Mutant Chronicles/Genocide

I am in the middle of waging unrelenting war with Aphids.

They invaded my plants a few weeks back when we had a rather 'unseasonable' June heat wave in the UK (yes, unseasonable. You look out the window today and you'd know why. It's in the teens, gloomy and rainy...and this is July), and now there are hundreds on my plants.

Things got so bad, I had no choice but to break out the SB Plant Invigorator to control the little cretins. Right up to that I had tried controlling them with some sticky tape (running it along the pods picking up the aphids), but this was now getting out of hand.

After one thorough spraying at the beginning of the week, they are now doing much better. They still have aphids, mind you, but they are much better.

I'm starting to get antsy, because there are at least three plants that should have ripe pods by now: The Lemon Drop, the Cayenne Golden, and the Ring of Fire. Come to think of it, the Stromboli and the Goats Weed aren't that far off.

Good News Everyone!

The Trinidad Scorpion x Giant White Habanero cross has two little pods!

Oooooooooh the excitement is palpable now! Really looking forward to that one.

Off to return to work I go!

I can see clearly now, the label's on...

At last, some form of clarity!

I have to admit to my own personal stupidity in not properly labelling the coir pellets when I put the seeds in.

It has made for an interesting two weeks of guessing what has 'hatched'.

But finally, I can see it clearly, since what could have been either a Kumquat or a Stromboli Chilli has germinated:

Both did and I can confidently say they are chillies and not citrus.

I'm a bit sad, mind you. I was quite excited at the prospect of having little Kumquat plants.

But I guess them's the yams, as they say.

So, what I should have germinated at the moment is now definitely:

1 Goats Weed

1 Trinidad Scorpion x Giant White Habanero (F1 hybrid. Like a Liger or a Tiglon! So exciting!)

1 Gold Cayenne

2 Aji Lemon Drop

2 Stromboli

3 Ring of Fire Cayenne

10 out of 22 isn't that bad. I might be temped to do one or two more seeds of different varieties if there is space available, but one of the offices I use at work for growing chillies is being converted into a seminar room, so that will unfortunately limit space.

:-(

Two exams down, one exam and one report to go.

Las cosas en las que me meto yo... :-/

Hydroponics...Home Style!

As I mentioned earlier, I recently decided to finally put all those little bits I had bought since last year to make a hydroponics set for chillies.

So, here's a step by step guide to the wonderful world of DIY hydroponics.

I should warn you, though, that this is a purely experimental design, and there is every possibility that it will be a complete flop!

But then again, it might just work.

Part of the fun is finding out.



Right, first things first. You'll need the following stuff:
-Some gloves (protection first!)
-A good, well lit work surface
-A large bucket or plastic container
-Some empty, clean, used plastic soda bottles
-Some air tubing (the kind you use for aquariums)
-Air Stones (Ditto)
-An air pump (yup. Aquariums)
-A few splitter valves
-Some LECA (Light Expanded Clay Aggregate, though really, what you need is some medium for the plants to grow)
-A Sponge
-A pair of scissors
-Some chilli seeds (key item here, otherwise you might not grow anything)
-Some water and nutrients (also key)

Except for the water and nutrients, the rest of the items are down here:








So, grab your bottles, and cut them down the middle, about 75% of their circumference so that you can open and close them without having two bottle halves. The bottle will become your individual container for the plants.


Then cut small holes at the bottom of the bottles (this is important for drainage)


Insert one of the air stones into the bottle, preferably by punching a hole through the side of the bottle (since if you try to run the air tube under the bottle, it will either not be stable, or you'll restrict air flow to the bottle).


Take the bottles, and fill them with LECA up to the cut off point. Then place all the bottles into your container. Then, take all the air tubes and connect them to the splitter valves.


Grab a sponge, and cut it into small segments. Punch a small hole in the middle of each sponge (the seed goes in there)


Place a small segment into each bottle, so that it sinks into some of the LECA.


