The last time I wrote a blog it happened to be exactly the same time of year, last year. So instead of telling you what we are currently doing (pretty much the same as last year; harvesting tonnes and tonnes of chillies!) I’ll bring you up to speed with some of our successes and some of the new things we learned.
A common theme I have found this growing season has been the challenging the weather. Whilst it has not been completely awful, we didn’t seem to get the kick start to the season and planting that we usually enjoy, especially around May. As a result many growers I have spoken to, reported slow growth rates and even issues establishing seeds. This includes ourselves; we are finding the chilli harvest has been slightly delayed this year and is approximately a few weeks behind where we would like it to be. That said, Nature has a way of sorting itself out and when we look back at the figures we will probably (hopefully!) be surprised to find everything has averaged out.
Slugs have probably been our number one pest this year. The very damp Summer meant we have had slugs decimating new plants, established plants and fruit. I have trialled a few methods to prevent the slimy critters and so far the best I have found is a very weak coffee solution sprayed around the base of the plants and any ingress points along the edges of the tunnels. My reading suggests they are quite sensitive to caffeine and will actively avoid it or be killed by a caffeine overdose. The usual pests like Aphids we’ve managed to control effectively with our natural predators and with Pearl, our new cat, we seen very little rodent/rabbit activity.
Fertilising chilli plants has always been essential to get the best from them. This year I have added more Nitrogen to our fertilizing schedule. I’ve always been told and have read that too much Nitrogen is a bad thing for chillies, resulting in lots of vegetative/structural growth and little fruit production. As a consequence we have always used fertilisers that had minimal Nitrogen (N) components and have focused more on Potassium (K) and Phosphorous (P). I have researched a number of articles and papers that have studied the effects of Nitrogen with Solanaceae (the family of plants of which chilli is a member); whilst the majority of the Solanaceae family do produce too much vegetative growth if given lots of Nitrogen, it appears Capsicums do not behave the same way, or as previously believed. They do grow larger and have bigger structures, but continue to produce fruit and have more overall plant with which to fruit.
So, I have been caught out to a certain extent! We have some amazing plants with lots of fruit but I have had to net, tie back, flop back into place, double net and even triple net many varieties that would not normally need so much support.
I can vouch for the added Nitrogen by the way, give it a go next year and see if you get a bigger haul, but be warned get ready with the plant supports!