Growing season 2012

This season is finally starting to have progress now the British summer has appeared for a few days. Blow are the chilli plants that should hopefully keep me stocked up later this year. They include jalapeño, scotch bonnet, Hungarian black, ring of fire ( from Dorset chilli farm) cause red pepper, mystery seeds I am hoping are yellow habarnos from last years west dean chilli fiesta, chilli willi plants, Serrano chillies from the mexican restaurant wahacca. They are starting to look good now so fingers crossed for a good year.

Six lucky plants will be transferred to greenhouse sensation chilli growing stations to try and boost their crop.

Meet @DartmoorChilli Farm

I would like to introduce you to another British chilli farm. Their way is  natural and holistic without the use of herbicides or pesticides making nature do all the hard work.

The are proud of being a green company with a very low carbon foot print and have been awarded a Dartmoor First award for environmental sustainability. Impressively the chilli nursery is off grid, as Dartmoor chilli farm create their own electricity with solar panels and a wind turbine and harvest rain water for our plants

Over ninety varieties of pepper including sweet, mild, medium, hot and extreme are regularly produced from seeds sown in January using the biodynamic cycle.

If your a fan of chilli this place is a one stop shop with a great selection of plants that can be mail ordered supplied in 9cm pots from April to August each year with a minimum order of just three plants. Larger 1 and 2 litre pots are available from farmers markets.

Also if you want to skip the home growing, Dartmoor can supply fresh chilli packs too and have a full produce range including ten flavors of chilli chocolate, a range of chutneys from sweet and mild to extremely hot, sweet chilli sauce and a very hot Dartmoor Dynamite sauce, chilli jelly and chilli jam all in our distinctive Dartmoor Chilli Farm packaging. Keeping with the organic theme Dartmoor Chilli farm use their own chillies in all of their chilli produce so you can guarantee hand picked quality.

Take a moment to visit their site and check them out, if you can find some go for the BEAST of Dartmoor sauce http://www.dartmoorchillifarm.com/

Chilli Festival Planning 2012

It is the start of another year and the excitement of planning ahead for another year 
of hot sauce, chili growing and chili festivals. Will Grim Reaper Foods win yet another award this year at the Fiery foods festival? Will any new producers appear with great sauces?


Here are a few dates below, I will keep these up to date on the chilli festival tab at the top of the page. If your festival is not listed please let me know an ill add in a link.


This year for me sadly The great West Dean Chilli Fiesta have decided to alter their regular date so I will not be able to attend but I hope to at least be at, Chlli Fest Shoreham, The fiery foods Festival in Brighton and the Upton Cheyney Chilli co this year. See you there!



  
Lakes Chilli Festival at Levens Hall and Gardens
TBA

Day of Fire and Spice at Simpsons Seeds
26 May 2012

Grill Stock
30th June July 1st 2012

Chilli Fest Shoreham by Sea

West Sussex
July 14th and 15th


West Dean Chilli Fiesta 2012
July has been cancelled and the event moved to 25th to 27th of August the hopefully sunny bank holiday weekend
(2011 festival information)

Arley Hall & Gardens 
TBA

Great Dorset Chilli Festival 2012
 St Giles House, Wimborne St Giles, Dorset
4th August to 5th August

Nottingham Chilli Festival
11th August


The Great Oxford Chilli Fest
August 18th and 19th

Frosts Garden Centre Chilli Festival
25th August to 27th August


Bennington Lordship Gardens Chilli Festival 
26th and 27th of August 10am to 5pm

Waddesdon Chilli Festival
1st September

Upton Cheyney Chilli Co Presents Chilli Fest 2011

8th and 9th September 2012
Manor Farm, Upton Cheyney, Bristol, BS30 6NQ

Fiery Foods Festival, Brighton

September 15th and 16th September

The Manchester Chilli Festival
7th October

Festivals Outside the UK

41st Annual Hatch Chile Festival 

September 1st and 2nd  2012

Taylorville Chillifest, Illionis USA

16th October 2010 to 17th October 2010

NZ Chilli Eating Champions

find more information from http://firedragonchillies.com/

@SDCF_CO_UK Hot Habanero Sauce Review:

The South Devon Chilli farm produce a very wide range of products. I have visited their farm and they shop is well worth dropping by if you ever get the chance.