Add the seeds!


Add the water and nutrients, so that if fills up about a third of the container (or if you've got a larger container, fill it with about two-three inches of water. You don't want to flood the bottles with water. The air pump and the air bubbles created by the air stone will move the wather via the LECA slowly but continuously up to the sponge).


And presto! one giant contraption built to grow (fingers crossed) some chillies.

This Chilli's aquaphonic, it's stereophonic, it's HYDROPONIC!

Finally got around to making my 'homegrown' Frankensteins Monster of a hydroponics kit at the weekend.

Mr. Arboc, if you're reading this...

...it pretty much takes me out of the 'El cheapo smackdown'...might explain why I've not re-visited the thread in the forum...

:-(

As an exercise in 'build your own', or DIY as the Brits call it, it was loads of fun, though.

Even Almapaprika was left agape!

She was amazed at my craft, though what she saw was a mess of air hoses and valves feeding into a bucket with a lot of little plastic soda pop bottles filled with LECA (Light Expanded Clay Aggregate) and with a little sponge in the middle.

But I shall explain this home made kit when I get a chance tonight (and when I can upload the 'how to' photos.)

It was an amazing and beautiful weekend over here, with not a cloud in the sky, and it has continued thus far today.

Shame Saturday night went down to -6 Celsius.

But other than that, perfect growing conditions!

I re-potted (to the little plastic soda pop bottles) and brought to the office:

2x Jamaican Hot
1x Aji Brazilian Starfish

The only chillies left at home now are one Royal Gold and one Fatalii. These should be moved tomorrow.

There are a couple of other seedlings left, but I have a feeling those will not make it, due to the fact that they have been in the dark (in a cupboard) for too long.

It's a shame, really, but it is down to my own incompetence.

The sunny weekend did marvels for the ones at work!

The Royal Gold there, as well as the Ring of Fire, and the surviving Trinidad Scorpion are all starting to show true leaves.

Heat and sunshine.

The best combination for plants.

:-)

On a separate, but final note:

I can guarantee England won't win the World Cup. This may sound a bit harsh of me (I like the team and all), but here's the reason why.

As I walked past the neighbourhood next to our flat, I had to cross a large group of children (probably a dozen or so between 10-15yrs old) who were playing football. As I passed by, I overheard a couple of them say (and for this, use your thickest Steven Gerrard or Jaime Carragher accents) 'Try and knock his hat off, lad!' Here I thought to myself

'Great. Bludgeoned to death by a bunch of teenage miscreants and their footballs.'

To my surprise (I say surprise because this is the country that invented the sport), three balls were kicked in my direction with my back turned to them (someone has just asked me if I own a pet...do Chillies count?)...

...not a SINGLE one actually achieved what it was intended to do.

The closest one hit my bottom...

...from a poorly placed chip rather than a powerful volley.

And I wasn't running away.

I was simply walking at a normal pace.

The poor kids were left with nothing more to say than

'Could you kick the ball back to us?'

Which I did.

When I finally walked up to it.

Now, from a coach's standpoint (I coached football for a few years), their accuracy was just atrocious, and their ability to put a ball into open space or deliver a good cross non-existent.

Which leads me to this final though:

If a dozen malcontent miscreants who obviously do nothing more than pick on people who wear trilby like hats (why? beats me...or so they tried) and who seem to play football ALL THE TIME can't grasp basic footballing concepts like the ones I mentioned above in order to hit a target, how much hope do their overpaid and equally underdeveloped counterparts going to South Africa have?

If I expect these children to deliver, then moreso their elders!

:-P

Blast it's cold here!

It is ridiculously cold at work right now.

And this is WITH all the new fangled radiators, red light district looking element heaters, garden heaters and heat curtains installed.

Not to mention change the settings to the automatic doors so that now at least once a day, a 'patron' slams head first into them because they simply don't open.

