We use chillies quite a lot here at the Welsh Hovel. The Mrs adds them into her Indian cooking, I add them into various jams and ice creams and also to my healthy vegetable and fish meals. Notwithstanding that, we are still working our way through the dried chillies from the 2024 harvest. And now I ave harvested the 2025 crop of various varieties as you can see below.
Tonight, while watching Law & Order UK re-runs after therest of the family are aready in bed, I will thread what you see on three or four long pieces of cotton and they will hang up as Autumn decorations with green slowly turning yellow then red. By halloween and the annual Guy Fawked bonfire party there will be barely any green left and the strings wll be a yellow, orange and red thing of beauty. By Christmas the chillies will be dred and put in jars. If she is lucky glamorous V who cuts our hair will get one jar as her annual Christmas present.
Next up, the harvesting of the crab apples for jelly, the apples from the lower orchard for juice to store in my new fridge and to stew and then freeze for Autumn breakfasts. The marrows are now ready and the tomatoes are a gift that keep on giving.
My old Dad always managed to grow tomatoes that were small and green, it was a rare failing of his. He would not believe the crop we have here this year. Each day now I brng in ripe red and orange fruit for a healthy unprocessed supper. And there are plenty more to go.