This week I have been trying their Hot Habanero Sauce. The bottle is 100ml and has their great logo at the top with an almost innocent looking picture of a chilli giving no real indication of the Rating 150,000-200,000 Scoville heat contained within.

The bottle says "The Habanero is the King of chillies - a great flavour and VERY HOT. The chillies used in the sauce are grown and cooked on our farm."

To get you thinking this sauce is Winner of a Gold Great Taste Award 2005 and 2007. As well as winner of a one-star gold Great Taste Award 2010.

The ingredients highlight the purity of the sauce 50% fresh Habanero chillies from their farm cider vinegar, fresh lemon juice, salt. The habanero chili is a very fruity chilli packed with natural flavour alongside its impressive heat rating so not much is needed alongside it. I am pleased the South Devon Chilli farm have stuck to this and only added sweet sharpness to the powerful flavour.

Its true to say that and hot sauce containing habanero is mainly about heat, but the taste of this one accentuates all that is good about the habanero providing a rich full flavour not found in many equivalent sauces available in teh market. the sauce itself is quite runny as its mostly pure but not too runny than something like Tabasco's version of the Habanero sauce

South Devon Chilli Farm Hot Habanero Sauce can be used on its own dashed onto any food but is ideal for adding heat and flavour to spicy dishes. A few drops go a long way when used as a table condiment.

You can pick yourself up a bottle from Scorchio by clicking here enjoy and check out their other products available.

 

Xmas for Chilli Heads Chili Pepper Fairy Lights

I first saw these Chilli Party Lights at the west dean Chilli fiesta in 2009 and thought they looked great, it was summer so I didn't pick myself up any. However since then I have been bought two boxes of them as gifts and have used them for Mexican nights and Tequila evenings. If you are looking or the ideal gift for your chilli head this Christmas or want an alternative Christmas tree then pick up a box by clicking the picture below and bring the same smile to their face as recieving them did to mine.

I have not yet managed to get them on the Christmas tree yet but thsi year I will succeed!  Ive also used them at BBQ's outside much to my friends amusement. Perhaps I should put them up in my chili potting shed instead? If you want to get your hands on some just click on the picture above to get a box from trusted hot sauces supplier Scorchio.

If you get some come back and leave a comment below, let me know where you have put them up or send a photo to me on twitter @jamopepper.

Make us a Brew Mint and Chilli Tea Bags Review

Make Us A Brew Mint Chilli Tea Bags caught my attention at a recent food show. I like tea..... I like chilli... whats this chilli tea.... let me try some!

The cartoon covered box contains 25 orgnic tea bags and tells you the story of this special tea was invented:

"After my little mishap with the chillies in the kitchen, we wasted no time in getting a proper blen together. My favourite mint brew, a blend of peppermint & spearmint was combined with a pinch of chilli to give it a cheeky twist without going over the top."

When making the tea you will find that the chilli takes a little longer to infuse than the mint, so the longer you leave the bag in, the more chilli you will taste! this way the tea can be as hot as you like to wake you up in the morning! The tea itself feels like many herbal teas but this one definately gives you a tingle.

The Chilli Tea Bags are also made by a bloke called Mr. Scruff who is a DJ, producer and cartoonist! This tea has been tested at festivals such as Glastonbury, Big Chill and Womad which led to it being produced for the rest of us to try.

Make a change to your daily routine tea and pick up some Make Us A Brew Mint & Chilli Tea Bags from Scorchio by clicking here. How long will you leave the tea bag in for.........

@CPPete New Brighton Shop Opens Saturday 23rd.

Check out the sneak peak picture here of Chilli Pepper Petes new chilli shop below which opens Saturday 23rd in Brighton on 73 Trafalgar street in the North Lanes. I have been following the developments since the first news of the possible move from the Brighton Marina.

The shop is currently being packed full of sauces from all over the UK and USA as well as Chilli Pepper Pete's own range of fantastic sauces like Chillipepper Pete's Dragon's Blood

If you local or know need a chilli fix and willing to make a very worth while journey head on over to Brighton this weekend to check out the shop. Rumours are that Pete has also made a special sauce to celebrate the opening. Will you get your hands on some?