Had they done what has been suggested a million (and by virtue of it being put here, a million and ONE) times and just changed the entrance to a rotating door, this might not be an issue winter in/winter out.

It might even keep in the RESIDUAL HEAT and warm the rest of the building deprived of heating thanks to yet another radiator 'malfunction'.

Sigh...

I should look at the bright side, though.

I will never be accused of sweating too much at work.

No sir!

I just left the desk for two seconds, and a co-worker has just got to my computer to clock in...AAAAARGH! Worse part is I was in the middle of using it (no, not for blogging. I was dealing with a patron. These entries take me easily hours to make) to deal with a particular case, which absolutely cheeses me off. It's not the use of my PC that bothers me, it's the crass and disrespectful manner in which some co-workers simply take common manners for granted.

I don't walk up to their computers WITHOUT their approval to clock in, yet my station PC is used like the town trollop! I don't mind when people ask, specially if there's not much going on in my station, but there is a flippin' communal clock in screen ten feet away!

How many duck-pooping seconds does it take you to walk over and clock in there?!

Heck, I use that screen about as often as I use my PC, simply because it is more convenient and because I tend not to BE an inconvenience by using it.

Grumble...

I was going to make the intro short and without outbursts...

So much for that idea.

Now I'll be grumpy for the afternoon.

I brought some seedlings to work today, in the vain hopes that I might be able to trade light for heat with them. I will put photos of their 'self contained enclosures' (Plastic soda bottles) for show.

I moved the following:

1x Barrackpore 7-pod
1x Madame Jeannette
1x Trinidad Scorpion
1x Mustard Habanero
1x Aji Limo Rojo (no link to this one, unfortunately, as thechileman.org doesn't have much data on the chinense var.)

I am really hoping the extra light (not necessarily sunshine, just extra light) will make up for the heat deficiencies.

Temperatures are supposed to stay at between 0C and 5C for the next 5 days.

Joy.

But wait!

What is this?

Repairmen looking at the heating!

(Cautiously optimistic now...very, VERY cautiously optimistic).

Cerveza, Pokey-Stabbey, and Ajies

This entry might test my abilities to write in Spanglish, a much maligned language (considered not a language at all by some) utilized by many second, third and fourth generation Hispanic Americans in the US.

I do consider it a bit of an aberration, since you should be able to comunicate your ideas and thoughts clearly and succinctly in one single coherent language.

Pero el Spanglish, el cual en realidad deberia ser llamado 'Espanglish' si vamos a hacer la cosas de la manera debida, es la clase de fenomeno que me fascina (y al cual blogspot no le puede corregir la ortografia ni la gramatica. Quizas en un futuro cercano la gente de Google, Microsoft y Apple crearan programas en 'Espanglish').

Typically, Espanglish would be much more mish-mash than this, since I could start a sentence in Spanish, halfway through it add some words in English, and revert to Spanish before finishing, or vice-versa.


All making perfect gramatical sense, if you can imagine.

En fin, es mejor que hable un poco de cosas mas interesantes, ya que se que la mayoria de las personas leyendo este blog ya han perdido interes.

El fin de semana empezo de manera...interesante. Almapaprika y yo (y un grupo de amigos) fuimos a un 'Festival de la Cerveza', en la cripta de una de las catedrales locales. Yo encontre el concepto un poco...hypocrita no es la palabra debida...

...ironico, quizas.

Alli estabamos un grupo de personas, dentro de una catedral Cristiana en Europa probando y tomando mas de 100 variedades de cervezas, cidras y vinos, ademas de comidas artesanales tipicas del Reino Unido (pasteles, empanadas o 'pasties', etc.)...

...en el primer Viernes de Quaresma.

Go figure.

