Capsicum with the Chilli Chump!

Carmen: 00:00:04

Capsicum annuum.

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Welcome to Song and Plants.

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My name is Carmen Porter.

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In this episode, I was joined

by the Chilli Chump, to

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discuss all things Capsicum.

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His website offers a plethora of chili

resources to satisfy the needs and

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curiosities of heat seeking gardeners.

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He offers a spicy cookbook, a seed

store, growing videos, detailed articles,

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and amazing software for tracking,

documenting, and organizing plantings.

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I hope you enjoy our conversation.

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So welcome to Song and Plants.

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Would you mind introducing yourself?

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Shaun ChilliChump: Hi, my name is Shaun,

also known as ChilliChump online, and

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I've been growing chilies for a couple

decades now, and I decided to start a

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YouTube channel around about 2016, where

I share my adventures in chili growing,

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making hot sauce, and also a bit of

the techie stuff that I like to do as

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well around automation of the growing.

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But yeah, that's me.

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Carmen: So you say

automation of the growing.

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What's your setup?

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Shaun ChilliChump: Some

of it's quite complex.

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When I talk about automation, obviously,

when I first started doing YouTube,

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I wasn't doing it full time and I

had other jobs to be dealing with and

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the only way I could do that is by

automating some aspect of the growing, in

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particular, the watering side of things.

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When the season gets fully underway,

you obviously have quite a few plants,

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I have at the moment about five, six

hundred plants and having to water

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them manually, that's a good few hours

each, well, every second day or so

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during the height of the growing season.

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So being able to automate

that was paramount.

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And I started building out some basic

systems doing that when I first

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started growing in bigger numbers.

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But, it's got a bit more

complex than that recently.

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Built out some really interesting,

watering systems, but also controlling

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my fans, doing some things like

temperature monitoring, humidity

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monitoring, optimizing when things

are watered based on some machine

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learning algorithms that I built.

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And I built out a bit of software

as well that allows other

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people to do similar things.

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It got a lot bigger than

what I originally intended.

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Originally it was just to help me out,

to allow me to actually still live

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my life and not be watering 24 /7 but

it's turned into a bit more than that.

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And yeah, it's good fun.

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I'm quite a techie at heart.

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So that's, that's kind of my background

before getting into gardening, but it

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allows me to mix the two loves of my life.

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Carmen: And where are you located?

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Shaun ChilliChump: I'm in the UK.

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We moved about three,

about three years ago.

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We moved a bit further

north than we used to be.

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We used to be just outside of London.

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The reason I mention this is because

if you are living just outside London,

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the last frost dates are a little bit

earlier than when you go further north.

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So if you're going up more towards

Scotland, which is kind of, you

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know, the direction I'm heading.

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So I'm in the middle of the

country, what's called the Midlands.

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Yeah, three years ago, we did that

move because I wanted more space, but

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it does mean that we have a bit of a

later Last frost date and as you know

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that obviously impacts you're growing.

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So I think we have about three weeks

Later, which is quite weird because

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the UK is not a big place but moving

just, just as far north as I am now,

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it changes the whole game, and I had to

learn things pretty much all over again.

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Optimizing my strategies with growing

and that sort of thing, because obviously

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chilies are not native to the UK or

anywhere in our sort of hemisphere.

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But, yeah, it was a shift, but

it's the best move we made because

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we've got a nice big old spot here,

about an acre of land, and I get

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to grow loads and loads of chilies.

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Carmen: Nice.

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Do you have to provide light?

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Shaun ChilliChump: Only in

the beginning of the year.

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So at the moment, all

my plants are started.

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I started the majority of my longer season

plants and most of my superhots, the

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chinense varieties, and I'm sure we'll get

into the different species a bit later.

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But the longer season plants, the ones

that take about 120 to 160 days, I start

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those very early in the year, around

about January, just after the 1st of Jan.

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And to do that, because again, we

are in the middle of winter at that

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point, there's not enough light,

but there's also not enough heat,

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so I'm having to use a heated grow

space that I call my germinator.

