As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this season has been exceptional for growing chillies. Even now, in mid-December, the very last pods have ripened and I’m still harvesting ripe Scotch Bonnets.
The photo above shows the final bonnet of the year, taken from a plant that spent the summer under glass. I harvested the remaining chillies yesterday and am already planning for next season.
Last year I didn’t start sowing seeds until late February, so next year I plan to begin at least a couple of months earlier. I’ll sow some seeds over the Christmas holidays and try to overwinter half a dozen plants to get a head start on spring growth.
Below is a photo of the Scotch Bonnet I overwintered from the previous year. The plant didn’t put on a great deal of new growth this season, yet it still produced a substantial crop of hot, flavorful scotch bonnets. One likely reason for the limited growth was that I didn’t repot it last winter, so the potting medium was probably low on nutrients. I also kept feeding light, which didn’t help. This winter I’ll overwinter the bonnet again and give it fresh, high-quality potting medium and more consistent feeding.
Despite being only days away from mid-December, I also harvested a large number of cayennes. Many of these pods came from plants I’d neglected recently and that were exposed to the frost — yet they still produced well. I don’t have quite enough to make a traditional chilli ristra, so these peppers will likely be used in a festive wreath or turned into some of our well-loved chilli chutney.