But all in all, the evening was quite an enjoyable one. We drank some beer in the form of Ales, Stouts and Bitters (Almapaprika was just coming of a week working nights, so she could only get through three half-pint glasses), we drank some Perry (a delicious one called 'Two trees'. Laughable Fellow, I won't try to spell it in it's native Welsh, just so I don't end up insulting grannies. For those of you who do not know, Perry is a fermented pear drink similar to, but not, Cider), and drank some Cherry wine. Plus we scored some extra glasses (you are given one half pint glass with your admission ticket) of the 30th anniversary of said Beer Festival.

The following morning I went to see some friends attend a 'pokey-stabbey-slashy' competition. Those of you who know me will know what I'm talking about. For those of you not indoctrinated in this discipline, I shall elucidate:

Pokey-Stabbey-Slashy is a sport that involves three distinct weapons:

1-The Pokey-Pokey: The more 'artistic' of the three weapons (used mostly by people referred to by the other two weapons specialists as 'namby-pamby', though I have seem quite a few individuals in this weapon I would never call that for fear of having my spleen removed).

2-The Pokey-Stabbey: The more 'realistic' of the three weapons (people who specialize in 'Pokey-Stabbey' are often labelled 'Slow', because we like to use our brains...go figure).

3-The Pokey-Stabey-Slashy: The more 'Pain-causing' of the three. Usually practiced by people who like to listen to death metal (no, not Finnish people, although some of them do practice this weapon).

I was a decent Pokey-Pokey and Pokey-Stabbey...er. I could do PSS, but generally only if in an emergency situation (always got my rear end handed to me).

It was nice to see people I hadn't seen in a while, although it was a bit of torture for me, as I looked at all the people poking and stabbing and slashing saying 'I can do that (and the more brazen 'I can beat him...he's not so tough.').

One of my friends even won a bronze in Pokey-Stabbey!

She is particularly deadly at keeping her arm extended and poking and stabbing the wrists of her opponents with her Pokey-Stabbey stick.

Los ajies me mantuvieron un poco preocupados el fin de semana. Debo admitir que el que en mejor estado esta es el Elf Chilli, el cual esta en el sistema hidroponico (por lo menos asi creo que se dice en Español), y el cual recibe unas buenas 6 horas diarias de luz gracias a la lampara que le puesto directamente arriba. La semilla fue plantada una semana mas tarde que el resto de los ajies, pero se ve mas grande, verde, mas vigorosa y esta empezando a mostrar el segundo set de hojas (las hojas verdaderas), cosa que ninguno de los otros ajies esta demostrando. Definitivamente es un punto a favor del sistema hidroponico, aunque todas las plantitas de rúcula (o arúgula) plantadas en el mismo sistema ya se han muerto, lo que no me llena de optimismo. Aun asi, el hecho de que por lo menos hay una planta todavia viva y saludable en el sistema hidroponico es algo para celebrar.

Los ajies en la oficina van bien. El Datil aparenta estar acostumbrandose a su nuevo hogar, con nuevas hojas empezando a salir. El tronco principal del Naga Morich esta empezando a mostrar señales de brotes vegetativos nuevos, lo cual es fantastico ya que solamante tenia una pequeña rama con un par de hojas. El resto estan en el mismo estado de antes, lo cual me mantiene preocupado, pero en fin. Todavia no las he podado como habia prometido. Una de las plantitas de Saril murio (la que tenia el brote de hongos), pero la otra se ve saludable. Dos de los maizes Morados han muerto tambien, sin duda a causa de las bajas temperaturas de la ultima semana (nevo el Domingo nuevamente).

See, writing in Espanglish is not that diffucult.

:-)

If only understanding it was just as easy...

Mobile (Cell) phones...they enhance an idiots' natural idiocy.

I have just embarked on an interesting venture, and created a Facebook page for Aji Chombo!

Yeah, it does stink of self-promotion...

Maybe I should hold a press conference as well...

Nah, I'm sure Tiger Woods would upstage me if I did.

