WEATHER WET - CHILLI PEPPERS HOT!

14^th SEPTEMBER, CENTRAL PORTUGAL

Rainy Season started (Again)? Where has the lovely summer weather of Portugal gone this year!!!! Warm and Humid, day and night, but little sunshine. Means Botrytis, powdery mildew on the grapes that have managed to grow through the strange weather this year.

Picked first real crop of Chillis this morning.  Head Gardener now doing her best to recognise the twelve varieties picked (should have taken more notice while still on the plant). Colours are spectacular especially the REDS, vibrant vermillion Tabasco and Piri Piri, deep orange and reds from the Hungarian Wax and Palivec, carmillion Cherry Bombs and languid sunset yellow from the Wenk’s Peruvian strain. The Lipstick Sweet peppers, round with a ‘pointy’ end and the lushness of the enormous California Wonder peppers completes the rainbow of horticultural success the  Capsicum family has produced this year (not over yet - expect to be picking chilli and peppers well into November). Just found out that the Bartlett’s Bonnets, seed grown in Portugal by Mrs. Bartlett, do not have the ‘Firey’ heat that was detailed in the Seed Merchants literature (great disappointment to my HOT chilli consuming neighbour last year) but have been crossed with some strange ‘Brazilian’ variety which has removed the sting (pity), so now recommended as a salad filler in the lime green or dark red state.

The June 16^th Tomatoes are in full swing and are being picked daily - pity about the ‘Tigerellas’ - big crop, lots of ‘The Look’, no flavour!!!!, Red Alert and Roma doing much better in the flavour stakes but still not a patch on ‘Principe di Borghese’( the Princess of Italian Tomatoes). Have decided to go for taste next year, rather than obscure origins, after the early disaster of the ‘Purple Ukrainians’, ‘Green Zebra’ and ‘Coeur de Bue’ (all ravaged by blight in June), so may be back to ‘Gardeners Delight’ and ‘Alicante’ then?

Took eighty cuttings from the Strawberries yesterday, just cut off the runners and planted the newly formed plants.  Most had roots from growing in the detritus  around the parent pots.  Have a idea to grow them next year in troughs, above ground, with constant water supply from May until August, to extend the season with the same variety. (Might work).

Picked the few apples still available on the new trees (not many) and actually picked two full sized Marmelos (Quince) after five non productive years from the (then) newly planted tree. Next to nothing on the Olive trees (third year on the ‘trot’ the crop has failed) so maybe some major surgery due in October and start again from very low down the trunk.

Well it would seem to be raining AGAIN. (Most flowers ruined so will not mention). Back to the Head Gardeners shed with a plea for coffee?

Must dash, getting very wet,

 see you soon

Stuart.  

Note from Head Gardener - sorry no pictures today, weather too wet! Coffee brewing.