Monthly Archives: November 2025

You’ve got me danglin’ on a string, please don’t let me drop

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A few years ago, our music/gardening friend Phil Harmony from Berlin told us that he brought his chilli plants indoors over the winter as they’re perennials and can live for several years. That was quite a revelation to us.

This year, we’ve revived the tradition and now there’s a thriving chilli plant on the kitchen windowsill, alongside some peppers and pelargoniums and even though it’s looking a bit crowded there, they all seem to look healthy and there’s new flowers coming so that’s a good sign.

The other year we had a bit of a surplus of chillies. We tried drying them out on a plate and then putting them in a jar, but they shrivelled up and looked anything but appetising. Every time someone reached into the jar for one it felt more like they were brewing some sort of magic concoction that needed “a leg of toad, a wing of bat…” The jar got chucked out in the end.

This year, we’ve gone for the “dangling-them-from-a-string” approach instead, and it seems to work! They’ve started ripening turning from green to yellow and hopefully they’ll dry properly without looking too odd to use. We can’t remember the variety but they are pretty hot and just one seems to be ample to put in a dish. Any tips for keeping chillies out there?

Strange seeds and funky things

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This week we bought some seeds from the great Real Seeds. They offer a fantastic selection of unusual varieties, from chillies and herbs to edible flowers. The last time we ordered from them was a couple of years ago, back when we were still getting used to growing with peat-free compost and lost quite a few seedlings but we’re trying again. We ordered some walking onion bulblets and seeds of lemon drop hot citrus pepper, prairie fire mini-bush chilli pepper, Korean mint and marvel of Peru (AKA the four o’clock plant).

As per sowing instructions for the walking onions, we opened the packet and stuck the bulblets in a pot of compost straight away. Technically, you only buy one bulblet but they generously include extras in case of poor germination, we received four! Along with every order, they send clear growing and seed-saving instructions, and even recipes where relevant. Real Seeds really has its heart in the right place. Their passion for sustainable growing and seed saving makes them well worth supporting so have a butcher’s here.

While browsing their site, we spotted a recommendation for the excellent Grow Your Own Vegetables by Joy Larkcom. We managed to pick up a second-hand copy this week for under a fiver and it’s an absolute bargain!

Comprehensive ain’t the word, this book covers it all: tools and equipment, choosing and preparing your growing site, composting, soil structure, seed sowing and planting, clever space-saving ideas, and even a full vegetable directory packed with growing tips and advice. It’s one of those books you’ll keep going back to time and again for reference and well worth getting your hands on.

Have a great weekend and hope you can get out and do a bit in the garden!