And yes, people (not just idiots) seem to unlock some sub-conscious 'Extra Idiot' gene when they use cell (mobile) phones. Since I work more or less in a customer service 'orientation', you get to do a lot of people watching, and it is surprising how many people swear they can multitask who clearly should not be allowed to operate a PAIR of chopsticks.

Mobile phones turn the average person into an 'Idiotic Neophyte', and a full blown idiot into a 'Grand Wizard Moron'.

Mind you, these phones are a nice and convenient thing to have...

...but I get the feeling that if everyone that was born after 1990 was suddenly and simultaneously hit by a car and sent into a coma (yes, a Life on Mars reference. Good. You can count yourself NOT in the two categories above) back into the 1980's, they would die of starvation for lack of finding a phone with a 'Find a curry house' application.

But I digress...

Almapaprika has been having pre-nuptial nightmares.

Again.

They have been happening for the past few months, in anticipation of having to say 'I do' to a union with me in front of a crowd of family and friends. (I'm not that ugly...am I?)

Last nights (well, days. She's working nights this week) had her at the wedding, sans wedding dress, while the rest of the women there HAD wedding dresses (thankfully, neither me or the rest of the gentlemen present had said wedding attire on), and with our DJ gone leaving her mom to handle everything from her MP3 player.

In the midst of all this, who emerges to console her?

Not her two best friends.

Not me (I was probably writing a blog entry in her dreams at the time)

But Cheryl Cole.

Yes. You read correctly.

Cheryl 'The Geordie girl who went on to be a pop superstar and married Ca$hley' Cole.

She apparently did fairly well in consoling her, and Almapaprika also did commendably in understanding Mrs. Cole's Geordie accent.

Almapaprika even went on to give Cheryl some sound advise ('You should look for better', when referring to Mr. Cole).

So, Cheryl, if you happen to browse through this blog (I really wouldn't know why, but hey, stranger things have happened), feel free to drop by the wedding reception.

But bring an MP3 player (but not JUST with your songs).

On the front this blog was created for (chillies, which seems to be a neglected part of today's entry), I now find myself drinking copious amounts of soda in order to use the bottles as makeshift greenhouses (thank the El Cheapo challenge for that)

The Rocket keeps dying in the hydroponics kit. The little Elf Chilli seems completely unaffected and actually quite healthy, as does a little cutting of the Orange Habanero I put last week. I wonder why?

I have also experimented with putting an Aji Lemon Drop seed on some decaf tea 'grinds' to see if they can also be used to germinate seeds (Decaf you say?). Put the seed in Tuesday, so fingers crossed. We go through tonnes of the stuff at home, so if it works, I might have found a cheap germinating medium.

Does my Blog look big in this?

I took the opportunity today to browse at the blogspot blogs, something I had not done before.

GHAAAAAA!!

Talk about a United Nations of Weird!

But then again, I also keep a blog, so that's an interesting reflection on me...

I was telling a friend who also has a blog, that it was like that friend we all have (if you have at least ONE friend, odds are it's him/her, or YOU) who was not born with that filter that allows most people to sort out the stuff that should be said from the stuff that maybe should be kept as 'personal', or 'you really shouldn't say that'.

But the Internet to some degree makes us all live in a constant state of 15 minutes of fame, and this is how we all deal with it.

Some of us deal with it like Vanilla Ice...

...some of us deal with it like Dame Judy Dench...

...some of us deal with it like Gonzo from the Muppet's! (I would probably be in this last group).

Instant, universal, unstoppable exposure! (and by universal, I am confining it at this time to our corner of the Galaxy, since wireless transmissions have only travelled so far...The thought of this blog being read by Extraterrestrials makes me laugh. 'Look, Zorg! He mentioned John Terry again! That human is so well mentioned in blogs he MUST be their leader. We shall probe him first!')

Could anyone ask for anything else?

I have had to switch to Firefox to upload J's Naga eating adventure, since IE is being it's usual Microsoft self, and refusing to allow the upload. So, with any luck, you will be able to see this video soon.

