RTB Chilli Addicts

Preparing for Winter.

Winter is around the corner and there is a couple of things we can do to help our well-loved chilli plants to survive the winter months and provide us with an early start next season.

Firstly chilli plants are perennial that can live for many years if proper care is taken to prepare them for overwintering.

It's worth mentioning that chilli plants can't survive Hard frost, so if your region has hard frost the best would be to transplant the in-ground planted plants into some pots, hard prune and move them indoors

If you have your plants already planted in pots just give them a hard prune down to the main Y in the stem and remove all the leaves and fruits.

Check for any pests and spray with a mild Neem oil and detergent mix, throughout their indoor months.

Cover the roots and base of the stem with
leaf mulch, straw or wood chips up to 5 cm thick.

Water only when necessary maybe once a week or every 10 days but don't overwater.

Place the potted plants in a dim-lit room as we want to encourage dormancy. Remove any new leaf growth that might appear.

Worth a mention is that not every plant is going to survive overwintering.

So we have kept our favourite chilli plant alive through winter and spring is approaching fast so what happens next.

We need to start taking our plants outside, on warmer days, at first only for 20 minutes Then increase the amount of time every day with 10min for two the next two weeks until the plant has acclimatized to being outdoors again. Then your chilli plants are ready to be transplanted outside again for the new growing season.

Congratulations you have overwintered your chilli plants!

Identifying Capsicum Pubescens

The Capsicum pubescens species, which includes the Rocoto and Manzano pepper, originate from the mountainous regions the Andes, which means they are cold tolerant and can grow in cooler climates, growing as perennial in temperate climates.

The species name ‘Pubescens’ means ‘hairy’, and this plant does have hairy dark green leaves, along with purple flowers and chilli pods which contain black seeds, making it very easy to identify.
Manzano perennial chilli flowering

Fig.1

Manzano chilli flower is a distinct purple colour with purple filaments and white anther, the plant also has furry leaves.

Fig.2

Manzano perennial chilli flower
Manzano perennial chilli flower, with yellow nectar spots are visible in the lower white-coloured portion of each petal.
The plant form can vary from a compact form around 60cm (2’) high to an erect habit (which is sometimes sprawling and vine like) growing up to 2.4m (8’) high. Quite interestingly, this species of chilli cannot cross pollinate with the other domesticated species.

The flower corolla (petals) are purple (occasionally with white margins at the base of the petals), without diffuse spots at base of the petals. A drop of yellow nectar may accumulate at the base of the petal to look like a corolla spot, but the drop of golden liquid is easily distinguished from a marking. Flowers grow either singly or in pairs, but may grow in clusters of four, though this is uncommon.

The chilli pods are pear or apple shaped, and as they ripen they change from green to purple, then finally becoming a red or yellow colour. These chillies are unique in that they’re quite fleshy and juicy, with thick walls, much more like a smaller sweet pepper (capsicum).

The Rocoto Tree chilli pictured below produced red pods prolifically all year round in a temperate climate, and grows to around 2m (6’) tall. This one is growing in a corner against a north facing wall (facing the midday sun in the southern hemisphere) and is around ten years old. They can be grown from cuttings or from seed in springtime.

Fig.3

Rocoto-Manzano-tree-chilli

Fig. 4

Rocoto tree chilli
Rocoto Manzano tree chilli, fruiting prolifically mid-winter in temperate Melbourne, Australia
The Manzano hedging chilli pictured below grows up to 1m (3’) high, and has been flowering through autumn and ripening chillies in winter. This plant is planted out in the open in a garden bed with vegies and other plants, and has coped with cold weather perfectly well.

Fig. 5

Manzano hedging chilli
Manzano hedging chilli, when first planted, producing its first chillies mid-winter in temperate Melbourne, Australia.

Fig. 6
Manzano perennial hedging chilli
Manzano perennial hedging chilli in summer with ripe chillies.
(deepgreenpremaculture.com)

Good Morning all chili Addicts
If you like the content please remember to like and share it helps to grow our community

Identifying Capsicum Chinense

The hottest chilli varieties, such as the Scotch Bonnet, Habanero and the infamous Bhut Jolokia ‘Ghost chilli’ (which the Indian government uses to make control crowd agents), are Capsicum chinense species.

Despite the botanical name, ‘chinense’, meaning ‘from China’, they’re not native to China at all, but native to Central America, the Caribbean Islands and the Yucatan region of Mexico. They were mistakenly named by an early botanist who thought they were from China, and the species name has stayed ever since.

Even though these chillies vary widely in heat level, flavour and size, what distinguishes these chillies in terms of taste is their intense spiciness combined with a fruity aroma.

With this species the flowers appear in pairs or clusters (two or more flowers at each node), but occasionally flowers may be solitary, appearing singly. The corolla (flower petals) are greenish-white (sometimes milky white or purple), without any diffuse spots at base of each petal, the fruit flesh is firm and seeds are straw-coloured.

The plants are compact, with multiple stems and an erect habit. Leaves are pale to medium green, and usually large (up to 15cm long x 10cm wide) and ovate in shape. A distinguishing trait of the Capsicum chinense species is that the leaves are usually crinkled
Capsicum chinense species have an ovate leaf shape
These plants are very productive, but need plenty of warmth to get started.
(deepgreenpermaculture.com)