Print of this map below if you need it to help you find the shop. See you there!

Grow Your Own: How To Water Chillies

I have pulled together some watering tips to help you give your chillies the right amount of water they need to flourish with out damaging them when you give growing your own a go.

Chili Plants Cant SwimChillies hate wet feet! Ensure your plants have lots of drainage and don't sit in a tray full of water where they would need a snorkel! Water from the top and allow the excess water to drain out of the roots by putting holes in the bottom of the pot. This will help to reduce fungal infections of the roots.

Keep it Natural
If you have a water butt at home, great use this water where possible. If you don't and if you have time try to avoid using tap water straight away. By letting it stand overnight in your watering can it will firstly let the temperature get up to room temp so as not to shock the plants and let some of the chlorine evaporate giving your plants get cleaner water.

Dont Forget Them.
Regular watering in crucial, letting your plants dry out then giving them a big water can flush out valuable minerals from the compost. I aim to water at least every 2-3 days. If its sunny and your plants dry out obviously water as needed. Regular watering will place less stress on your chile plants and lead to less flower drop and a better crop.

Liquid Feed
When combining watering and liquid feed avoid the temptation to use strong doses. I have learnt this the hard way in the past being too eager. For basic feeding using liquid tomato feed dilute it to half the recommended strength.

I am testing out an optimal watering and feeding system to see how good it is. Its called the ChilliGrow, check out my review here or click on the picture below for more information.

Chilli Pepper Plant Pictures from West Dean Gardens

Here are some pictures taken from the chilli fiesta at West Dean Gardens in 2010. How many of these had you heard of before? Hopefully these chili plant pictures will give you some inspiration of what seeds to pick up at this years festivals and garden shows to grow your own at home.

Aji Brazilian Chilli Pepper





Yellow Mushroom Chilli Pepper







Venezuelan Cone Chilli Pepper

Tricolour Variegata Chilli Pepper

Black Cuban Chilli Pepper



Chilli Pepper



Baloon Chilli Pepper

Purple Tiger Chilli Pepper

Conchos F1 Chilli Peppers

Clavo Chilli Pepper

Esplendor Chilli Pepper

Iranian Round Chilli Pepper

Golden Nugget Chilli Pepper

Home Grown 2011: The ChilliGrow from Greenhouse Sensation

Throughout building this blog site and interacting with other keen chilli growers, I came across the ChilliGrow sold by Greenhouse Sensation. I have heard endless good reviews of this product and wanted to try it out for myself to boost my grow your own chili crop. So I have decided to put the chilli grow to the test! The ChilliGrow is designed together with the chilefoundry and also south Deavon chilli farm so already it has the seal of approval from two great groups who know their chilli.

Feeder Mat

Watering chilli plants correctly is hard even when you know what you are doing. The ChilliGrow does this for you using a 7 Litre water reservoir.

The three 6 litre pots looked quite big to me but the website assures me that this is the idea size to encourage both root and fruit growth. A nice touch is that the try is also drip proof so you can grow inside if you are restricted for space or perhaps in your greenhouse if you have one too.

The pots each have holes at the base to put through feeder mats that dip into the reservoir below. These will ensure that your plan remains perfectly watered.

Chilli Nutrients

In the pack you will also receive so real easy instructions and also some chili plant some nutrients to last you one season.

To see how good the good the chilligrow is and what it could do for my crops I have selected three different chilli plants. A Hungarian Hot Wax, Jalapeno and a Krakatoa.

The Hungarian Hot Wax is store bought from B&Q, the Jalapeno is home grown and finally my Krakatoa chilli plant is in its third year and has produced bumper crops the previous two years. What will happen??? I will let you know. Below is a picture of all three plants at of June 2011.



ChilliGrow



Daves Gormet Insanity Salsa



Daves Gourmet Insanity Salsa

 Im a big fan of Daves Gourmet range and am slowly working my way through his hot sauces (next one Dave's Gourmet Ghost Pepper Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce). This humble looking 340g Jar of salsa from the states contains some dangerous stuff! Any chili product that comes with a warning like this "Use this product with caution. Keep away from eyes, pets and children. Not for people with heart or respiratory problems" on the packaging is something I want to try! Now I like things hot but this stuff is something else and is possibly the hottest salsa I have ever tasted! I don't know how Dave did it but the heat level from the Jalapeno and Habanero combination in this jar is way more than you would expect!!