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It's just a shed that I've converted with

some lighting and, some heating in there.

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And that's the only way you can

really start if you want to get

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a good, good start to the season,

because the last frost dates here

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are around about the end of April.

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I do have greenhouses, which means

I can go out a little bit before

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those last frost dates, but that

still means it's early April

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that I'm taking plants outside.

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And if I just start my plants early April,

there's no way I'd get the harvests I get.

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So, Starting a few months before, getting

them to a point that they are starting

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to mature and they're ready to go into

the final pots around about end of April.

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That's essential and that means

obviously growing them under grow

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lights in the beginning of the year.

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But once they're outside in the

greenhouses, after April time until

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October, November even, there's no

need for any supplemental lights.

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So we just use the sunlight.

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Carmen: So when you're starting the

seeds are there any recommendations

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that you'd have for getting good

germination other than having good seed?

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Shaun ChilliChump: Good

seed is the first way to go.

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Too many times when I'm responding,

I get a lot of people asking me

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questions, sending me emails and

messages and asking, you know, I'm

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battling to get my seeds to germinate.

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Most of the time it's because they

are using bad quality stock, so seed

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that haven't been dried properly,

or maybe seed that's older than what

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the seed vendors are saying they are.

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But beyond that some varieties can be

a bit more challenging than others.

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So, typically, if you're using something

like Jalapeno or Cayenne, you know,

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some of the Capsicum annuum varieties,

those are a lot easier to germinate.

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Generally, you'll get about 5

or 6 days for them to germinate,

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and they're not too challenging.

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Some of the hotter varieties,

some of the longer season ones,

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like the Capsicum chinense they

can take you know, 12, 14 days.

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I wouldn't really go too far beyond

that sometimes can take longer and

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some of the very rare ones can take

Up to a month, month and a half.

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It's quite difficult.

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But some tips to actually get them

to germinate just get some good seed

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stock and typically the same way that

we would germinate most seed varieties.

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Keep them moist.

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Keep them humid.

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So I use a, a dome

obviously on a propagator.

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Keep that covered.

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And then very important is the heat level.

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You need to be germinating at

around about 28 degrees Celsius.

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That's what I germinate at.

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I think that's 82 Fahrenheit.

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But a minimum there is

probably 20 degrees Celsius.

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You're not going to get very good

germination if you don't sit at

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at least 20 degrees Celsius, which

is again around 68 Fahrenheit.

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But the 20 degrees Celsius, those

are going to help with those easier

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varieties like the jalapeno, the

cayenne, even peri peri or bird's

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eye Thai chilies, that sort of thing.

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The other little trick that I use, I

actually made a video about this fairly

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recently because again beginning of the

season I'm always reminding people some

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tips and tricks on getting some good

germination rates is to soak your seeds.

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So I Soak them in a tea.

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So it'll be a just normal English black

breakfast tea or chamomile tea as well.

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And the reason you're doing that is

it has tannins within the tea and the

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tannins is kind of an acid type of thing.

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And it helps to scarify the seeds.

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And what that means is scarifying, it's

similar to what happens when a bird eats

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seeds, it goes through the digestive

system and it'll break down the shell.

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So it'll soften the shell somewhat.

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And it allows the seeds

to germinate a lot easier.

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By using black tea or chamomile

tea, it has a similar sort of effect

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and it softens the shells And it

allows those seeds to come through.

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It helps from two ways Number one is going

to help you germinate a lot quicker and

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have better success with germination But

the other one is it avoids helmet head.

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That's probably most important.

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I don't know if you've grown chilies

before but One of the problems you

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have sometimes is the seed will

germinate But the shell of the seed

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will stick on the top of the cotyledons,

the two little leaves that start

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out, and the shell won't come off.

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And if it stays on there too long,

then the plant is going to die.

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Most of the time, the seed will end up

being able to get the little cotyledons

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out, and the shell will pop off.

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But when that doesn't happen,

you're having to do that manually,

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and oftentimes, if you are

trying to cut the top off, you're

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going to end up damaging it.

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But if you do soak it in that

tea , then it definitely helps out

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and it'll stop that from happening.