As a bit of a backdrop, last August, as the first Naga Morich pods were ripening at work, a friend of mine from work asked to try one. I did give the customary warning (this chilli is the hottest known to man.), but it was still a 'go on, then.' reply. So, after notifying a few people in the office about it, we proceeded to have a little chilli sampling one morning. I took with me an Orange Habanero and a Naga pod.

It was very cool, because I simply walked into an office, plucked the pods from the plants, and said to the people in the room 'we're going to do a chilli tasting.' And they followed. Soon a crowd of about 20 gathered at the Staff common room.

The Orange Hab went down quite well with the people who tasted it. I was one of them (having never tried them before), and the flavour was nice and citrus-like. A few people got watery eyes, but it didn't go beyond that.

The Naga was the main event.

J decided to try a sliver, as did C, R, and me (I think. There may have been one extra person).

Gosh it was painful! But at the same time tasty! J ate all of his sliver, and later asked for more!

MORE! He said

Are you sure? we asked, watery eyed and burning.

MORE! he replied, salivating with anticipation...or was that just from the previous sliver? (Hmmm...'Orange Habs and Nagas', a new book by Dr. Aji Chombo)

So I have him another sliver.

C, thankfully was filming it all.

So, here it is. Enjoy!

If you're from thehotpepper, and you find the video entertaining, pass the word along.

If you're from another planet: Yes, peppers are fun to eat!

There are bad films, and then there are BAD films

First of all, I FOUND THE USB CABLE!!!

Hot Dog!

I normally don't scream whilst writing (I have an aversion to ALL CAPS texting. It's very shouty.), but I was soooooooooooooooooooooooo happy when I found the cable, I spent most of Saturday evening transferring photos from my camera to Almapaprika's laptop (and tonight to photo bucket). It saved me the money and the time to get the new cable, and I ended up bumping into (can't believe I've just spent 30 seconds hitting enter on this contraption trying to get to imdb.com, without realizing I had only written 'ww', instead of 'www') Stephen Graham whilst shopping in the City Centre.

By bumping into, I of course mean I saw him from a respectful yet quasi-personal distance from me (about two metres). Took me a while to recognize the face.

Almapaprika didn't recognize him at all.

She says I always get to see the interesting people (like when I saw Eddie Izzard jog past in...and I can assure you I am not making this up...past a red double-decker bus in London just outside of Big Ben. It would only have been more interesting had an executioner appeared in front of me asking me to chose from Cake or Death.) She was looking in the opposite direction, doing what I should have, which was looking for my aunt who was visiting London for the first time (I am an absent minded nephew), and thus missed the whole episode.

But I digress.

This is a good idea of how long ago I last downloaded photos from the camera:



These are two photos of last autumns' harvest. Not exceedingly abundant, but not bad for a first time. I did harvest more White Habaneros than pictured.

But I also lost most of the Orange habs to mould :-(


This is the little hydroponics kit Almapaprika's mum got me for X-mas (which will be included in the 'El Cheapo-Budget Smackdown' thanks to me putting ONE seed into it. You can find out more by going to www.thehotpepper.com)


This is where I am germinating the seeds this season. I am not entirely happy with the setup, but beggars can't be choosers, as the case might be...

The Trinidad Scorpions are up and out! Two of them out of 4 is not bad, and together with the 7-pot should make a good group of super hots! (if they grow and are not killed by this...apartment of doom!).

Now it turns out one of the Roselles has mould, and may not make it, while the other one looks really strong. I will be happy with the one (more than I can say for the Rocket, which is slowly dying in the hydroponics kit. Why? I can only guess some of the seeds were too close together, and competition is doing this, but with my luck...

I have just finished watching an absolutely horrendous fantasy film entitled 'Dragonhunter', and I am subjecting myself to even more misery by watching 'Merlin and the War of the Dragons'.

WHY, Jürgen Prochnow?!

