Surely this is worth #FoxOfTheDay ?

Careful where you blast - I was knocking aphids off the chillies when I saw this hero. Not sure what to do now 🤷

I'm unusually pleased with this one. The Brain Strain (I'm 99% sure that's what it is) has all the naga flavour I'm looking for, and I've chanced on a good balance of heat and flavour. 🌶️🌱

Meanwhile, in the community garden, the edible cups are going down a treat. 🌱 #ukGardening

Another disaster in the modules, as it becomes evident that a caterpillar has climbed aboard during a 2-hour outing to the patio table, and then feasted overnight for the best part of a week. That's another bunch of plants gone. Not my year 🤷 But then it's not like I'm short of plants 😆🌶️🌱

Too early? 🌶️🌱

I messed this up by having the flags reversed on these pics - sorry. But basically, the plant on the left was in a worse state than the one on the right, as its compost sludgified.. Then I potted it on into a vermiculite-rich mixture, and now it's winning. Chilli roots really need air. 🌶️🌱

Here's the result of me raiding the freezer the other night. It's a good blend, but has less of that earthy naga flavour I hoped for. Makes me think that the 7-Pot Brain Strain has it, but the CP115 Chocolate doesn't. Pity, as that's the one I've got seedlings of. It is a real looker though 👀🌶️🌱

Serious problems with the new seedling setup: 1. Light too bright = prematurely dead cotyledons 2. Bigger heat mat leaves no room for heat to escapeso overheats 3. Compost dries like concrete, looks wet but isn't, water runs down the edges and isn't absorbed Hoping all is not lost 🤷🌶️🌱

Time to raid the freezer. Here we go...

If you've followed my posts tonight, you might be interested to know that the fox thinks the edible coffee cups are hilarious. Put one down, and she'll have it away, holding it carefully from the top as if she doesn't want to spill the contents.

Anyone else get sludgy compost? This 𝘩𝘢𝘴 got perlite in, you just can't see it for sludge. Water it and it stays wet for weeks, let it dry and it compacts around the roots. Big plants are fine, but any that are blighted before they've gained sufficient vigour face an uphill struggle to recover. 🌶️🌱

Our fox friend had her face half bitten off in December. She recovered, only to have it bitten off again just before Xmas. Recovered again, then had a rear leg mauled so badly she couldn't use it. We started officially feeding her at this point. And now she's back to her excellent, healthy self 🦊🙌

I have in my possession, through no fault of my own, a whole load of edible coffee cups. I like coffee, but when the breakfast choice is something tasty on toast , or an edible cup, the toast wins every time. So I wondered if they'd make good biodegradable plant pots for seedlings. They don't. 🌱🌶️

#Wood gargoyle #BlueSkyArtShow #bristlecone #greatbasin #tree

The good news is, they're only going to get better 😁 This is the larger of my Testarossa Orange - the smaller one is even darker. I got quite a head start with these, but no doubt Tufty will catch up soon enough. 🌶️🌱

And right at the most critical point the thermostat gives up. I can't really complain - I've owned it over 35 years. I was sure it was this resistor, but I swapped it out and it's still dead. Mad thing is, the modern version is exactly the same. Only difference is it's black with a green LED 🌶️🌱

Every moment of this is valuable, but the last half hour is 🤯 brilliant. Jump to to if you have to, but really you should listen to the full thing.

Fave succession pairs to keep veg beds productive: June: ⏩ autumn-sown broad beans ➡️ courgettes ⏩ new potatoes ➡️ winter kale July: ⏩ onions, garlic ➡️ mangetout peas or dwarf French beans Aug: ⏩ maincrop peas ➡️ mizuna & other oriental salads Sept: ⏩ summer squash ➡️ autumn sown onions #gardening 🌱

I made some Tabasc-no. There's not much of it, but it's 1000 times hotter, so that's probably okay. 🌶️🌱

And I'm in! With a newly-built, super-insulated propagator, still struggling to get up to temp just like the last one did 😆 Not that it's critical, these are mostly annuum and baccatum. What could use some stable heat is the couple of KS Orange Flame I threw in, as 0 popped in the last round. 🌱🌶️

This is a top-tier series and I cannot put it down 👀

Happy International Hot & Spicy Food Day to those that celebrate it! 🌶️🌱 Here's what I'd be making if I hadn't blitzed all my Kashmiri chillies earlier in the year. Instead I'll make do with a drizzle of naga oil in my parsnip soup. www.hindustantimes.com/htcity/htcit...

These Testarossa Orange already look spectacular 🌱🌶️ @tuftymctavish.com Have yours popped yet?

These Testarossa Orange already look spectacular.

