The Potting Shed

[Taf]

I've been putting it off, but finally went into the greenhouse and harvested about 50 cayenne peppers and composted the plants and compost. The sweet peppers were finished so did them too....

Next step will be to harvest and dry about 400-500 prairie fire chillis and around 200 cayenne in the chilliarium.... I'm going to try to save the prairie fire plants for next year, as they reputably go mad in their second year....

I tied the greenhouse vent ahut too... that wind could have caused it to open and that would be the end of the greenhouse....

I had masses of fuscia to cut back before placing the hanging pots in the greenhouse for the winter... they were all still in flower but the frosts last week knocked them back, ditto the self-seeded nasturtiums all over the garden.... gone to compost heaven now....

[Taf]

Started to finish off the chilli harvest in the greenhouse....



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[Spite]

  You're very fond of your chillis, aren't you?

[Taf]

My likkle babies 

This crop will be frozen, minced, pickled... and I will enjoy them for at least 2 years...

Plus I will have a lot of seed to share with other chilli-heads...

[Spite]

My likkle babies 

  Okaaaay!

  Seriously, how tough are they to grow?

[Taf]

A doddle.... but there are some provisos:

Plant early Jan/Feb with bottom heat if possible... they like about 18c.. covering the seed very lightly (I use vermiculite).

If you can't get the bottom heat, leave them until the weather warms a bit, as otherwise they hardly germinate and are prone to the seeds rotting.

Prick out the seedlings as soon as true leaves form, using a well drained compost (I use perlite and grit with coconut fibre)

At about 4" high, pot them on to 4" pots, then later into their final pots or straight into the soil (outside if all frosts are over).

Some prefer greenhouse/conservatory life, but may will enjoy outdoors in a sunny spot. Prairie Fire (the bushy plants in the photos) form lovely patio-pot/ comservatory-pot plants with drooping flowers raising upward-pointing fruits. Plus if you pick the unripe fruits as they appear, the plant will reflower and make more!! Another nice one for pots is Numex (Centennial breed)... which makes purple fruits!



There is much controversary over keeping them in high temperatures to get the hottest fruit, evn I have found that outside plants in a reasonable summer get hot enough!

Foliar feeding with epsom salts really boosted mine this year!!!

Anyone interested in giving Prairie Fire a try can have free seeds (UK only) though I won't be able to supply too many people 'cos of postal costs.

[Spite]

   Ta, Taf.  Some of that went straight over my head, (Bottom heat?  Perlite?  Foliar feeding?) but I got the general gist.

[Taf]

Bottom heat is what you get from a heated propagator (you can save a fortune by putting a small wattage lamp under your seed trays instead). Any DIYer can sort this out. http://www.uktvstylegardens.co.uk/index.cfm/uktv/StandardItem.step/aID/1075/.shtml

Perlite looks like hailstones, but is very light and absorbs a lot of water, allowing well-drained soil with mini-reservoirs of water. http://www.perlite.net/

Foliar feed means to spray the leaves with (very weak) fertilzer instead of just adding to the roots. Oddly enough, plants can eat through their leaves (they drink actually, but lets not get pedantic  ). http://www.travena.co.uk/foliar_feed.htm

[Spite]

  Ah, I see.  I had an inkling of what 'Foliar' meant, but I wasn't sure.

[Taf]

Just think "Agent Orange" 

[El]

Have been in the garden for most of the day and it was lovely 
ooooooooooooh a bit of sunshine and it has cheered me up no end
AND I have crocus shoots 

[Taf]

Crocus AND daffs here El... and primroses... and freesias.... and lilies... they're all potty this year 

Still to damp to do much out there apart from tidy up and dream of the season to come....

All the carnation cuttings have struck, so I'll be able to plant them out in their final positions once the soil dries a bit... I've loads of corms for different anenomes to plant out too...

I'd like to plant some of the sprouting onions from last year's harvest, but they won't like the wet-cold either.....

Still have LOADS of kiwis to harvest and make more jam 

[El]

I missed the programme on Friday night about veg planting with that woman off Gardeners World called Carol 
gonna get me spuds soon and chit em cos last years were luvverly 
got some primroses out and the fuchia are still growing (haven`t died from last year  }
just hope we don`t get a frost now that will see an end to them 
gonna start on the cleaning of the greenhouse the next time I get a nice sunday 

[fred]

gonna get me spuds

did that ten days ago.   Planted now

[Taf]

Planted-out 75 red onion sets and 75 white onion sets yesterday... lawn looks like it do with a trim... but even the sunshine won't get me doing that task for a few weeks!

I have loads of dried chillis in the greenhouse, so I shall sort them soon... good ones for the kitchen, manky ones as seed donors for the season.

I bought some strange seeds last week: french beans that grow pods up to 1 metre long!

Should be fun getting them into the pot! 

Hmmm.. better pick the last hundred or so Kiwi fruits too.....