WHYYYYYYYY?!

I will go away now to finish watching this...um...film...

Too many surveys...

I have been erstwhile distracted from the blog by the bane of postgraduate studies:

The dissertation project.

I am running an online survey on my project, which I need to have since my interviewing skills are rubbish.

I should have known this from ages ago, since my Role Playing skills are equally inept. This is a warning to all of you: If you RP and can't for the sake of you get information from the Gnome Pineapple salesman being played by your friend who knows you are awful at the game and is giving you all the help possible to help you find the +2 Enchanted Suppository of Regularity, you haven't got a prayer for getting accurate information regarding a complex regeneration scheme from Government Officials...

So ask the public what they think. You'll be surprised how refreshing and helpful they will be.

As for the chillies, well what can I say? So far so good. I've taken more photos which I've uploaded to my photobucket account:

http://s611.photobucket.com/albums/tt197/ajichombo/

The Nagas should be changing colour soon. I can feel it. The Chocolate Habs are doing great, as are the Orange Habs (they are just AMAZING). Pretty much the only plants disappointing me are the Fatalii twins. A lot of growth, a lot of growth, a LOT of growth.

But not pods....

Grrrrrrrrrr!

The White Habanero is doing splendid, as is the Caribbean Red Hab (finally). Even the Red Savina has a pod growing!

I have FINALLY moved the Jamaican Hot and the second Paper Lantern from the glass jars to terracotta 15cm pots. I feel really bad about it, but I have decided these two shall be overwintered to provide the spearhead of the 2010 growing season.

August temperatures in Liverpool are predicted to be 14.5C on the average (yes, global warming...I can see it making a difference) AFTER the meteorology office in the UK gave a long range forecast of a heat wave for August. This is why weather forecasting is a great job. You MAKE THINGS UP! and you get paid a handsome fee to boot! I will definitely apply to be one. Stick my head out the window, or better still, my bionic leg, and say 'Hmmmm...leg is tingling. I predict rain!' and bingo-bango! Money!

I am sorely tempted to use the heat lamps from the reception to keep the plants fooled into producing more...

Pigeons and wings...

I am going to start a petition to send to whatever 'higher authority' was in charge of giving city pigeons wings to have them taken from them.

Silly things just will not move when you walk towards them.

I know they see life in such a manner that their brain analyses our movement as we would the slow crawl of a snail, but I have had enough.

I want some other animal to get the wings if the pigeons are just going to waffle about not using them.

I want monkeys to have them.

And don't say 'Oh, come on!'

You know you want that too.

Not the higher order apes.

Nah.

No...flying orang-utans. No winged Chimpanzees.

The 'lesser apes'

Flying Squirrel Monkeys!

Dive Bombing Tamarinds!

Horrah!

I am 'chuffed', as the locals say, with the progress of the plants. There are now 14 Chocolate Habanero pods on the plant, as well as three White Habanero pods! Weeeeeeee! There are also flowers on the Paper Lantern and Red Savina. The Chocolate Sweet Pepper is now producing more flowers, so a second harvest is under way!

I have started harvesting the Esplendors as well as the Piri-Piris, but loaded with plenty of little pods.

The Orange Habanero is packed! I know there could be more pods if I did a few more things, but I'll settle for 20 pods from it.

Heck, even the Caribbean Red Habanero, now in separate accommodation (after I liberally sprayed it to control the aphids) is carrying a pod!

:-)

Now, if only I could get the Fataliis to actually set a pod, I'd be the happiest pepper on the Internet!

What a week!

A friend of mine looked at me on Monday and said those horrible words:

What else could go...

I stopped her short of finishing and said

'Please don't say it. Last time someone did there were dire consequences in my life.'

I am at this moment, a pepper without a plant.

