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Hi, I'm trying to over winter my Chillies. Last season they were all coming on strong when Autumn came. I thought that if I tried to keep the plants alive it would give me a head start this season. I'm in Victoria (cool temperate).
I have googled it, but it's mainly British and American area guides. I trimmed them back fairly harshly and located the potted ones in a sheltered spot in the garden and backed the watering right off. They are a mixed variety.
So far one is showing signs of shooting. There has been a fair bit of die back which I have now trimmed off. The weather is not far away from getting a bit warmer, so the hopefully, they will take off again and give me earlier crops.
I had preserved (pickled) quite a few but stocks have run out.
Has anyone else had any success in over wintering Chillies? If so please share your methods with us.
Thanks and Cheers🍻Bergs
Hi @Jason,
They look like Cayenne Chilies which are supposed to be slightly milder than the Jalapenos.
They may have cross pollinated with other plants, either in your garden, or someone else's around your area.
If you get too many, have you thought of drying them and then grinding them to make chili flakes. This way you have your own product to add to your cooking for the non growing seasons or until it runs out.
When they're dry I use a cheap coffee grinder, then store in a container in a dry place, like a pantry.
These charts may help our other Chile Hotheads. There are plenty of other varieties that you get get, but the below gives an idea of the most common fruit.
@bergs
We needed a glass of milk afterwards. I then put a couple more in a curry but took the seeds out.
Hi all,
How's all your chillies growing?
I'm getting some in dribs and drabs at the moment.
MyBlack Pearl (below) has fired up and producing small very warm fruit as well as being a delightful looking plant on its own.
The "Trinidad Scorpion Butch T" (below) that I bought had one ripe fruit on it, so this morning we tried it on our breakfast. Well! Was it warm, it had my eyes watering slightly and the sinuses cleared immediately, and a thin bead of sweat on the forehead appeared. It took my wifes breath away. My lips were still tasting the result five minutes after, and that was only whenI could feel them.
Any members wanting a heat fix next weekend, the Herb and Chillie Festival is on, check their website out.
http://www.herbchillifestival.com.au/
The heat will be back at the weekend, both in the chillies and the weather.
Cheers and happy gardening, bergs
Those chillies look good.
As I said in an earlier post they looked like Cayenne.
They're nice and they dry well so you can use them later.
If you've got a lot of them get a piece of fishing line and a fine needle and sew through the stems ( try and make it so they don't touch each other) and hang them up in a sheltered airy spot (garage) and when they're dry you can grind them up for flakes or use them in your meals. Most times they rehydrate when cooked unless they've dried out too much and if that's the case grind them and the flakes can be stored in a dry air-tight container indefinitely.
I've had some hanging up for about three years now, and haven't done anything with them because I forget they're there.
I've decided I like Thai, which I think are the Birdseye that you get at the supermarket, (if you look up thai chillies there are so many varieties so I think they're called that because of the shape) and my Nellie Kellies, (which I really don't know the variety, originally bought at Bunnings).
They start off green and slowly turn darker, and when you think they are going to turn black they go red.
I have kept seed from my Cayenne and Jalapeno from a few years back, but I don't have enough room to grow every variety I like.
The lady that my wife works with only grows the same variety all the time. She calls them Burmese Chilli and has them in green, red, orange and yellow. They're all the same shape and size with about the same heat value. I wonder if the colours represent the ripeness of them.
Certain varieties of chillies will ripen right up until May, so if you have green fruit on your chillies at the moment, they will colour up, given favourable conditions and time. If they don't pick them and pickle them
Cheers bergs and Happy Gardening
Chilli can be freeze as well if you are as lazy as me to skip the grinding
Herb and Chilli Festival is great fun, good family activity.
If you were there, send my regards to the donkey!
hi @QuailFlock, yes I have frozen them before and they do thaw and rehydrate when cooked.
I am attending the Herb and Chilli Festival this Saturday 17th March with my daughter and husband and grandson.
I haven't been before, so we're looking forward to it.
I hope to try out a lot of different fare, so I hope I don't finish up as Johnny Cash's song suggests
It looks like being good weather, low 30's.
By the way have I missed something or has it gone over my head: Who's the Donkey
???
Cheers
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