Aji Cristal

[jayb]

Sown on the 18/10/2019 in a shared pot with Caldero )slightly to the right), only two seeds of Aji Cristal were sown so more than happy to have the one seedling (I possibly have 2 now as it germinated later and I'd already transplanted and removed labels!). They went into the warm airing cupboard to start them off then the window sill and then under lights. This picture was taken at 2 weeks from sowing.

[jayb]

This picture was taken yesterday, marking 4 weeks from sowing, I've potted it up once and currently, it is a bit of a triffid in comparison to Caldero and Lantern.

[clumsy]

Come middle to late december you'll see flowers developing. Depending on the nutrients they do grow tall. I remember aji lemon was a tall plant. But great thing about chilli plants you can take off the growing point to slow it down plus it will bush out. Very healthy looking plant.

[jayb]

Exciting, perhaps flowers in December. Thanks for the good advice, I think I will experiment with keeping this one pruned a bit then, I don't usually have the heart to pinch out growing tips in chillies, but I may have to this time.

[Galina]

Aji has raced ahead.

[jayb]

Lol, yes, the seedling was strong from the start and has made stunning progress, chillies always seem so slow to grow to me (I do hope it's not a hybrid).

[Galina]

Could be, but you would know about it and not save seeds from an untypical plant. If it is a hybrid that gives you early and heavy yields, then the kitchen benefits. It is a win win. Except for the difficulty of keeping a rampant plant lit adequately over winter.

I have just removed from the greenhouse and planted into large pots my Serrano Tampiqueno, hoping to get another year from the plants. But those plants are t a l l. Maybe they will not make it (my overwintering success with c annuum is very patchy), but in the meantime they will ripen the many green chilis on them. Kitchen windowsill it is then.

[jayb]

True and really I don't mind either way, I've always been partial to growing a chance cross out. I'm going to follow Clumsy's advice on pruning, though it's early days and lots can happen.

Good luck overwintering Serrano Tampiqueno, having pots of with chillies ripening will keep the thoughts of summer close by

[jayb]

I thought I'd update this thread as I'm impressed with how well this one is growing, plus so far not too tall! I haven't pinched it out which I probably should have and will regret.

13th December newly potted on



29th December, hip hip buds forming.




13th January, romping ahead



A close of the first set chilli.

[clumsy]

Wow chilli's in the new year. Might be better not to over winter any plants any more just grow from new in october. You'll have keep an account of how many chilli's you get. It's very interesting. You can still pinch out any time it will still bush as long as you still harvest the chilli's the plants instinct is to survive and reproduce like any living thing on this planet.

[jayb]

Yes I think you make a good point there, sometimes the plants are a bit big to bring into the house and don't always appreciate having a trim (plus possible bugs).Galina made a pint on the Rococto thread, about sowing late to overwinter and I wonder if using the end heat and light hours of the summer in say September would give little plants ready to bring inside? Perhaps they would grow too big?
I had a couple of spare seedlings from my October lot, I think Rocoto and Lantern, which had just been on the windowsill, no extra light. They were a bit sad and small as you can imagine. I decided to pot them on last week after I did the ones under lights and was really surprised how little root growth they had in comparison to their stem and leaf. Whereas the ones under lights were bold and full of healthy white root.

[clumsy]

Your right about the root growth. Bit like humans as we need vitamin D so do the plants. We are learning as we grow.

[jayb]

This picture is the earlier of the two plants yesterday. Mostly well, though a couple of patchy leaves.

[clumsy]

Look at all those chilli's wow.

[jayb]

I have a feeling I should have picked these sooner...

[Jang]

Because likely to be hotter now? They look great to me!

[jayb]

Yes, pretty much!

[Galina]

In four months only over winter. So impressive. They are nearly seed ripe.

[jayb]

They surprised me how quickly they matured, I really expected Caldero to be first. I think the ripest ones will be kept for seeds.