Bishop's Kiss Chilli
I am amazed that this Bishop's Kiss chilli has survived on a light windowsill all this time. This is an odd shaped chilli which may be closely related to a variety known as Friars Hat, or Bishop's Hat.
Given the right climate a chilli plant and its relatives are perennial, but I was thrilled that these made such a different addition to my Christmas decorations this year. I kept them going as long as I could, but it was my intention to save seed to grow this year.
The secret when saving your own seed from any plant is to get the fruit as ripe as possible, even to the point of slightly going over. These ripe chilli have just turned the corner and I can see that the skin is starting to get a bit wrinkly. This is the best time to save seed which is as ripe as it can possibly be.
In our British climate they need such a long growing season that it is usually best to plant chilli and pepper seed in a heated propagator as early as January or February. Well this will certainly be fresh seed! I hope it germinates.
I have just spread the seed out on a plate for a few days to completely dry off. I might plant a few straight away, and I think I will put the rest in a dry, cool, airtight tin for a few weeks to plant a second batch in February. Just a little germination experiment really. I do have a few spare seeds if you want to try some, send me an email.
posted by Matron @ 10:15 PM
17 Comments:
Beyond the interesting shape and beautiful color of this chilli pepper, I've been curious about the taste of them, hot, mild, in between? I'm looking forward to seeing how your germination experiment goes!
They are very pretty. I love the shape, very interesting.
We are also staring all pepper seeds in February.
Do you know if seeds from home-grown dried chillis would germinate or does the fact they are air dried make them useless?
Theanne.. I'm a bit of a chicken really, haven't tried them but they are really hot.
Danny .. chilli seeds last really well if they are dried and kept cool they will last for several years.
I'm going to do the same experiment with my peppers, start some off soon and then another batch a month or so later. They do need a long growing season but I'm wondering if it's beneficial to start them off so soon in the year.
They look lovely but I stay as far away from chillies as I can!
Lovely looking fruits... would like to try growing them, but Japan is probably too for you to send the seeds...
Lrong - no problem! It is fun to have friends all over the world! Send me your details on an email.
It's done well to survive this long, hope it tastes good.
Hi Matron, I like to experiment as you never know what may become of it.
Hi Matron
I love growing peppers! Last year's crop was ok but when I visited Barndale gardens and was lucky to speak to Geoff Hamilton's son he says the knack is in starting them early in a heated greenhouse. He had lots of different peppers including bishop's hats. Hope the seeds germinate.
Jane
That is awesome that you were able to overwinter that pepper indoors. I do not have enough winter sunshine in my house to make that possible or I would do it in a heartbeat!
Ohhhh I bet they made gorgeous christmas decorations - they are such a beautiful shade of red - really really..red!
I don't like the name though, that puts me off - can you imagine being snogged by a Bishop - yucky!! hahahaha Hope these seeds grow for you, I shall watch with interest. Love the shape.
Hugs
What gorgeous looking chilies. Amazing that they've done so well on a windowsill.
Thankyou very much for the chilli seeds Sarah, I was surprised and delighted when I got home from work to see the envelope on my doormat. Hope I do them justice, Cheers from Deb....
What a cool and unusual pepper!
They will hibernate in winter, just need to keep them in a warm place in the house, then they get going really quickly the following year.
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