Red pointy peppers and yellow bell peppers, that's what I thought I'd sown.
There's just one yellow bell so far the other 4 are still green - taking an age to turn this year, but some of the pointy peppers are turning yellow which was a mystery .................. until I went and got the packet out of the seed tin and found.......
Pepper (Sweet)
Bullhorn Mix
Beautifully long, red and yellow fruits
which average 25cm in length
So that explains it!
The crop overall is poor - 1 plant has just one pepper , my fault as I used smaller pots than usual this year because shifting and emptying huge pots at the end of the season is not so easy as it once was.
I'm not sure they are worth growing really, what with heat needed for germination plus compost, feeding and watering because Aldi have big packs of 'wonky peppers' quite cheap and I can slice and freeze them for winter or bags of frozen sliced peppers aren't enormously expensive anyway.
There will be enough red peppers for the relish recipe so I'll be making that as soon as the peppers are ready. It would go against the grain to buy rather than grow but ............
I was asked about the Red Tomato Recipe that I use for chutney/relish with the giant plum tomatoes. It is on the separate recipe page , a long way down, but I've copied it here for anyone who wants a go at it. In recent years I've used less than 4lb to make a half or three quarter amount. But back to 4lb this year.
Over time I've altered it a bit as red wine vinegar is now easy to find (even Aldi stock it) I use that for colour.
Chopping the onions and peppers as small as possible makes a smooth relish, but very eye- watering!.
It needs the rather large amount of sugar for preserving as less vinegar is used than many chutney recipes. More vinegar would make it too runny as would using ordinary tomatoes I reckon, although I've never tried and have always used the large plum.
RED HOT AND SWEET RELISH
4lb Plum tomatoes, skinned and rough chopped.
2 Very Large red peppers, finely chopped
1lb Red onions chopped small
1 - 5 red chillies (depending how hot you want it) de-seeded and finely chopped ( gloves!)
2lb Granulated sugar
1 tsp each salt, ground ginger, allspice.
1 pint white vinegar.
( For the best colour this really does need the red onions and white vinegar, and it doesn't work well with normal tomatoes which have too many seeds and are more watery)
Put everything except the vinegar into a preserving pan.
Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved
Bring to boil and cook gently for approx 1 hour until thick
Add the vinegar and cook for 30- 50 minutes until thick again.
Put into hot sterilised jars, cover, seal and label.
Back Soon
I planted some of these too. One germinated but has produced just three small twisted red peppers. I suspect my pot is too small. Like you, I shan't sow those again. Can you recommend a more reliable sweet pepper, please [I don't like them hot!]
ReplyDeleteUsually these Bullhorn are good, I think the heat this year and the smaller pots have been the problem
DeleteWe have tried growing bell peppers and aubergines for several years and I don't think they're worth the compost, watering etc. As you say wonky peppers are now available and on the rare occasion I want to make stuffed peppers they are readily available and not crazy expensive in Lidl.
ReplyDeletePenny
It's a dilemma as I do like to grow my own but sometimes in a bad year it does seem a waste of time
DeleteThe balance in the garden these days is growing to save money as well as improving the taste, so veg are so cheap it's hardly worth the effort to grow, especially in a small garden where space is limited.
ReplyDeleteI'd be disappointed not to grow my own - I'll see how I feel next spring!
DeleteIt is a dilemma, growing your own can be so satisfying but is not cheap and as you've pointed out some veggies in the discount stores are good value. I made strawberry jam recently from Tesco strawberries and it's delicious, mind you, the fruit was expensive!
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
I've been re-evaluating what I'm growing going forwards too. Next year I think it will be just spinach, tomatoes and spring onions. Oh, and of course I have rhubarb and apples.
ReplyDeleteUntil now, due to the heat,
ReplyDeletemy garden has produced very little!
A few tomatoes, a few peppers, a few eggplants, zucchini. But now everything is full of flowers, so I will definitely have production in September!!
Your chutney sounds delicious. With all the ingredients homegrown, it must have wonderful flavor.
ReplyDeleteThis year my single cucumber plant provided great tasting cucumbers. Much better than anything I had bought at the grocery store. The contrast is striking.
Adaptation is the key to continuing to garden. Before I reached this stage where it is not possible to garden, I had started using a porter's style trolley for moving heavy pots that I just roll on to the platform. Alternatively, I emptied the pots a little at a time into a wheelbarrow and wheel the soil to wherever it's needed, or fill the wheelbarrow with fresh compost to take where needed. You can't beat home grown.
ReplyDelete