Which plants were best? The numbers.
It's the first Saturday I've been home in what feels like months. The Habanero fermentation is bubbling in the kitchen. The fridge is...
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lukeathompson
Oct 151 min read
Mouse Bastards
After a few days away I return to devastation in the greenhouse.  I’ve spent more than six months going out every night and removing...
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lukeathompson
Oct 73 min read
Some Surprise Flavours
I seem to have spent a lot of time in trains and cars and boats and planes the past few weeks, then in bookshops and galleries and...
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lukeathompson
Sep 93 min read
Chilli Flakes and Killer Onions
The past couple of days we’ve had quite a few Cayennetta ripen - around fifty. They’re a pretty simple-flavoured hot pepper and they’ll...
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lukeathompson
Aug 252 min read
Ripening Books & Peppers
‘I wrote this book because . . .’ I say as I walk Puffin through the woods.  ‘Ultimately, it’s about . . .’ I say as I’m watering the...
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lukeathompson
Aug 162 min read
Writer versus Barbecue
I was meant to be doing a barbecue for Sarah’s parents while they’d all gone swimming, but as I was wheeling out the cooker from the...
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lukeathompson
Jul 283 min read
Meet the Peppers
The end of July has seen a number of the peppers accelerate, although the wet has also seen the slug population accelerate too. I've seen...
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lukeathompson
Jul 133 min read
Pestilence
I recently noticed the yellowing of some leaves in the greenhouse and a couple of plants dropped their leaves. I’ve been pretty attentive...
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lukeathompson
Jul 31 min read
An Appreciation of the Cayennetta
At the beginning of the year I hadn’t even heard of the Cayennetta but right now, as of 3rd July 2024, it’s just about my favourite of...
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lukeathompson
Jun 253 min read
The Month of Pubescens
Intro I’ve grown peppers idly for a number of years but only a few varieties. Cataloguing what’s been happening and when it’s happening...
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lukeathompson
Jun 83 min read
Pinching out and the Runt Trough
7th June. Cutting off flowers feels a bit Addams family but that’s what I’ve been doing. I mentioned this process last time but thought...
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lukeathompson
Jun 24 min read
CREATING A MONSTER: Chinense / TF Powys / Ivy Aphids / Leaf Curl / First Flowers
Until recently I was sitting on the floor of the greenhouse to write, enjoying the wildlife that was passing by or through - goldfinches,...
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lukeathompson
May 272 min read
The Baccatum Resurgence
Confession: I dismissed a whole species. The Baccatums. I have two Baccatum types growing, the Peach Sugar Rush Stripey and the Zebrange,...
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lukeathompson
May 171 min read
Free Hot Pepper Plants!
I have some chilli plants to give away. When ordering seeds from a grower in Wales I was given a free pack of mixed hot pepper seeds....
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lukeathompson
May 124 min read
The Balance: size, season and species
12th May May is a busy month. Every day I’m potting up, planting out or moving the peppers. They’re all growing slightly differently. I...
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lukeathompson
May 102 min read
Taking the Chillies for a Walk
10th May Every morning and evening I’m taking the chillies for a walk. In the morning I take the plants out to the greenhouse and in the...
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lukeathompson
Apr 293 min read
Making Mistakes, Potting On & the Supercharged Annuum
I give very good advice, but I very seldom follow it. I find myself making some basic mistakes. Mistakes I know not to make and have made...
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lukeathompson
Apr 213 min read
Out with the Toad, in with the Douche: Transplanting Jalapenos
The cat has moved into the greenhouse. I’m dropping hints, like putting in preparatory bamboo cane stakes, but he just curls himself...
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lukeathompson
Apr 153 min read
Seedlings Up / Heat Mat Out / Fungus Gnats In:
All the seeds are up so yesterday I took out the heat mat and we’re just relying on the Cornish weather now. Yesterday that meant...
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lukeathompson
Apr 13 min read
On Worms
Now I am terrified at the Earth, it is that calm and patient, It grows such sweet things out of such corruptions, It turns harmless and...
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