Greetings From The Pepper Man!

[Mitzi]

I have an aphid farm.

[Chris11]

Welcome from another chilli grower

[Small pumpkin]

I'm amazed how many Chilli farms there are in the UK - having goggled them.

Most of them congregating down south . It's a little more challenging up here. I think I'm managing ok though

[Scarlet]

I think you would give them a run for their money SP!

[Philthy]

Any interesting colours, or stand out plants, coming through from the batch of US seeds?

Interesting most definately. Some I'm sure have been around awhile, though they're new to me
I got a few tried and tested favourites; Black Pearl, Purple Flash, Fatalii Yellow, some habaneros.. But next year I want to focus on new strains of said favourites, plus more ornamentals. So I also now have seeds of: Shu, Bellingrath Gardens, Fatalii Red, Fatalii White, Reaper Chocolate, Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Yellow, Trinidad Douglah (officially world's hottest trio but that's not the inspiration for choosing these , rather it's for the alternative colours). Aji Strawberry, Habanero Giant White, Sugar Rush Peach + Creme, Moruga Scorpion Green. I'm also on the lookout for Cheiro Roxa seeds following a chance discovery a few weeks back, fortunately I've found a nursery in Kent that does this one so next year's GH display could be (fingers crossed) quite special visually if nothing else

[The Pepper Man]

Hello and welcome! Thanks for the offer of advice, which I will take you up on straight away:

This year I am growing Aji White Fantasy for the first time. The pods turn white very quickly, when they are still quite small. The first ones set months ago. How do I know when they are ripe? I read somewhere that they go slightly yellowish again when mature, but I'm not seeing that happen. The Aji Champion in the next pot started setting pods about the same time, and they are starting to colour up now, so I'd expect the Fantasy to be maturing too. I picked one of the oldest pods which started to turn brown at the edge; when I cut it open, the seeds seemed to be ripe, but it was still insipid and meh. Is that just how these pods are, no flavour, no heat, just a juicy crunch?

Hi, we grew Aji White Fantasy last year and had no problems with it's growth or fruit, although it was on the late side to mature. We picked when the pods were cream coloured, in September, and the taste was not amazing. And there was no heat at all, or very little, as you describe. That's how they are supposed to be. You'll have to test them yourself to see how ripe they are and whether they are ready yet. Some people like to harvest earlier, and some later, depending on individual aesthetic, flavour or heat requirements.

We decided it wasn't worth growing the Aji White this year though as it was too late maturing and didn't produce a lot of pods considering the size of the plant. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot worse peppers out there to grow, but there is certainly a lot better ones too. The Trinidad Perfume is a better option in my opinion. Similar shape, but yellow in colour. And a better taste. A lot better.

[The Pepper Man]

Most of them congregating down south . It's a little more challenging up here. I think I'm managing ok though

I'm based in the same town that I grew up in. So I haven't had to congregate anywhere

Respect to you northern growers though. Chillies especially can be a real challenge up north, if you don't get the summer heat, and have too many overcast days. But where there's a will, there's a way

[The Pepper Man]

If you are local to me you can have a few because at this rate, Im going to have chillies comin out me ears!!!

Jimbo

That's a sentiment I can relate to. I think we must have picked well over 1,000 chillies this season, so far. Possibly 1,500. The Padron's alone, are so productive it is unbelievable! Just 4 Padron plants, have produced approximately 200 peppers between them. And it is still August! That number will double between now and October.

[The Pepper Man]

I have grown chillis in the past, but they have always turned out to be far too spicy for me. Those that have been milder, then sometimes throw in one fruit that burns my face off.

Can you, or anyone, advise on a chili that has a little bit of heat, but generally thought of as incredibly mild? When people say something's "not too spicy" it still takes my face off lol

Two words - Trinidad Perfume.

