Posted by Craig | Posted in allotment | Posted on 20-06-2010
Tags: allotment, chilli, chillies, greenhouse, planting, weather
The lottie took a back seat this week, as I had to pot on the numerous chilli plants from the 19 different varieties of chillies that I’m growing this year.
I was worried earlier this year that the majority of the crop was going to fail, as they took such a long time to get going compared to last year. It must have been the long winter/cold spring, as they have most definitely cranked into life. It is a good job, as I’m now reaching the end of last year’s crop which were either dried, pickled or frozen, as I had more chillies than I knew what to do with at that point.
A lifesaver last year was finding out that I could freeze the surplus chillies that I had by spreading them out individually on baking trays and putting them in the freezer. When they are frozen, you just bag them up, and pop them in the freezer, and they don’t stick together or turn into mush. When you need one, all you do is take it out of the freezer bag, run it under the hot tap to defrost it, and then use it as normal.
Now that I’ve wrote this, I have a craving for some pickled chillies, so I’m off to dip into my final (very large) jar of them!
Achiltibuie Garden – Hydroponic Growing Kits
Dartmoor Chilli Farm
Greenhouse Sensation
oh! can you tell me how you pickle them pleaes? sounds great and I love the knowledge that you can freeze them!! Thanks. Ali
Hi Ali, the recipe I use to pickle them is nicked from a Jamie Oliver book.
600g/1lb 5oz medium green chillies
15 black peppercorns
5 bay leaves
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
5 teaspoons salt
6 heaped tablespoons caster sugar
1 litre/1¾ pints white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
For this recipe you must use perfect green chillies without any blemishes (you can use red chillies, but they will be slightly hotter).
Carefully score from the stalk end to the tip on one side only and remove the seeds (use the handle of a teaspoon for this). Pour boiling water over the chillies, let them sit for 5 minutes, then drain. This will get rid of most of the seeds left behind.
Next put the black peppercorns, bay leaves, coriander, chillies and salt into a large jar, or other airtight container. Put the sugar and the vinegar into a pan and heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. When this is quite hot, but not boiling, pour it into the jar with the chillies. Allow to cool down and then put the lid on.
19 varieties is quite an effort! due to moving this spring i’ve only managed to do a handful of varieties this year.
yp, freezing is a great way to preserve your crop through the winter – great because you get that fresh taste when you cook with them.
would love to see some pics of your plants….
19 varieties is a bit of a handful tbh James. Not so sure I’d do the same amount again!
I’ll put some pics of my plants up soon, but due to the long winter/cold spring, they are about a month behind where they were last year.
On another subject, the labeling machine that I mentioned in one of my last posts seems to be the answer to what I needed. The labels have survived repeated waterings, and also exposure to sunlight. I’ll keep reporting back!