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It'll allow that seed shell

to pop off a lot easier.

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Carmen: That's fantastic, thank you.

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I actually I'd never heard it called

helmet head but that's perfect

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Shaun ChilliChump: it's just what

I call, I don't know, somebody,

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other people might call it something

different, but I call it helmet head.

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Carmen: It's great

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Shaun ChilliChump: it's very annoying,

especially when it's a seed that you

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really want to germinate and then you've

got that and it's like, okay, now what?

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Now I have to do some surgery

on the thing to get it off.

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Carmen: So one little thing that I

have definitely heard people talk

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about is if they don't have a proper

Lighting, like really good lighting.

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They'll end up with slightly

leggy plants when you start early.

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Is there anything that you'd recommend

for getting the plants ready to put out?

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Shaun ChilliChump: The good

news is you don't need to

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spend a lot of money on this.

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Yes, there are tons of

grow lights out there.

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Sorry about that.

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It's my puppy.

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Making lots of noise.

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Um, So we have, we have so many,

options today with led grow lights.

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The problem is people rush out and they go

buy these expensive led grow lights, which

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are fantastic, however, most of the time

they're way too strong for your plants.

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So the bypass spectra, the Mars

hydro, the Spider Farmer, those are

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some of the brands that I use quite

frequently and they make some fantastic

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lighting, but you're having to turn

those lights way down or take them

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very far away from the canopy of your

plants or you're just going to burn

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the leaves because they are so strong.

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So what you can do instead of spending

the money on these LED grow lights,

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you can use a standard light bulb, a

compact fluorescent light bulb, I don't

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know if you can really get them too much

these days, but the old helix sort of

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shaped light bulbs, they work fantastic.

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Get one that's in the daylight

spectrum, so: 6500

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know, down to maybe 5000 Kelvin.

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Not any warmer than that.

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When the light is too warm, you get too

much of the red light coming through.

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That's not what you're looking for.

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You want the blue spectrum, which

is the daylight, the white light.

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But you can use those bulbs

and they work perfectly fine.

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In the beginning when I first started

growing, I would use T5 lighting.

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So the old shop lights,

the round, long, bulbs.

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They work fantastically but again,

those get a little bit more difficult

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to get hold of too much these days

and people tend to just go with LEDs.

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Now the benefits of these compact

fluorescents and those t5 fluorescent

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bulbs is you can't overdo it.

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You can't damage your seedlings, you

can have those lights directly on top of

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the canopy of your plants, so on the

leaves themselves, like almost touching,

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and they won't cause any problems

because they're not very hot and also

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they're not putting out too much light.

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The problem is if you're going beyond

that first month of growth where your

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plant now starts to really develop

and you've got a far more mature

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plant, they need a lot more light.

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So at that point that's when the LED

lights really come into their own.

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But the problem is people buy one

light and it's going to fix all their

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problems and they use that from the

very beginning, not realizing hey

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it doesn't look so bright to me so

I'll just turn it up because they're

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plants, obviously they need a lot of

light and they end up giving it way too

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much light and it stresses the plant.

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So even if you don't see any

physical damage you might not see

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the crispy edges of the leaves which

sometimes happens, what will happen

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is your plants just won't grow.

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They'll be stressed and they'll Just

decide to not put out any more growth

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on the roots or on the leaves and you

won't understand why that's happening.

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So Be careful of too much light

as much as yes, you do need a lot

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of light and chili plants love

light, too much is still a problem.

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So I did some tests, there's a video,

if you really want to get into some nerdy

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detail about it, I did a video on this,

and there's an article on my website as

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well, where I'm talking in depth about the

different types of lights, and also going

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into details on the amount of lumens that

are being produced, or lux, that's, sort

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of how we measure light for humans eyes.

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We measure it in lux, so when you

buy a light bulb, it tells you, hey,

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this is a 300 lux or 300 lumen bulb.

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I did some tests on quite a few different

bulbs, and I also tested it with the type

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of light reading that you'd get for what

plants actually see in terms of the light.

