but there’s loads of recipes on t’internet.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
That's also the problem with chillis. You end up with a freezer full of last year's & the year's before that, but they're such fun to grow you'll still plant a load more the next year
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
You can also make chilli oil with the fresh ones
Anyone know if home made comfrey feed is suitable for them, and if so would that be during the fruiting period?
Does it need to over winter where there is good light, or would a garden shed be ok? Any watering involved?
Very interesting post with lots of good information. I grew x1 Basket of FIRE and x2 Poinsettia last year, fed almost daily of chilli focus. The were grown from seed on a south facing window sill and remained there until the frost had gone. I then put these outside in the sunniest spot I could find where they remained until the first risk of frost and they came back inside. The Poinsettia produced chillies most of the year (can’t recall when I cut them back) and the BOF up until Christmas. I had new chillies picked by April this year even though the plants looked in pretty poor shape due to my “pruning”. The BOF is our favourite as we like a reasonably hot chilli. Really good to hear someone has had plants for 3 years….