The Jar itself claims to be the 'Hottest Salsa in the Universe!' and I think that Dave may be right I had a jar in my fridge for nearly a year well past its use by date and guess what no mould even went near it! One day I had the jar out as part of a buffet and a friend tried a bit, we found him in the kitchen with a bottle of milk crying much to our amusement. if you want to experience this then click on the picture or get some here  i want to go insane too with Dave's Gourmet Insanity Salsa

Elephants Hate Chilli

Did you know farmers in Africa and on the Indian subcontinent have found the use of chilis effective in crop defense against elephants. The chillis are spread on fences and other structures to keep the elephants away. Because the elephants have a large and sensitive olfactory and nasal system the smell of the chilli causes them discomfort and deters them from feeding on the crops. This can lessen dangerous physical confrontation between people and elephants. They even make sauce from the chillis produced by the plants, Ive not managed to get my hands on any yet to try but click here to see if they have any in stock and let me know what its like.

http://web.archive.org/web/20071226181749/www.elephantpepper.org/

Capitan Bravo Habanero Hot Sauce

Capitan Bravo Habanero Hot Sauce

I was pleasantly surprised on receiving this hot sauce through my 'scorchio hot sauce club'. Capitan Bravo is not someone I was aware of and if I am honest would probably not have chosen this chilli if it hadn't been selected for me by luck. Which is why I think it deserves a mention and a mini hot sauce review.

The chili sauce itself comes from Mexican and is 100% HOME-MADE claiming on the bottle "an exceptional flavor for any kind of meal."

The whole feel and flavour of this chile sauce is something different to what you will be used to and this is a good thing! The sauce contains olive oil which emulsifies giving the sauce a consistency like a salad dressing which at first i found very strange. However the distinct flavours of the Mexican grown habanero, carrot, salt, spices and, onion powder combine with the oil in a wonderful way. I have had to think a bit of different ways to use this unique wonderful sauce. It make a tasty but messy taco and great to drizzle over chips or a over dull salad to bring it alive! Where every you might use a dressing in your meals try this hot sauce as a substitute.

I believe it is always good to get some Mexican spirit into you cooking so pick some Capitan Bravo Habanero Hot Sauce up here.

Grow Your Own: Chilli Plant Flower Drop

Having the flowers drop off of your prize chilli plant can be frustrating when you are all set to go for a great crop in your grow your own season. This is called blossom drop and happens to many other plants too. The reason is that the conditions are not right for the chili plant. Remember that some flower drop is natural so don't get too concerned if all your flowers don't become chillis!

Krakatoa Chilli Plant with Flower Drop

Over watering - Too Much love

Chilli plants hate to go paddling. Over watering causing the flowers to drop so it may be worth scaling back your watering to maybe just twice a week unless the plant obviously needs a top up. Timing this can be hard and I often don't water my plants correctly event when trying.

Lack of Pollination

This is perhaps the most common cause of flower drop and usually occurs when plants are grown inside like a windowsill or in a greenhouse. This is because inside there is a lack mini flying creatures to pollinate you plants.  Flies, bees or butterflies love to pollinate but obviously live outside.A simple quick solution is to pollinate manually by using a cotton bud or small paintbrush to dab pollen from one flower to the next and so on as each flower opens. You can tell if this has worked because just the petals will fall from the flower.The stalk and centre part of the flower will then produce the chilli. Continue to do this once a day for a couple of weeks and you should soon start to see some fruit setting.

Leaving Chilli to Ripen too Long

If your plant already has a few chillies on that are ripe and you have resisted eating them, be sure to pick them to encourage further fruit to set. If left on a plant when ripe, you may find that any new flowers drop failing to result in any new fruit as the plant uses it’s energy to maintain the fruit on the plant rather than produce any new chillies. So the choice is yours, a few ripe tasty chillis or a larger crop.

