Re: [CH] Intro/new subscriber:

Shaun Rimmer (shaun@newtronic.co.uk)
Thu, 17 Jan 2002 15:53:21 -0000 

> On Thu, 17 Jan 2002, Shaun Rimmer wrote:
>
> > Hi Wendy, nice to err... 'E-meet' you :-) (knew I'd find a phrase for it
> > eventually.)
> >
> The e-pleasure is all mine :-)

What, none for me? That's just plain meeeaaan! ',;~}

> > > I've been growing chiles for years in England, in fact it all got
totally
> > > out of hand and we ended up with a small business.
> >
> > Congratulations! Now, if only things I did for fun could get similarly
out
> > of hand, I would have self funding hobbies, and could quit this
job........
> >
> I have to admit that so far I've still got the day job.  The business is
> only a year old, and last year we were more concerned with market research
> and breaking even, rather than actually making a profit.  This year
> however...well, the hab is the limit! (as it were)

Heheh! Good luck with your venture - hope it goes great!

> >  Admittedly we do use a
> > > greenhouse, but if you want to grow in the garden simply harden off
young
> > > plants during May
> >
> > By placing outside in pots? Covered? (sorry, not much of an educated
> > gardner, but I learn fast!)
> >
> I would pop them outside on a nice sunny day for say a few hours to begin
> with, and slowly increase the time outside.  After a couple of weeks or so
> you should have plants that are hardy enough to go out.  Always bung them
> back indoors if there is any chance of a frost however.

Right, got that. I was unsure if to just cloth and poly cover them for
frosts (like with some other planty type thingies/wossnames).....Thanks.

> > hot banana,
> >
> > What are these like? (appearance, taste, hotness?) I haven't heard the
name,
> > most of the chile varieties I've tried/have seen have been in large
boxes
> > outside of the many (very!) Asian food shoops local to me, and not even
> > named in Urdu or Hindi etc.
> >
> I should think that the chiles you've bought from your local Asian shop
> have been some sort of cayenne.

Mainly, 2 different looking thin green types - a shorter and pailer one
(tends to be smooth-ish) and a longer darker one (usually knobly). Both turn
various shades of orange/red (apart from a few that stay green), and are
mostly quite hot indeed. The others I buy less frequently are 'cone' shaped,
short and fat, again green and change colour. These are much milder, with
the heat being concentrated _right_ up at the stem end of the chile.

 By all means have a shot with some of
> these seeds - if you are successful you have the pleasure twice over -
> i.e. first you eat the chile, then you plant the seeds and (hopefully) eat
> the babies!

Uhhhm, I usually, errrr..... eat the eehhh....seeds....... Hmmmm!

There are always occasions when I'm cooking for others, however, where
removing the seeds is a necessarry evil, otherwise they complain, then go
and drink all my beer :-(

> Hot Bananas are medium heat with a good sweet flavour.

OK, but I still ain't heard of em! Isle keep an aye oot!

> > It's a long time since I delurked....hmm, feels good...
> >
> > And rightly so! Personally, I got out of lurking pretty quickly on the
> > lists/groups I was visiting, preferring to make a public nuisance of
myself
> > when I had nothing to say.
> >
> I think that's absolutely fair enough!
> >
> > Anyhoo, back on topic, are chile seeds difficult to germinate, from
fresh
> > chillies? Or is it just a case of letting them dry, and damp-germinating
in
> > a warm place?
> >
> I have heard it said that you should dry out seeds to give them a
> "resting" period.  However I've never had any problems planting the seeds
> out of the chile I've just eaten straight in the compost, in fact the
> germination rate is usually nearly 100% (using supermarket varieties such
> as fresno, jalapeno, birds eye etc).

Hurray! Woo-hooo!

When is a good time to plant up the seeds? I'm not too early or late am I
(for this years growing season)?

 I should mention that for the
> business we do buy in decent quality commercial seed however, as this is
> the only way that you can be 100% sure that the varieties will grow true.

But of course, m'lady, one would expect nothing less of such a consumate
professional as your good self!

> Regards,
>
> Wendy
> Easy Gardens

Cheers!

Shaun "stoked again" R
--
If you have nothing better to do, you're not doing it properly.