The Fox Friend has many habits that would test the average friendship. One of these relates to her fascination with anything that smells a bit of human. I just planted this row of garlic, stuck the marker in, walked 12 yards to get more cloves and came back to this. 🌱

These baccatums really make for good chilli powder. Not surprised how different they taste to regular cayenne, but I didn't expect the distinction between Aji Limon and SRP to be so pronounced. Slow and low is the way to go in the dehydrator, but my grinding could use some work 😏🌶️🌱

On New Year's Eve, if someone asks you to bring a bottle, it goes without saying you should take at least two. 🌶️🌱

Almost there! #NutRoast2025 In my head this is the job of a relaxed afternoon, spinning a few tunes with a glass of something festive. In reality it's a stressed last minute rush in a messy kitchen with no clean pans, kids running round and the MIL making me turn the music off. Still got wine tho

Another use for chillies. 🎄🌶️🌱

Light relief: green chilli condiment. This HAS to use green trinidads. Recipe to follow, if I can get it right.

Rocoto chilli has had a friend all year: this Oxalis has been enjoying an easy run in the greenhouse. 🌶️🌱

A 'mast year', apparently. And I can well believe it - I've got quinces coming out of my ears. This is my attempt to make a dent on all the plums I was gifted. Spicy! But spicier than intended, in all truth...🌱🌶️

Learned today that “Galápagos” comes from a Spanish word for tortoise, meaning that “Galápagos Tortoise” is, in fact, a tortology

Green Trinidad was the surprise winner of this season's germination contestation, appearing on Day 7. 🏁 Also of note (TMcT), one of the Testarossa has popped 🎉 🌶️🌱

Late harvest pickles. I was holding back in the hope I'd get enough for a couple of jars, and I reckon I timed it about right. They're a mixture of 4 Jalapeños: White, Mammoth, Lemon Spice and Early (although they certainly weren't early this year). 🌶️🌱🍽️

This is exciting, and slightly daunting. I've always wanted a curry leaf plant, but I assumed they were too difficult to grow over here. I may yet be proved right, but it's a definite birthday treat to at least get a pop at it 🌱.

Even yet still more harvest in the ongoing attempt to clear the greenhouse. 🌶️🌱

Don't think we ever had this one, so here's Mystery Chilli #8. Thoughts? The plant is statuesque, not especially bushy, and large leaved. Early flowers were small, like chinense, but later ones (as shown) are bigger. Fruits are small but aromatic. So baccatum? Also, flowering in December, WTF? 🌱🌶️

So these guys get a head start for the 2026 season 🌱🌶️

Pepper by pepper, the onslaught of winter is taking it's toll. The order isn't always as you'd expect - Dorset Naga is surprisingly tough, Mini Olive surprisingly delicate. Now it's the turn of the Green Trinidad to lose all it's leaves. Plenty of pods have ripened though, so thanks, and RIP 🌶️🌱

Community garden winter sky

It's hard work processing 🌶️ at this time of year, especially if they've been waiting around till you had time. Frostbite, resident caterpillars, snail chomps, aphid mould and rotten placentas where the outside looks fine - all have to be detected and discarded. Greens can wait till tomorrow... 🌶️🌱

RH Lilac so far unfazed by the weather. Probably should pick those pods and do something with them. That orange mass on the side is the fox, skulking around wondering whether she dares sniff around inside the greenhouse while I'm in there 🦊 🌶️🌱

❄️-2°C tonight, so that which was outside has to come in.❄️ This is from the two remaining plants on the plot; would have been a bounty if we'd had mid/late summer sun. As it is, my amarillos will have to make a verde ferment. Now I need to stash these somewhere so I can clear the patio... 🌶️🌱

And... 🌶️🌱

icymi: the city of boynton beach received a nonsensical complaint about our little free library & pantry, which have existed for ~5 years. local news station WPTV reached out to talk to us about the process of trying to get our city to amend code & save our amenities www.wptv.com/news/region-...

Mystery Chilli #2 is no closer to being named, but it does keep producing. Here are the latest pics, and I'm still keen on suggestions. Not as hot as the brain strain, but stupid-hot all the same. Looking forward to diluting it into a sauce, as it's too spicy to actually taste otherwise.

I'm a real fan of these Green Trinidads: very little heat, but an incredible flavour that marries sweet fruity notes to a broader, vegetal pepper taste. They make a cracking jam, but I'll chop these and lightly sauté in olive oil & salt to make a magic condiment that defies convention. 🌶️🌱

I did this last year, following ChilliChump's recipe, and it was beautiful - really captured the crispness. and lasted longer than I'd let them 😉 I've also been thinking about throwing different chillies into the mix, and while I've not grown aji champion, I can see why it would be a good choice.