Mexican Food Made Easy

I have recently been bought Master Chef winner Thomasina Miers Mexican Food Made Simple cook book. I was not aware of this book before and have to say it is fantastic and full of wonderful ideas demonstrating how exciting and delicious traditional Mexican food can be! The book clearly explains with lovely illustrations how to get the best from your different chillis and Mexican ingredients. There are soo many recipe's including soft corn tacos, tostados, quesadillas, Mexican chille con carne, Grilled Seabass and even some traditional sweets too including churros with chocolate sauce. I have tried many recipe's from the book and am slowly going to work my way through the whole lot!! Not every recipe has overpowering flavours as you might expect, their are many subtle flavours and unique ideas put in practice too.

The book itself is filled with great colorful pictures throughout, and easy step by step guides like folding the perfect burrito, eating a taco and plenty more true medical tips so you can even plan your own Mexican theme day with friends or just enjoy a fantastic meal anytime. I have learnt soo much from this book, fueling my growing love of Mexico and Mexican food. Through reading the book too I have discovered Thomasina Mires has a number of restaurants http://www.wahaca.co.uk/. I hope to check one of them out when I am next in London this August and plan to let you know how I get on. As my Friends will tell you I can be very critical of Mexican food and this book gets my vote so take a look pick yourself up a copy soon.

Also check out her series on TV at the moment every Tuesday on channel five where there are great competitions and demonstration of dishes like real Mexican chilli and guacamole how it should be!

Home Grown 2011 - The beginning

Here are some pictures of my chilli plant grow your own attempts from this year. I am slightly behind where I had hoped as my propagator with my first crop melted with my first set of seeds inside so I had to start all over again!

Above are the few lucky chile plants rescued from the twisted melted mess of my propagator, I have potted them up with some feed and placed them on the windowsill to hopefully recover and grow. In this set so far the padron and cayenne plants look to be holding on well and I am hopeful they will continue to grow.

Where I have started again, my new seedlings are coming through healthy and are almost ready to be potted up

From the seeds I have left and those I picked up from the south Devon chilli farm i am hoping to grow Jalapenos, Cherry Bombs, Yellow Scotch Bonnet and Ring of Fire Chillis this season. I hope to make my own hot sauce this year too hopefully. If you woul d like soem tips to grow your own chillis to get you started check out my mini basic growing guide here



Blairs Original Death Sauce

Blair has an amazing range of hot sauces from the basic introduction sauce to the extreme and insane sauces. Blair has been making hot sauces since 1989 and has got quite good at it too!! I have tried a number of chilli sauces from this range and so far love every one of them in different ways but they are not for the feint hearted and definitely powerful as you progress up the range.

Blair's Original Death Sauce is a good introduction sauce to this range with a perfect balance of ingredients with just enough heat to keep the hot sauce enthusiast interested with red habaneros chilli and loads of flavour to balance out the heat with vinegar, fresh cayenne chile, smashed garlic, chipotle chili, lime juice, cilantro, fresh herbs and spices. I recommend trying this sauce if you are curious about the Blair range,  I guarantee once you have tried it you will want more. Many others have fallen for Blairs skill in sauce mixology and limited edition sauces fetch thousands of dollars to collectors in the us.

Plus as a bonus you may get a cool skill keyring with some bottles, I now have several pick up some to try for yourself here Get me some Death Sauce

My Hot Sauce Stash

Hello Everyone,

I through i would share with you some of my current hot sauce collection. Though even as I am writing this I have realised that two other boxes are missing from the photos including my authentic Mexican collection. It seems i have more chilli sauces than I remember.

Below are the remains of my mad dog hot sauce box including Mad Dog 357 Hot Sauce which has been the main feature of most of my recent BBQ's this summer so far and also a useful collection from CaJohn's chilli purees that are fantastic for cooking with including the very tasty CaJohn's Select Cayenne Puree
 .

The set below contains some nice chilli jelly's too and also some of the harder to find sauces, CaJohn's Frostbite Hot Sauce and CaJohn's Magma Hot Sauce. There is also a currently un opened bottle of Blair's death sauce which is next on my list to open! Amongst all of these there is also a great little selection box from the nice people at the South Devon chilli farm where I recently paid a visit, take a look at the pictures here.