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It can get quite complex.

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There's a phrase called

lumens are for humans, right?

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So lumens are what, we know when

we see a light, light bulb that

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I have above my head right now.

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That looks bright to me because

those bulbs are manufactured

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to be bright for human eyes.

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But plants, they have a

bit of a broader spectrum.

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So human's eyes can see yellow very well.

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So, there's a big focus on the yellow and

even the green part of the light spectrum.

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Whereas, plants don't really get

affected too much by the green

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part of the light spectrum.

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They get very much affected by the

blue and the red, which is on the

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two opposite ends of the spectrum.

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If you're looking at a light spectrum,

the yellow is in the middle, and

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then on the two sides, blue towards

the left, red towards the right.

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So, to measure that,

you're measuring PAR.

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PAR is basically what you'd be measuring

the light spectrum on for plants

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themselves, because it takes into account

the blue and the red part of the spectrum.

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If you're looking at it, how

it's measuring it, it'll be more

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of a square box rather than a

curve, which is what we see.

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That article does go into a lot more

detail about that, but it also helps you

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because PAR-meters are very expensive.

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The one I had is like 700

pounds or 700 US dollars.

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Whereas a normal lux meter

probably costs about 20 dollars.

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So I measured these lights and compared

what they would be on the PAR spectrum

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versus what they'd be on the lux spectrum.

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So if you do want to measure how much

light your plant needs, I've got a

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graph that shows you exactly how much

it needs at each stage of growth.

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So, nice complex answer to a

very simple question, but, yeah.

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Carmen: Well, just to interject,

what is your website so that

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people can go check that out?

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Shaun ChilliChump: Chilichump.

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com, C H I L L I C H U M P.

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com.

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Carmen: And as always, I'll put the

links in the show notes as well.

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So when they've got these beautiful

little seedlings, but they need to

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get more light and then they need

to get them ready to go outside.

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What would you suggest they do?

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Shaun ChilliChump: So again, it really

depends on what you're going to be doing.

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So are you taking them outside or

are you taking them to a greenhouse?

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It really depends on where you're living.

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Even in the UK, I've done lots of

experiments on this, on planting

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chili plants directly in the ground.

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So not having any cover

and it's going to work.

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You'll be okay.

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You'll probably get a few chilies, but

you're not going to get the type of

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harvest that you'll see on my YouTube

channel, because, there's two reasons.

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Number one is, when they're outside

in the elements, chili plants,

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they do not like to have wet roots.

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They like to be able to

breathe through those roots.

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So if they're constantly wet, which is

obviously in the UK, we get a lot of rain.

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When it's raining, and let's say it rains

for an entire week, that plant has now

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spent a week with its roots sitting in

water and it's not going to enjoy that.

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By having it in the greenhouse or

polytunnel you're able to control

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just how much water is getting to

those roots and you can dry them out

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in between watering cycles And that's

going to result in a far better plant.

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The other thing is the plants

like to have warm roots.

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So if you're growing, especially in the

early part of the season, April, May,

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and you plant directly in the ground,

it might survive, but it's going to be

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sitting in the ground where above ground

you may be at 20C, but below ground

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: 00:17:00

it's sitting there at about 10 or 12C.

292

: 00:17:03

And that's just going to completely

stunt the growth of the plant.

293

: 00:17:06

So If you are going to be growing in a

greenhouse and I can give some advice

294

: 00:17:11

there, if you get to a point where you've

got some lovely seedlings and now you've

295

: 00:17:14

had them in a nice cozy environment like I

do in my grow shed and it's in a perfectly

296

: 00:17:19

warm environment, the temperatures never

dip too much and it's getting artificial

297

: 00:17:24

light so it's not getting full sunlight

yet, when you take it outside then

298

: 00:17:29

you're going to have to consider that the

sunlight it's putting out way more light

299

: 00:17:34

than any grow light you can possibly buy.

300

: 00:17:37

So you have to be careful on just

how much light you're exposing it to.

301

: 00:17:41

Now there's two ways again to do that.

302

: 00:17:43

The one way is the way I do

it, which is the lazy way.

