[CH] Are chiles an annual plant?
Jim Weller (Jim.Weller@salata.com)
22 Mar 98 18:49:51 -0800
-=> Quoting Dale.Freeman@dofa.gov.au to All <=-
Da> I noted that several of you have referred to taking your chilies in
Da> for winter and them growing on the next spring.
Da> I thought that chilies were annual plants requiring new plantings of
Da> seeds each year.
They are a "tender" perennial that not only can't tolerate frost, they
don't like even coolish weather [below 6 deg C ???].
Da> If they are in effect perennial, is there any secret to keeping them
Da> going over winter, other than to keep them a little warmer and giving
Da> them some light.
All I did was bring my potted plants indoors towards the end of summer
and keep them on windowsills. In Dec. when daylight drops below 4 hours
here, I used a grow light about 6 hours a day and watered lightly
without adding fertilizer.
In Jan. I increased the grow light hours to 12, watered more heavily and
fed the plants a little liquid fertilizer. The little buggers thought it
was spring and bloomed right away. I now have several immature green
peppers and lots more blossoms.
Da> The area I'm growing chiles in drops to average winter daytime temps
Da> of around 10-12 celsius and 3-4 overnight. Daylight hours drop to 6-8
Da> hrs.
I don't *think* they'll make it outdoors there.
BTW, the grow lights make the plants grow rather tall and spindly. I did
prune them a bit. The excess leaves and stems aren't wasted though. They
make an excellent mild pot herb. [A tip from a FIDO Cooking echo buddy
from Australia, who has spent a fair amount of time in PNG and
Thailand and eaten them there.]
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
Title: Chile [Chilli] leaf soup
Categories: Soups, Beef, Herbs
Yield: 4 Servings
4 c Beef broth
1/2 c Chile leaves; chiffonaded
Parsley; several fresh
-sprigs, chopped, optional
1/2 c Cooked rice
4 Green onions; chopped
[Green onions = spring onions, scallions, sometimes called "shallots"
in Louisiana.]
Bring beef broth to a boil. Add chopped chile leaf and parsley stems.
Simmer 10 minutes. Add chile leaves and parsley; simmer 3-5 minutes.
Add cooked rice and chopped white parts of the onions. Simmer one
minute. Serve and sprinkle the bowls with the chopped green part of
the onions.
I recommend against adding other vegetables, herbs or spices or the
delicate flavour of the chile leaves will be overpowered.
Jim Weller
MMMMM
As to your other message re: hydroponics, that's a technique that I have
never dabbled in.
Jim Weller,
Yellowknife, NWT.
[jweller at ssimicro dot com]
... Caribou Chili Pizza Beta Tester