Growing Bhut Jolokia Chillies in England
Part three….
Some of you may recall my efforts to grow the hottest variety of chilli pepper in the world, the bhut jolokia, a project I began back in early February.
The chilli seeds were soaked in a special mixture to aid germination and carefully watched over in their electric propagators.
Not all of them germinated, six out of nine came through and these were removed from the propagators and left in the warmest part of the house. I watched over the young seedlings like a mother with her newborn, light and warmth were critical and that’s not easy in an English february.
My other chilli seedlings have come on much quicker than the jolokias, they were ‘potted on’ a while back and are growing well although that doesn’t guarantee a good crop.
So today, nine weeks after sowing the infamous ’bhut’, ‘bih’ and ‘naga’ jolokia’s they were finally ready for the next stage. I used 11cm pots for these, I want them to grow slowly and strongly, I cannot risk anything right now so they will stay in my house for another four weeks before moving onto the greenhouse and finally into the polytunnels and hothouse.
I know it sounds sad but I’ve put a lot of ‘TLC’ into these so they’d better be worth it!
Miles,
They look like strong seedlings and I should report that my kale seedlings have come up as well, in propagators outside. It’s all exciting stuff! Still, you can’t help but think the slugs are planning their attack once the fledglings are planted outside…. I may resort to pellets unless someone out there has a better plan.
Cid
p.s. you needn’t think I’ll be out with a torch after midnight gathering pests…. the last man to try that fell into his pond as I recall
April 12, 2008 @ 1:34 pm
Cid,
Glad to hear about your kale, I too fear the worse on the slug and snail front. I still can’t bring myself to use a bottle of beer on them though. As annoying as they are there are limits!
Miles
April 12, 2008 @ 3:09 pm
Miles,
|’m thinking of going into the hedgehog rental business….. an elite force of mollusc nibblers. They need to be trained first and housing provided but I shall push home the point that it’s an all you can eat buffet
Only problem as I see it getting this business off the ground, is that I don’t actually have any hedgehogs yet…. the clockwork papier mache version is just a prototype and a source of great entertainment for the resident slugs who are currently using it as a tram service 
Cid
April 12, 2008 @ 7:56 pm
Cid,
If you have an overspill of spiky slug eaters then send them my way, I dread their arrival.
Miles
April 12, 2008 @ 8:54 pm
Those seedlings are looking good, Miles! Way better than that leggy start they had. I had a chile disaster and had to replant this afternoon.
Thankfully California’s growing season is so long and it gets so hot here my own seedlings should catch up in 6 weeks or so…
April 13, 2008 @ 1:33 am
Hank,
I know a few peope over here who have had similar chilli troubles-must be a worldwide phenomenon!
April 13, 2008 @ 7:15 am
Miles and Cid,
There is a hedgehog rescue home in Louth that might allow you to adopt a few!
Elsie
April 13, 2008 @ 7:49 am
Miles, from what I hear, TLC is exactly the right ingredient. The farmers I met in Nagaland gave their plants — peppers and everything else — plenty of it. I’m eager to hear how your experiment turns out!
On pests, I’ve talked to farmers in Thailand who successfully use a mixture of neem seed, lemongrass and water, which is crushed and heated, then distributed around crops. Neem has a natural insecticide, which is one of the big reasons the tree is so loved throughout Asia. Don’t know if you can get your hands on these ingredients…. I’m still wondering if we could grow neem in New Mexico. Probably unlikely. It gets a little too cold here.
April 14, 2008 @ 5:28 pm
Karen,
That’s very interesting and thankyou for sharing it with us. Ironically, the jolokia plants are doing better than all of the others, but it’s early days-anything can happen!
I have never heard of neem seed but shall look into it. Forgive my ignorance but ‘cold’ isn’t a word that I would naturally associate with New Mexico, England most definately!
Thanks again Karen
Miles
April 14, 2008 @ 5:57 pm