A day of work and joy

It's been days of work - sieving, pruning trees, sieving some more, cleaning up around the garden beds - our backs hurt with pain telling of fulfilled work and many achievments! We've eaten spinach out of the garden yesterday, it was intensely flavoured, and had our first salad and rucola today - it is great to harvest the first fruits. We learned a lot during our first season, and all of this will fo into our further efforts to make us semi-self-sustainable out of the backyard at some point in the future.


The clear winners of the autumn's germination project are - who would have guessed - the radishes - who looked up into the light in just under 48 hours. They were closely followed by the rainbow chard, of which 2 of 7 plants are looking into the sun already.






Another great joy today was to see our first two chili plants which have been hidden in the soil for the past two weeks - two in one day! It is an undescribable feeling to see those things grow and wake up in the morning making a new plant-   discovery! (But then again, I get excited quickly.)

Last but not least (contrary!) my beloved Passion Fruit Plant has grown two leaves in three days after being stagnant for two months. There is hope! :)

Chili Propagation

Growing

• Below 15°C - Growth is slow
• 18.5°C - ~31°C - fruit formation
• Soil: Preferably well-drained, sandy or silt-loam
• Location: Sunny but well-sheltered

Germination

• Sowing Depth - About 2 cm
• Germination Temperatur - 20-30°C, try to keep temperature constant
• Germination Time: Varies, can take up to a month (Habaneros)
• Cover to allow ventilation
• At no time allow compost to dry out
• water (boiled and left to stand for 24 hours so that any chlorine dissapates) with a spray 

Propagation

• If seedlings emerge take out from cover and place in full sunlight
• Treat with Seaweed extract or equivalent once a week
• Transplant to ~8cm  diameter pot (--> 12cm then 15cm)
• cover with moist compost to just below the first set of true leaves as this encourages the development of extra roots
• Place the tip of a matchstick in the pot to provide sulphur
• Sandy soil for drainage

Transplanting

• Once temperatures are stable above 10°C
• Harden off plants by placing them outside for short intervals and gradually increasing exposure
• Transplant either in 20cm diameter pots or into well-drained soil

Preparing Soil

• Don't plant in disease-affected areas
• Clear weeds (also to prevent spread of disease)
• Work the soil to a fine tilth and work in either rotted manure or good quality compost
• Apply Mulch
• Continue Using Seaweed Spray
• Pinching out the plants at required height will cause the plant to bush out

Tips

• Grow marigolds and other yellow flowers along side your chili plants to attract natural aphid predators
• Companion planting : basil , dill , chives and chervil all repel aphids. No aphids, fewer ants! 
• Grow coriander: not only does it ward off aphids, it can also be turned into a spray to kill spidermites
• Avoid growing peppers on land recently used to grow potatoes∞, tomatoes∞ or aubergine (egg plant)

3 amigos

These guys are doing nicely:) The mystery chillis:)

Chilli

I got a mixed bag of organic chilli seeds so I have absolutely no idea what these are - they could be habaneros, or jalapenos or birdseyes. We will have to wait & see:)