September, 2012
E: news@keynshamvoice.co.uk
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Down on the farm with the Upton Cheyney Chilli Company Finally harvesting has begun – albeit a month later than normal! The serious lack of sunshine this year coupled with disappointing temperatures has resulted in the development of both plants and formation of pods being significantly reduced. The plants are half the size that they would normally reach and fruit formation is massively down. Regardless, our harvesting has begun and as is normal, it’s the F1 hybridised super chillies that are first off the plants. These are fantastic plants to grow, and a chilli farmer’s dream. Super chilli plants can produce up to 400 chillies that are pleasantly hot and very easy to grow. Super chillies come from the Annum family (same as jalapeno) and are therefore bullet-shaped and thin.
Harvesting of the habaneros and nagas (which are from the Chinense family and are more rounded and considerably hotter) will not start for at least another six weeks. Even with a reduced harvest, we still anticipate collecting tens of thousands of pods. Naturally with this glut of fruit coming in over the next two to three months we cannot process the entire harvest into the range of sauces, chocolates and oils that we manufacture, so it is fortunate that chillies freeze very well. In fact some people say that the freezing process results in cells within the pods breaking down resulting in a hotter fruit! Harvesting – which ends around mid-December - is all completed by hand and in general is done on the cooler mornings. We don’t wear gloves – as many people would expect
– as the outside of a chilli has no heat. Occasionally however a bug may well have burrowed into the wall of the pod allowing a small amount of capsaicin (the chemical that makes chillies
hot) to leak out. The harvest team always have a good laugh at anyone unfortunate enough to suffer this fate! The show tunnel on the farm is also finally showing some colour and we hope that it will be looking spectacular for our fourth chilli festival on Saturday, September 8. The show tunnel consists of approximately 80 different types of chillies, with standard types as well as more interesting fruits such as Russian Flying Saucer and Raptors Claw on display. The names assigned to each type generally make sense once you have seen them! Come on up and have a look!
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