# You like Chilli?



## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

During the summer, I went a bit nuts planting chillies, HOT chilles to be precise.

I ended up with a fair few plants of the hottest varieties in the world, including Bhut Jolokias, various Habaneros including a cool Chocolate one, Nagabons, and arguably the hottest of them all - the Trinidad Scorpion butch T.

It wasnt the best chilli growing summer, but I have still been picking more chillies than one human can eat ( my wife wont touch them, she thinks a capsicum is hot! ), so I have been preserving in various methods, drying, freezing, turning into sauce etc.

I will post up some of my best sauce recipes soon, but feel free to add your own, as I need some more inspiration.

Here's today's harvest.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Another 'hot food nutter'.

Chillis are rated by 'hotness'. Small can mean BIG, even DANGEROUS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale

trev


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

I'll be watching this one. I'm no chilli champ but love them just the same. One of my favorite ways of eating them is pickled in cider vinegar.

I've always got birds eye ones growing wild around the place all year round and use a few in most pasta, pizza, steak meals I make.


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Patwah, I'll send you some seeds if you like. I started the jolokias late, and only ended up with one, but I will keep them over winter and revive them in spring. Nagabons were my best bearing plants. I had one nearly 1.5metres, and I reckon I have taken close to a kilo of very hot and extraodinary smelling chillies from it.
Trev, the latest generation of superhots disproves the "smaller is hotter" theory, some of the hottest chillies are now golf ball size or even approaching tennis ball. Like Yellow 7 pot and TS Morouga varieties.

Here's my take on an asian style plum sauce, vary the chillies and amounts to taste, but I like it "nose bleedingly" hot!

Nasenbluten Plum Sauce

1 medium red onion - chopped
5 red plums ( blood plums even better ) - stoned and chopped
1 clove garlic - chopped
100ml Cabernet Sauvignon
200ml water

Boil for 5 minutes with a lid on.
Add ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder
Boil 1 minute

50ml red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar ( try without vinegar for a less sour taste ). Sauce without vinegar at this stage smelt soooo good! Had a bit of a hashish smell too.
6 tablespoons caster sugar ( use less if less vinegar )

Add 13 Nagabons ( or the hottest red chillies you can get, but the taste is important - Red Habaneros would be OK ).
Mix 1 teaspoon Arrowroot flour ( or cornflour ) into 125ml cold water and stir into the sauce until cooked.
Blend the sauce with a stick mixer until fairly smooth. 
Add 2 chopped Chocolate Habeneros ( congo blacks ) for texture and flavour. Bottle the sauce immediately while the aroma is strong.


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Oh, and I should probably add: too much of these chillies a night before early morning kayak trips is maybe not the best idea!
The after effects can be as bad or worse then the front end!


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

bunsen said:


> Oh, and I should probably add: too much of these chillies a night before early morning kayak trips is maybe not the best idea!
> The after effects can be as bad or worse then the front end!


SHU's are your guide.

That's why he was awarded the Nobel Heat Guide.
trev


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## toddooo (Apr 2, 2012)

Im going to start growing habaneros, birds eyes and some more mild chilies when it gets warmer. 
Anyone know a good place for seeds apart from Chilli King?


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Very cool stuff Bunsen, if you ever make an American style hot sauce I'll put my hand up for the clinical trials!


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## geebz (Mar 24, 2009)

toddooo said:


> Im going to start growing habaneros, birds eyes and some more mild chilies when it gets warmer.
> Anyone know a good place for seeds apart from Chilli King?


http://www.chillibird.com.au


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## badmotorfinger (Mar 15, 2010)

Pickle them in brown vinegar, sugar and garlic. Old Man grows some Mongrel halapeno style that have been ir family for 30 years and had bumper crop this year. Love them pickled on crackers with cheese, in salads, pasta or just straight out of jar. Left with a great chilli vinegar for use in salad dressings and similar.


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## badmotorfinger (Mar 15, 2010)

Pickle them in brown vinegar, sugar and garlic. Old Man grows some Mongrel halapeno style that have been ir family for 30 years and had bumper crop this year. Love them pickled on crackers with cheese, in salads, pasta or just straight out of jar. Left with a great chilli vinegar for use in salad dressings and similar.


