...Hot patio sizzle chilli peppers...

Do you love your chilli peppers? Now it is time to start your seeds indoors! 
 
I have just bought some seeds of the 'hot patio sizzle chilli' variety (posh Latin name: Capsicum annuum) and I am growing them in pots in the patio. I am planning to give a couple of them away as gifts, in pretty pots.

They are decorative and they are supposed to look like this when they fruit.

 
Yes, I bet mine will look equally great! 

Plus, I can use them in my curry. They are mildly spicy - just about right. Not too hot, not too mild!

I will keep you up-to-date about how this project is progressing. 

Meanwhile, bye for now! 

...How to chit potatoes for planting...

Simple. Place them in a dark dry place and wait for them to chit. It should chit pretty soon (1-2 weeks) but it is ready for planting in 4 weeks time. 

Some store-bought potatoes may take longer to plant as they are sprayed with chemicals to delay chitting.

Don't wet your potatoes as they will go mouldy. That's why it's important to store them in a dry place and wait for them to chit. 

When your potato tubers have long sprouting buds (by long I mean over 2 cm) they are ready for planting. 

Why is it important to chit your potatoes before planting?
Because you get harvest earlier if you do so. In fact, this is up to 3 weeks earlier... 

When you chop your chitted potatoes for planting, make sure you use a clean knife washed with antibacterial. You want to give your potato plants a great start. 

Lastly, people ask me: can I chit a potato now, and harvest at Xmas time? 

Τhe answer is no. If you chit your potatoes now, and you grow them in bags inside, then you may get your first potatoes in early February. 

Potatoes hate frost. It's not a good time to plant them outside this time of the year. But there's nothing stopping you growing them inside the house.

...Pansies (2)...

Quick post to say that so far I have no news from the pansies. I re-watered them today. Sometimes they take a bit longer to sprout.

My first post

So, what should I write about? My latest gardening news would make a nice first post.

• My peas are growing fast (I planted the 'meteor peas' variety in late October last year).  
• my marigolds are growing - stay away slug! 
• I have tried to grow roses from cuttings (time will tell if the experiment is successful).  
• my forget-me-nots are about to flower. 
• my azalea is looking healthy.

I am going to post about these gardening activities soon. 

For now, I am trying to learn how blogger works. I have never used blogger before but one has to start from somewhere I suppose. Advanced apologies for any mistakes I make. Do visit this blog in the future as I will try to update it every 10 days or so... 

Happy reading!