I was going to post photos on Monday of the progress with the peppers, but have been sidetracked by a crane falling onto the building next to where I live:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8136336.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8137953.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8139724.stm

As a result, and due to Health and Safety Concerns, Almapaprika and I (and everyone else living in the nearby building) have been 'relocated' until the crane is removed.

It meant not being able to access the flat except for a window of opportunity (9 to 5) on the Tuesday to pick up essentials before the building was closed down. The previous night we spent in a hotel the construction company that was responsible for the crane nicely booked for all the people affected. We also had to get some clothes (and undergarments) for the next day, because no one was allowed back into the complex the day the accident happened.

So we're in serviced flats at the moment.

But because in those serviced flats they charge us £6.50/hour for Internet, I'm limited to what I can do at work, and I need to move the photos from the camera to the laptop.

Prior to all of this 'kung-fu collapsing crane technique' malarkey, I had been in contact with the person who sold me the original Naga seeds. It was a good conversation (even this blog was used as an example. I had to fess up and say it was mine), but I can't send her the new photos of the 'Naga X' because I don't have access to the photos (asides from looking at them from the camera), so this will have to wait. If anything, I have an interesting looking cross.

Oh, and my ex-landlords are just a pain in the rear. But it's not just me apparently, as I found out a work colleague also had this 'company' as landlords when she was a student and thoroughly hated the experience. I'm only glad our dealings with them are done (I hope). I don't expect to be renting anything from them anytime soon.

Other than all of this hullabaloo, if I could post the photos to you, you'd see the new Orange Habanero pods (the plant has now produced around 10), as well as all the new Naga 'X' pods (there are 8 total), and the 'forest of purple' from the Esplendor. Even the white Hab. is flowering!

Not the Naga

Hmmmm... it seems life has thrown me a slight curve ball...


...or three.

The Naga Morich chilli seeds I bought online have produced a great plant and some interesting pods...

...but they aren't Nagas.

It seems Naga pods are supposed to grow pendant (hanging), whereas these pods are growing erect (standing up). Mind you, having looked at them yesterday afternoon, the look fairly 'Naga Evil'.

But they are growing upright.

I will see whether or not this is a condition of the plant in the first floor only or a condition of both the Nagas, since the one in the top floor has had some flowers open, and hopefully will germinate. If the pods grow downwards, all is gravy. If they grow upwards, I will see something is wrong.

The high temperatures this week were fantastic, because they meant more of the flowers released their pollen. The Esplendor is awash in little purple pods. The Piri Piri is also loaded with little pods.

I FINALLY GOT ORANGE HABANERO PODS! That is a relief. I was starting to think I was going to have the prettiest plant to not give and pods...

The Black Cuban is also producing some pods, which is good, and the Fataliis are also starting to produce flowers! yay!

Even the White Hab and the Paper Lantern are starting to produce little flower buds.

I need to take some more pics.

TGIF? Not if your chillies are at work...

I dread weekends.

Don't get me wrong. I like the idea of goofing off for hours on end, just like the next pepper.

But all my plants are at work now. So that means I need to water them well enough Friday afternoon, and hope we don't get a mystery heatwave over the weekend (though in this neck of the woods that's about as likely to happen as Elvis riding the Loch Ness monster down the street in hot pursuit of Bigfoot).

I almost forgot to do a mouseketeer roll call for the chillies being grown at work:

1-Naga Morich x 2
2-Orange Habanero x 2
3-Fatalii x 2
4-Black Cuban x 2
5-White Habanero x 2
6- Esplendor x 2
7-Chocolate Habanero x 1
8-Caribbean Reb Habanero x 1
9-Rocoto Rojo x 1
10-Red Savina x 1
11-Paper Lantern x 1
12-Stromboli x 1
13-Ring of Fire Cayenne x 1
14-Etna x 1
15-Chocolate Sweet Pepper x 1

And, of course, the two butternut squash.

Fingers crossed for another weekend of them fending for themselves.

I might have some photos to upload soon! Took them today, but need access to the computer at home.

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.