Made Goulash for these cold days. Extra spicy  

Goulash with beef and a little bacon. A standard recipe with caraway and majoram, onion, bell pepper, carrot, potato, fresh and canned tomato and of course chilis.
I used for 1 kg 2.2lb meat fresh:
2x 7-pot Barrackpore
3 Scotch brain yellow
1 tsp Cayenne powder and 2 tsp sweetpepper for some smokey aroma.
All together about 3 liters. (~0.8 US gal, ~0,65 UK gal)

#chilifun #chili #chilli #chilihead #chills #chilipepper #goulash #stew #7potbarrackpore #scotchbrainyellow

My last of the season 23 chilis from my 4 chilis in my microgrow tent.
Aka: 'Chilihaus'🌶️🏡.

#7potbarrackpore #scotchbrainyellow
#apocalypsebrown #squaschorange
#chilifun #chili #chilli #chilihead #chills #chilipepper #chiliplant #gardening #indoorgardening #growtent #ledgrowlight

My two window chilis.

A Thai Birds Eye (left) and a Chiero Roxa. These have been growing since Ferbruary 2023 inside at an East facing window.
The Thai is from seeds bought locally in Thailand and the Chiero Roxa are said to come from Brazil.

They have been suffering from aphid infestation but they have lacewing larva patrolling their foliage and the aphids are almost gone. I topped the Chiero Roxa in April and have been rewarded with many peppers. I didn't top the Thai as it was very slow in the beginning and it's only now starting to fruit.

#chilifun #chili #chilli #chilis #chillies #chilihead #chilipepper #pepper #peppers #indoorgardening #lacewinglarva
#chrysoperlacarnealarvae #commongreenlacewing #aphids

I have been having a continued attack by aphids on my window sill chilis. I tried manually removing them but it was futile. Winged ones fly in and multiply quickly. Insecticidal soap was unsuccessful as my chilis didn't like that. After 2 weeks of that I finally accepted I need help for this in the form of the merciless special forces: Chrysoperla carnea larvae!

Otherwise known as the Common Green Lacewing larva these brutal helpers will hunt and eat aphids, thrips, spidermites, whitefly and more.

Here are three pictures of them. The second one shows one eating an aphid.

#chilifun #chili #chilli #chilis #chillies #chilihead #chilipepper #pepper #peppers #microgrow #indoorgardening
#chrysoperlacarnealarvae #commongreenlacewing #aphids #thrips

Seed starting

This is how I usually start my seeds especially if there are too few or rare ones.
I wash all utensils well.
I use 2-5 seeds depending on fertility and amount I have for each chili plant. I soak them for 1 day in distilled water or 1% Potassium Nitrate in an ice cube tray at room temperature. I cover that with plastic film/bag.
The next day I place them in a plastic tray with an air tight lid to contain the moisture. I place the seeds on 4-5 layers of moist, not wet kitchen paper to maintain moisture. I also use a small 7W heat mat with thermostat and a thermometer with a sensor and keep it between 27 and 29°C (80-85°F). I place the tray in a waterbath to keep the temperature stable. I normally have high sprout rates >60% and mostly within 10 days, even with older seeds. (I've had good rates with 9 year old Ghost seeds.)
#chilifun #chili #chilli #chilis #chillies #chilihead #chilipepper #pepper #peppers #microgrow #indoorgardening
#seeds #seedsprouting #heatmat

Here are some upgrades I made to my 'Chilihaus' 🌶️🏡.

#chilifun #chili #chilli #chilihead #chills #chilipepper #chiliplant #gardening #indoorgardening #growtent #ledgrowlight