303

: 00:17:46

You time it right so that you don't

need to harden off your plants,

304

: 00:17:50

you don't need to protect your

plants when you take them outside.

305

: 00:17:53

So when I put my plants outside in

early april, I know the sun is still

306

: 00:17:57

coming in very low in the horizon.

307

: 00:17:59

It's not hitting me directly and those

plants aren't getting direct Full

308

: 00:18:02

sunshine for a long part of the day.

309

: 00:18:06

So they're able to adjust a lot easier

without me having to protect them.

310

: 00:18:09

The second way if you're not going

to be lazy about it, or you can't get

311

: 00:18:12

them out that early in the season,

then you do need to protect them.

312

: 00:18:16

So you need to use some sort of

sheet where you're protecting it,

313

: 00:18:19

putting in a little bit of shade.

314

: 00:18:20

So it's still getting some

light, but for most of the day

315

: 00:18:23

you're still shading it somewhat.

316

: 00:18:25

And that'll help the plants to adjust.

317

: 00:18:27

You'll need to gradually adjust how

much sunlight it's getting per day.

318

: 00:18:30

It'll take about two weeks

to do it effectively.

319

: 00:18:34

That's why I said I prefer the lazy way,

because when you have so many plants,

320

: 00:18:37

I do not want to be moving them in and

out of the sunshine all day, and I don't

321

: 00:18:40

want to be shading them, shade cloth and

things like that, but that's essentially

322

: 00:18:44

what you'll need to do if you are putting

them out into some strong sunshine.

323

: 00:18:47

So if you do live in a place like Spain,

or you're lucky, you know, in Africa,

324

: 00:18:51

yes, you need to protect your plants.

325

: 00:18:53

You're going to definitely need some shade

cloth, but you're probably going to use

326

: 00:18:55

shade cloth most of the year, because the

sunshine is just way too harsh for them.

327

: 00:19:00

Carmen: You mentioned a

couple of different species.

328

: 00:19:03

Would you mind expanding upon what are the

different species that we grow as chilies?

329

: 00:19:09

Or hot peppers?

330

: 00:19:11

Shaun ChilliChump: Sorry, I call

them chilies, but I actually

331

: 00:19:14

did a video on that as well.

332

: 00:19:16

I got a few Americans upset with me

because I said that peppers aren't

333

: 00:19:20

actually peppers, they're chilies.

334

: 00:19:23

So peppers, People call them

peppers because there was a bit

335

: 00:19:27

of a confusion way back when.

336

: 00:19:29

When Peppercorns were very expensive

and they found these spicy plants that,

337

: 00:19:35

hey, well, this is kind of like pepper.

338

: 00:19:37

And they brought them back to, I

think it was Italy, and they said,

339

: 00:19:40

hey, well, this is pepper, right?

340

: 00:19:42

Meanwhile, it was actually chilies, and

that's kind of why they call them peppers.

341

: 00:19:46

But anyway, I digress.

342

: 00:19:47

So species, there are five main

species that, well, five of the most

343

: 00:19:52

common species that we grow, and

unless you are like me and get into

344

: 00:19:59

the wilder side of chilies, then

that's probably all you've ever seen.

345

: 00:20:04

Most people that have never grown chilies

before have probably only ever seen

346

: 00:20:09

Three types of chilies, three species.

347

: 00:20:12

The most common is Capsicum

annuum, so A N N U U M.

348

: 00:20:17

And those are your jalapenos, your

cayenne, quite a few other varieties.

349

: 00:20:21

Most of your sweet peppers, so if you're

talking about a bell pepper, those are

350

: 00:20:25

going to be Capsicum annum as well.

351

: 00:20:27

Then the second most common

is Capsicum frutescens.

352

: 00:20:30

And there's a little bit of debate

about this, whether frutescens and

353

: 00:20:35

annuum are actually the same species.

354

: 00:20:37

But frutescens typically are your

bird's eye, your peri peri, so

355

: 00:20:41

your African bird's eye, Thai

chilies, things like that.