It's about 50 SHU so not hot at all, and one of the best tasting you can get. A very unique, sweet, citrusy, orangey taste. It came number 1 out of 20 different types last year (in our own testing) and looks to reclaim that spot again this year, alongside 32 other types of pepper which we are growing. Trinidad Perfume is probably my favourite pepper to grow right now. Nice yellow, ornamental pods as well. You can't go wrong with it.

[The Pepper Man]

I'd like The Pepper Man to explain what a chilli farm is and how big it needs to be to be a farm

Well a farm by definition is 'an area of land that is devoted primarily to agriculture processes, with the primary objective of producing food and other crops'. So there is no actual definition regarding the size of the land in order to constitute it a 'farm'.

But to put it into perspective, we have around 300 chilli plants in total this year, on our plot of land, and have cropped around 1,500 chillies already (roughly). By the end of October, we expect to have picked over 5,000 chillies, as the vast majority of our pods are just readying up now. September will be a very busy month. October too. Many chillies are not even picked, due to the sheer numbers that we have.

As I said previously, we are not a commercial chilli farm at present. We are involved in the palms & exotics business, but are taking steps this year, to branch out into the chilli business next year, with plants and plugs available this coming spring.

Regards

[The Pepper Man]

I think Pepperman as started a bean farm....he appears to have done a runner

I'm still here, just been busy picking all those peppers. And cross breeding new varieties

Although most of my work has been focused around the palm and cacti aspect of our business. The Chilli farm is more of a side project for us. We have over 800 individual palms to grow and maintain here, at various stages of growth from 3 months old - 30 years old. It's a lot of work. Then there is the chilli farm as well.

[The Pepper Man]

Of the x4 varieties of peppers growing in one of my goddess bed.

One variety is called "Nigel" from a UK specialist, that wouldnt be you Pepperman?

+ Nigel Chilli
+ California Golden peppers (thin walled but tasty)
+ Basque


+ x2 Basket of Fire chilli doing well in the herb bed

No, I can confirm that is not me. I would not describe myself as a specialist. More of an enthusiast at this stage. But my more experienced business partner on the other hand is easily worthy of that accolade. He has been growing chillies since the late 80's.

We have a couple of the Basket of Fire chilli's this year. Nothing to write home about, at this stage at least, as the maturing pods seem to be a dull green/grey colour. But they might surprise us over the next few weeks as they mature, if they put on a colour show. It's also a relatively late maturing variety we have noticed, compared to say Padron and Jalapeno Early which were being harvested as early as June 20th this year. The Basket of Fire didn't even start producing fruit until mid July and we still haven't picked any yet. But it is supposed to be bomb proof for the UK climate. We'll see.

[The Pepper Man]

I notice I can't change my profile picture, or make certain amendments to my profile. It says that I need to receive permissions or have my account accepted by admin, before being able to do so.

Is there a certain number of posts I need to make, or certain amount of time I must be on here, before I am allowed to do this? Or can a moderator allow me access? Cheers.

UPDATE (edit) - I appear to have got permission to do this now. Maybe because I made more than 10 posts? Anyway, all is resolved. Cheers.

[Nicos]

^^^^^yep!

[Small pumpkin]

we have around 300 chilli plants in total this year, on our plot of land, and have cropped around 1,500 chillies already (roughly). By the end of October, we expect to have picked over 5,000 chillies, as the vast majority of our pods are just readying up now. September will be a very busy month. October too. Many chillies are not even picked, due to the sheer numbers that we have.

Interesting! Why do you count your chillies and not go on weight? I work on weight even with my mere 63 plants. I've harvested just over 6kg already this year.

We have a couple of the Basket of Fire chilli's this year. Nothing to write home about, at this stage at least, as the maturing pods seem to be a dull green/grey colour. But they might surprise us over the next few weeks as they mature, if they put on a colour show. It's also a relatively late maturing variety we have noticed.

Don't know what you're growing, but it doesn't sound like a basket of fire.


At no stage are a basket of fire pods green. I find them one of the earliest maturing. Even compared to padron or jalapeņo. Heavy and long cropping plants. I love them.