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## mnemonix (Jan 13, 2011)

Gotta love a good chili.
I've sourced a good collection of seeds from "Wildfire Chilli". moruga scorpions, bhut jolokia, chinesensis etc.
Waiting for the weather to warm before I try and propogate them. Also going to try growing some in Darwin when I head up shortly.
Going to be a spicey summer at my house.


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Mnemonix - go to http://www.thehippyseedcompany.com/ - talk to Neil and Luke, they'll sort you out for seeds.
Check out Neil's youtube chilli tests - he is a machine.


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## toddooo (Apr 2, 2012)

thanks guys!
When should you plant them? I have been told a month before summer?


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## toddooo (Apr 2, 2012)

Good stuff thanks.
Is it ok to get the young plants for a nursery? They are quite cheap up this way, $4 per plant.


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## toddooo (Apr 2, 2012)

Thanks mate  Will head down to the local nursery and see how we go


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Seeds are much slower to germinate, I waited nearly 6 weeks before I saw a Yellow 7 Pot sprout. But some were up in about a week. 
Depends where you live I guess, here in Sydney, I would suggest maybe start some seeds in jiffy pellets at the end of August if you want to see any decent chillies in January. If you live somewhere warmer, maybe you can get away with a later start. Canberra: you'll probably have to keep your starters indoors until you are sure you are past any kind of frosty night. If you have a west facing wall at your house Pat, you might get away with keeping them out. Frost=death.
To keep them over winter, make sure you pick ALL remaining fruit, regardless of whether they are ready, and prune back to main stems. Be pretty ruthless. Reduce watering back to maybe once every 2 weeks, just enough to stop the soil turning to dry dust. Dont fertilise either. As long as your plants dont get frosty, they should make it, and when spring comes, replant, fertilise, and water and you'll see them come back to life. Some varieties are better than others, luckily, Habaneros and cultivars of them are often better after a year or two.
You'll see heavier crops too, as they dont spend so much time developing root systems, they just go straight back to vegetative growth and fruiting.
I'll put up some pics of some of my better plants soon.


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Joel, now that I look at the photo, I think the ones you are talking about are Lanterns. Probably about a 7/10 on the heat scale. Hot and stingy, but no lasting burn.
Anyone else have some good chilli recipes?


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Edited my previous post.
I have some Rocoto seeds that a friend brought back from Peru, I will have a go at them this coming summer. Pat, these might be a good variety for you, they tolerate high altitude and cold climate pretty well, and grow into trees eventually!
Havent tried the bishops crowns, but I have decided that I need some more slightly mild varieties. I am happy to swap with anyone who wants to.
I have some seeds for Butch Ts, Nagabons, Choc Habs, Peach habs, Orange habs, Bhuts, Orange Lanterns and Rocotos at the moment. No seeds from Yellow 7s yet.


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## Mzuri (Jan 19, 2010)

Quick question, do you tend to eat these before going out on the water?

Just a scary thought.

:lol:


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

I like chilli, but I don't _ like _ chilli like some of you nutters seem to.
However, I did plant some Thai chillis from seed just after Christmas and by March they were in full fruit. Plenty of time to get a good crop in between frosts.
What I would be interested in is growing some of the milder chillis that can be used more like a vegetable.


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Craig, sounds like you are after some varieties like Hungarian Wax and Anaheim, they're pretty big and fleshy, and fairly mild.


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

For things Mexican, including over 100 varieties of chilli seeds, check out http://www.fireworksfoods.com.au


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## YakAtak (Mar 13, 2006)

nice! Thanks for that Dave.


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## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

patwah said:


> Greatest thread ever.
> 
> The Massive, get in here


Want that boss...


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

patwah said:


> http://thechillifactory.com/


Had a look & scared myself a bit.

I told my daughter (year6) about the Scorpion Strike sauce, rated 15/10 for heat. She informs me that this is an improper fraction. Not only that, but I'm imagining it burning me a new arsehole. Wrong on at least two levels.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Why yes, yes I do.
I've always liked growing chiles (chee-lays). I've grown all sorts of hots, but I like ornamentals best now for personaliZed flake mixes.
I like an arbol/cayenne/pequin mix for good flavor and pop. The pequins also pickle really well.

