Have presentation...will travel!

I have a presentation to finish for my studies, so I shall have to be brief in today's entry (which means I won't be able to expand on my 'Ugg Boots' dilemma, or enthrall you with the philosophical waxings on 'how WAGS are bringing back the old lady styles of...well old, and how they think it's brilliantly cool while it's actually pretty silly', and Almapaprika took a great photo at the weekend of three 'WAGS-in-training' but I digress...)

Very quick update (and I seriously need to upload the photos I've been taking):

1-One of the Ring of Fire Cayenne has finally ripened! Yahoo! Altavista! Ask Jeeves! It's all nice and red and shiny. Will make for good eating soon.

2-The second of the Chocolate Sweet Peppers is also ripening. That one goes to one of my co-workers who has been eyeing it for a while now.

3-The Piri Piri is loaded with little peppers and flowers. Not bad for a 1 foot by 1 foot plant.

4-The Esplendor now has a brilliant upright purple chilli growing from it!

5-The Chocolate Habanero had one flower open, but it dropped :-(

6-One of the Naga flowers has opened! But it too, will probably drop. Temperatures have not been high enough for pollen release for the super hots.

7-The Etna has its first chilli pod growing! The Stromboli might as well in a day or two.

8-Black Cuban and Fataliis are budding! Grooviness!

9-The second Naga (the one that was at home but was transferred to the office) is budding ferociously now)

and...

10-The flippin' aphids are now on the Caribbean Red Habanero. FILTHY SUCROSE COWS!

Black Cuban

Moving Violations

Almapaprika and I have finished our move to the new flat. Her parents and younger brother were here for the weekend and helped us get everything across from one place to the other. Very grateful for all their help, since we both discovered that we have quite a collection of clutter. The new place is lovely, although there isn't a great deal of direct sunlight (well, the balcony does get direct sunlight...at either end of a large building immediately in front of it. And there are plans to build two equally large apartment complexes at either side, so I can kiss the sunlight goodbye in about 8 months time...), so that means I can't keep all the chillies there. I have kept some, though. I want to try and grow some chillies at home. The flowers on the Belpicens at home have finally opened! Yeeeeeehaw! Got plenty of chillies growing at the office, but none so far at home (fruits that is). So looking forward to getting some growing at the flat.

There were some unfortunate casualties in the move. The Jamaican Hot Scotch Bonnet was kind of trampled inside its own little glass jar. But the little plant and the root all seem intact, so I will try to see if I can maybe attempt a miniature hydroponic system to see what I can get from it. a New summer experiment.

But the good news came from upon my return to the office. I was amazed by how well the chillies are doing there. The Chocolate Habanero has leaves the size of my hand, and the Naga Morich is not far from that either!

Gadzooks!

The Orange Habanero and the Caribbean Red Habanero are also flowering, and quite profusely! I am really looking forward to seeing the chillies grow.

The Piri-Piri has grown so many side shoots thanks to it not being able to stand up correctly that the main stem has now created side roots. I'll be transplanting it to another pot soon, since it is also starting to show flowers.

The Black Cuban has also started to sprout vigorous side shoots.

I brought some more plants over, and have convinced the second floor offices (the ones directly above where I have the plants now) to accept some more 'guests'. I brought with me the lone White Habanero, the other Orange Habanero (the difference in height is staggering), a Red Savina Habanero, another Black Cuban, another Esplendor and one of the Paper Lanterns.

I still have not gotten the photos I took from the camera to the computer at the new flat, and with all the unpacking that needs to take place, it might be a while (grumble-grumble). But rest assured I shall get the photos up and running as soon as I can.

Pressure Cooker

Photo taken this morning of the office plants. There's a little Sweet Chocolate Pepper growing on the plant nearest. Both the Sweet Chocolate Pepper and the Ring of Fire Cayenne have flowers on them. Yahoo! (not the website) Can't wait for them to grow grow GROW!

I took the two Fataliis and one of the Black Cubans to the office as well. The chineneses at the office are huge! This will do the Fataliis a world of good.

Learned a valuable lesson this growing season. While glass jars are a good place to put your seedlings in to help them grow, it is not a good idea to seal the lid tightly.

Almost all of the plants have had problems with the change in pressure when I've transplanted them to larger pots. Seems as soon as I put them outside on a regular pot, all the leaves wilt and shrivel.

But if I put them under a plastic bottle (makeshift greenhouse), they seem to recuperate.

I have found the whole thing quite fascinating, though at the same time quite frustrating.

The stems seem to have problems coping with the weight of the plants (again due to the pressurised growing conditions), which means seedlings of three-four inches in length are having to be propped up with stakes already.

Also, the seedlings seem to grow roots in mid stem (has happened to two of them), no doubt because of the high humidity/pressure. Also, some of the leaves seem to have transparent patches. I don't know if this is to do with the change in pressure, which affects the plants ability to draw water from the roots up to the leaves, creating the 'blank' patches, or if it might be an infection as a result of the change in pressure. I've taken those leaves out as a precaution.