Chilli Festivals and Events 2011

Here is a list of chili events near you, make sure you try and get to one this year if you can. They have lots of hot sauces to try. plants to buy and grow you own tips and demonstrations as well. 

Chilli Fest Belfast
25th and 26th of June

Chilli Fest Shoreham by Sea
July 9th and 10th

Chilli Fiesta & Fete, Felbrigg Hall, Felbrigg, Norfolk
3rd August 2011

West Dean Chilli Fiesta
5th to 7th August 2011

Lakes Chilli Festival at Levens Hall and Gardens

2011 13th and 14th August

Arley Hall & Gardens 

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Bennington Lordship Gardens Chilli Festival 

2011 28th and 29th August 10am to 5pm

Upton Cheyney Chilli Co Presents Chilli Fest 2011

Manor Farm, Upton Cheyney, Bristol, BS30 6NQ

September 10th 2011


Fiery Foods Festival, Brighton

2011 17th and 18th of September

Grow Your Own Chilli Plants: The Basics

In response to a few requests here is my notes on basic chilli plant growing from seed ready for 2011 planning. There are many grow your own guides out there and many go into much more detail which can be useful but chili pepper growing does not have to be complex or difficult, just fun! so have a read and get started and enjoy your 2012 growing season.

Growing your own red hot chillis from seed can be very rewarding!Whether you are growing indoors or outdoors, anyone can do it and you don't have to be into gardening or a great gardener to be successful! All you need is some seeds, compost and seed trays/small pots. Then a sunny space, a little care and in no time you will have your own beautiful plant brightening up your home and cooking!

Where to Begin:

Jalapeno Chillis

The key to good chili plant growth is finding a nice sheltered sunny spot. Then just keep them watered and fed throughout the growing season. I have found that some types grow easier and better than others. The fun will be finding out which ones work for you. A good place to start though is with Jalapeno seeds (sometimes called pizza chillis in garden centres) or maybe the Apache Chilli. I have found these to be very hardy and successful plants.

Sowing the Seeds:

Chillis need a temperature between 18C and 22C with lots of light. The seeds first need to be germinated indoors to protect them from the cold. If you have a greenhouse or a Propagator (cheap and easy to pick up from and local DIY/garden centre) you can put the seeds in as early as February. If not sowing is best left until late March or early April.

Sow seeds thinly in trays with moist good compost. Take care to get the balance right, not dry but not soggy either. Once the seeds have germinated and grown two true leaves, plant each individual chilli plant into a small pot about 75mm again with plenty of light and space.

Once these mini plants have a healthy root system and are about a ruler length in height you can plant them out into their final position.

Twilight Chilli

Where to put your Plants:

If you are short of space your chilli plant will be more than happy on a windowsill. Even better in a greenhouse if you have one. Last year when we had the good summer I found my plants did well in the garden out on the decking in a sunny sheltered spot.

Growing On:

One established chilli plants are best transferred to larger pots. Feed your chillis with a liquid fertiliser until they are established again then transfer to a high potash fertiliser to encourage your plant to flower and produce fruit. Try to handle the plants by their seed leaves only. This will avoid crushing them and the possibility of causing death by crushing the stem. Pay careful attention to keep them weed free and watch out for common pests as you will more than likely get some! see ideas below for dealing with them. Chilli plants need just the right amount of water too, sporadic watering stops growth and too much water can damage the plants. I always find this difficult to get the right balance but if you try and keep to the Little and often rule you will be fine. Once you have more interest in growing superior yields you can investigate various growing its to ensure your plants get what they need when they need. I have yet to try one of these these kits but will be soon!

Now you have Plants how do you keep them Happy?

As your chillis grow they will need support this just needs a simple small wooden stake in your pot secured with garden twine.

You have two choices when choosing to harvest your peppers. Harvesting regularly the green peppers which will stimulate the plant to produce more and more peppers. Or, leave a few choice peppers on the plant to fully ripen. You can watch Jalapeno chillis turn from green to black to red!

For further advice and more specialist products, such as self watering pots for bumper harvests, to help you in your chilli production visit greenhouse sensation. or check out

 The Complete Chilli Pepper Book: A Gardener's Guide to Choosing, Growing, Preserving, and Cooking