Right now, I've got a couple plants from last season that are producing well again, and one new plant, an Anaheim (standard green chile), that I plan on using to make rellenos (stuffed chiles).

Anaheim, new this season, from a nursery:









Cayenne, I cut back to sticks when it stopped producing, and it is doing great again. It's over a meter high.









Pequin produced all winter and I let it go w/o cutting back. In full fruit currently.









I have a couple reccos to you chile heads:
Cow's horn, and black jalapeno. Cow's horn look like a standard cayenne, but are much hotter. And the black jalapeno's blossoms are purple. Very pretty.


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## Hairy Little Dwarf (Aug 28, 2006)

Surprised no-one has mentioned smoked chillis (I'll ignore any jokes about ciggy papers etc)
I chuck them in a cold smoke for a few hours, then into the dehydrator, then the kitchen whizz.

A sprinkle here and there during cooking works wonders 8)


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## MrQ (Jan 22, 2009)

If I wanted to grow chilles in a pot indoors, What would be my best choice.

I love hot chilles.

My ideal chilli would be the following
-Habanero level hot (i just find that 1 is perfect for everything)
-fast growing
-hardy
-good flavour
-good fruiting
-red or yellow

So does anyone have a suggestion of what to grow?


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

i HAVE A cHILLI


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

MrQ said:


> If I wanted to grow chilles in a pot indoors, What would be my best choice.
> 
> I love hot chilles.
> 
> ...


I've got a friend that lives up at 7500' in the central part of the state, and has a very narrow growing season. He's taken to growing indoors in soil pots under lights. He does standard one vegetative room w/ 24 hour low wattage light to get plants sprouted, then moves them under a HPS light for 18/6 on/off. He's done really well with all his chiles and tomatoes and even some squashes. With the right soil, you can do anything indoors.


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Zed said:


> I've got a friend that lives up at 7500' in the central part of the state, and has a very narrow growing season. He's taken to growing indoors in soil pots under lights. He does standard one vegetative room w/ 24 hour low wattage light to get plants sprouted, then moves them under a HPS light for 18/6 on/off. He's done really well with all his chiles and tomatoes and even some squashes. With the right soil, you can do anything indoors.


 Only chillies, tomatoes and squash? yeah sure. :mrgreen:


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Well, yeah, for instance.
I can not confirm or deny anything else was grown under doctors recommendation.


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

It's OK, you can get a prescription for Glaucoma or something else that needs to be treated by indoor herbs pretty easily in Cali, cant you Zed? ;-)


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

BBQ Sauce

Here' a pretty adaptable recipe for a US style BBQ sauce. I know all the states have their own style and are pretty religious about exactly what constitutes a good sauce, but this one is nice with pulled pork or brisket.

1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic chopped
2 tomatoes
olive oil

Start frying up these first ingredients, but dont burn the garlic!

Add 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds, 1/2 teaspoon coriander ( powdered ), 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, and a shake of ground cumin. Throw in a star anise pod.

Add about a half cup of vinegar, I like sherry vinegar, but malt is fine. Add a similar qty of sugar. Brown sugar is good. You can vary this depending on how sweet or tangy you want the end product to be.

Add about a cup of beef stock, and as many chopped chillies as you like. You could just as easily use powder or flakes if that's all you have.
I also like to add a squeeze of tomato sauce ( ketchup ).
Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, and then wizz it in a blender or use a stick mixer, but take out the start anise first.

Use fresh, or bottled.


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## YakAtak (Mar 13, 2006)

If it's really hot, do you call it the Bunsen Burner?


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## action1974 (Sep 3, 2008)

I have real trouble growing them, I always end up with the leaves shriveling up and not producing much fruit once planted in the ground. This usually happens over summer when humid and wet. Is the climate or the seed I am getting them from? Is it better to find a sunny dryer position in a pot? Thanks....


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

action1974 said:


> I have real trouble growing them, I always end up with the leaves shriveling up and not producing much fruit once planted in the ground. This usually happens over summer when humid and wet. Is the climate or the seed I am getting them from? Is it better to find a sunny dryer position in a pot? Thanks....


Yup, too wet.
Try pots or a raised bed.
The worst thing for them is that really hot, bright sunny day you get after a few days of rain in summer, kills them almost every time.


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Pots are good, as long as they are a decent size. Try moving them around until you find a spot they like. I moved most of my pots into shade during the late summer, as they were too hot and dropping a lot of flowers in the full sun.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

bunsen said:


> BBQ Sauce
> 
> Here' a pretty adaptable recipe for a US style BBQ sauce. I know all the states have their own style and are pretty religious about exactly what constitutes a good sauce, but this one is nice with pulled pork or brisket.
> 
> ...


Thanks Bunsen. You've got me working on spare ribs tonight.


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## YakAtak (Mar 13, 2006)

Can anyone tell me what variety of Chilli this is? I was given a small bag of them today, and can't work out what use they might be.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

The Merciless Pepper of Quetzalacatenango, grown deep in the jungle primeval by the inmates of a Guatemalan insane asylum?


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## YakAtak (Mar 13, 2006)




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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

They look a bit like Bishops crowns, but could be one of many scotch bonnet cross varieties.


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## YakAtak (Mar 13, 2006)

Thanks Bunsen, but I think they are actually Jamaican Bell Peppers, pretty mild. Still not sure what I'll do with them.


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

YakAtak said:


> Thanks Bunsen, but I think they are actually Jamaican Bell Peppers, pretty mild. Still not sure what I'll do with them.


Make spoonbread.

2.5 cups milk
I cup polenta
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
150g grated strong cheddar
2-3 cloves garlic crushed or finely chopped
3 tbs butter
3 or 4 chillies or more to taste chopped medium size
Half tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 180C. Butter a small heavy baking dish (20x30cm). Bring milk to boil in a saucepan, stir in polenta & salt & keep stirring on heat. When it thickens to plasticine stage (2-3 mins), remove from heat & keep stirring. After a minute or two to cool, beat in eggs one at a time, then add cheese, garlic, chillies, pepper & 2 tbs butter & incorporate. Gloop into baking dish, dot with 1tbs butter pieces, bake for 30 mins. Eat with grilled meat or fish, or Mexican beans or by itself. Yum.

[edit] I made this again tonight. Awesome.


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## Batron (Mar 3, 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Yn0ey0vePwI&vq=medium

Now thats chilli :lol:


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

lol
Good one.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Anaheim. Couple weeks and I'll have full grown 8in green chiles for making rellenos.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Coming along nicely.
Same chile, same thumb:


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## yak69 (Jul 7, 2012)

All this talk of chillis reminds me of a funny quote i heard one night.

"Its a brave man who farts in India"

Love HOT chilli, but not a fan of the morning after.

Dave


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Johnny Cash wrote a song about it:





"It burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire, the ring of fire."


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Tomato(Celebrity), Anaheim, pequin, cayenne.
There's a dish there.


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## yak69 (Jul 7, 2012)

mmm, that'd make a kick arse chilli sauce.
jealous, i cant grow squat.
enjoy


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Excellent Paddy. Mine are all going strong. If anyone else wants any seeds let me know, I have heaps of T. Scorps, Nagabons, Chocolate Habs and Peruvian Rocotos left.


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## Guest (Oct 29, 2012)

bunsen said:


> Excellent Paddy. Mine are all going strong. If anyone else wants any seeds let me know, I have heaps of T. Scorps, Nagabons, Chocolate Habs and Peruvian Rocotos left.


How hot are they Bunsen? Are they scorch your asshole hot? I'm a chilli sook. Like the flavour, can't stand the heat. Anyone have any suggestions of some not so scary hot ones?


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Josh, PM me your address, I'll send you a variety.
Jon, about as hot as you can get, The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T was the hottest in the world as of 2010, it may have been bettered by now. The Rocotos are hot, but not in the same league as the others.


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Some of my plants from last season that made it through winter are booming.



















I still havent eaten my way through my last season's harvest, so I'm going to make some extract just for the hell of it.


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

Big thanks to Bunsen for my seeds - planted choc hababeros, rocoto, Trinidad scorps & nagabons today. He tucked in some dried ones too, and a cautious nibble tells me a little will go a long way, but the flavours are fabulous.

Do you have a trick to drying them Mark? My previous efforts have been lukewarm on the chilli drying front, but yours are excellent.


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Get an electric dehydrator if you plan on doing bulk loads of them, but I just use my oven. It's fan forced which helps, and I put it on the lowest heat which is about 85 degrees. I put some cuts in the chillies first to assist in quicker and more even drying, that way you wont end up with mould inside any.
About an hour or two should be plenty, they will feel a little soft and plasticky when they are still warm, but they dry more as they cool off.


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## Guest (Nov 5, 2012)

On that note, if you open the door a crack it works as well. I dry tomatoes overnight with this method. Put the oven on as low as you can get it, then leave the door ajar and leave it on overnight. Delicious flavour packed bits of goodness.


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

nezevic said:


> On that note, if you open the door a crack it works as well. I dry tomatoes overnight with this method. Put the oven on as low as you can get it, then leave the door ajar and leave it on overnight. Delicious flavour packed bits of goodness.


Best done on a cold night in QLD I suspect Jon!


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## Guest (Nov 12, 2012)

Many thanks to bunsen, chillies propogating in the kitchen where i can keep an eye on them prior to transplanting into the garden bed. I'm excited at the prospect. Although not one of them is ever going to grace my lips!!


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

nezevic said:


> Although not one of them is ever going to grace my lips!!


I don't recommend using them as suppositories, either, then.


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

I planted 16 seeds, 14 popped up so far. Rocotos are the star performers so far.



















Thanks again Mark.


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Zed said:


> nezevic said:
> 
> 
> > Although not one of them is ever going to grace my lips!!
> ...


 :lol:


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2013)

Nice. Which is it?

All mine died bar two Trinidad scorpions. I left them with my father in law during our road trip and he watered them to death. I came home to find them swimming. If anyone gets the rocotos to fruit, i'd love some more seed...


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## WattaReelDrag (Apr 19, 2009)

My main 3 regular types are:
Jalapenos for pickling and to make poppers. Thai birds eyes for cooking. And orange Habaneros for sauces, powders etc

I just planted some Bhut Jolokia and a handful of mixed ???? seeds from the Hippy Seed company though!!!


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Nice one Paddy.
Jon, my Rocotos are huge, some of them are the size of a fist already, I'll get you some more seeds.


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## Guest (Feb 23, 2013)

That'd be amazing thanks!


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

Ok
I gotta get in on this
Who is willing to brave a an anti leprechaun chili manoeuvre?


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## Guest (Feb 23, 2013)

Nick I'll happily send you some Trinidad seeds when i get fruit. They are the only ones surviving at my place so far. I have no flowers yet though so it may be a while.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

anselmo said:


> Ok
> I gotta get in on this
> Who is willing to brave a an anti leprechaun chili manoeuvre?


Do we want to know what that is?
Does it have to do with snakes?


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

nezevic said:


> Nick I'll happily send you some Trinidad seeds when i get fruit. They are the only ones surviving at my place so far. I have no flowers yet though so it may be a while.


That sound great. Thanks Jon


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## freeyaker (Feb 26, 2013)

In Europe it is fairly popular to add some spicy oil on your pizza but I haven t seen that anywhere around. 
A good recipe is:
Finely chop as many chili as you want (or put them whole, or in the blender with the oil for the lazy ones) 
mix them with olive oil (or any other oil) 
add some rosemary and thyme (I usually put a branch of each in the bottle) 
and some cracked pepper of your choice.

The longer you leave the chili in the oil, the hottest it gets.

Boris


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

I just picked the first of my yellow 7 pots, and decided to have a taste. Holy mother of mercy are they hot! Possibly even hotter than butch t scorpions, but more of a mouth/lips/tongue burn. And the most amazing tropical passionfruit smell. I'll save some seeds for next years planting, and I'll have a few for anyone interested. My bhuts have been good, and just starting to see some pods on the butch t.


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## action1974 (Sep 3, 2008)

My habanaro's are powering, plenty of fruit coming after an initial pick. I had a bit of flower drop too I think me over watering. I also have some yellow leaves that are dropping, still too much water or nitrogen deficient? Solution?


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

More likely nitrogen deficiency at this stage. Give them a dose of some liquid or pellets and they'll be right.


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