356

: 00:20:45

I would describe a frutescens as

being a plant where the fruits are

357

: 00:20:49

pointing upwards, they point skywards.

358

: 00:20:52

Whereas annuum, they typically

point downwards, right, or sideways.

359

: 00:20:57

But there is, yeah, there's

some confusion there.

360

: 00:21:00

People will confuse the

two, and that's fine.

361

: 00:21:03

It's not a problem.

362

: 00:21:05

Then the other one that people

are going to be familiar with

363

: 00:21:07

are the hots, the real hot ones.

364

: 00:21:09

And those are typically the

Capsicum chinense varieties.

365

: 00:21:13

Not Chinese, chinense.

366

: 00:21:14

These are things like habanero, scotch

bonnets, and then some of the really super

367

: 00:21:17

hot ones, Carolina Reapers, and then

some of the more interesting ones that

368

: 00:21:22

probably the layman hasn't really heard

of, like the 7 Pot Primo, the Primatale,

369

: 00:21:25

the Chocolate Jigsaw, you know, some of

the real exotic stuff that is killer heat.

370

: 00:21:31

Those are all gonna be from the

chinense family of chilis, or species.

371

: 00:21:36

And then the other two common ones,

and these are the top five common, you

372

: 00:21:41

can imagine there's at least 35 or

so species that I could go through,

373

: 00:21:47

but these are the most common.

374

: 00:21:48

The next most common I would say

is, and it's one of my favorites,

375

: 00:21:51

is the Capsicum pubescens.

376

: 00:21:53

Which is a beautiful chili.

377

: 00:21:55

What makes this fairly unique

is the seeds are black.

378

: 00:21:59

So all chili seeds that you

get, they're white seeds, right?

379

: 00:22:04

Similar to tomato seeds, but the Capsicum

pubescens, they have black, black seeds.

380

: 00:22:10

And I just love that.

381

: 00:22:11

They look so cool.

382

: 00:22:12

The other way that you can tell a Capsicum

pubescens besides the seeds is the fact

383

: 00:22:16

that the leaves and the stems are all

furry, hence the name Capsicum pubescens,

384

: 00:22:22

but they're all like a furry type texture.

385

: 00:22:25

But they yeah, they're

one of my favorites.

386

: 00:22:26

They have a good amount of heat, they're

very thick fleshed most of the time.

387

: 00:22:30

Things like the Ricotta Manzano is

one of the varieties that are quite

388

: 00:22:34

common in the Capsicum pubescens.

389

: 00:22:37

But this year I'm growing about

six different Capsicum pubescens.

390

: 00:22:41

I'm trying to collect up

more and more varieties.

391

: 00:22:43

There's, there's not a lot that I've

been able to get hold of, but some

392

: 00:22:46

of the more common ones are like the

Ricotta Manzano, Ricotta Marlene

393

: 00:22:50

is another very interesting one.

394

: 00:22:52

And I've got a few others growing.

395

: 00:22:53

They're very thick fleshed, very,

very juicy and fruity, but they do

396

: 00:22:58

have a bit of a kick to them as well.

397

: 00:23:00

Then you've got the last one in the most

common, which is the Capsicum baccatum.

398

: 00:23:04

So these are quite

popular in South America.

399

: 00:23:08

They call them the Aji varieties.

400

: 00:23:11

One of the very common ones or very

popular ones over the last maybe

401

: 00:23:15

five years is the Aji Lemon Drop.

402

: 00:23:18

Which is yellow.

403

: 00:23:20

It's got a good bit of spice, and it's

got a almost a citrusy sort of flavor.

404

: 00:23:24

Those are quite common

because they look wonderful.

405

: 00:23:26

But it's not one of my favorites

really, but they look great.

406

: 00:23:30

I mean, there's a ton of other Aji

varieties and, well, Capsicum baccatum

407

: 00:23:34

varieties out there, tons and tons.

408

: 00:23:37

They've got quite a unique flavor profile.

409

: 00:23:39

Not my favorite flavor to work with,

because obviously I make hot sauces.

410

: 00:23:43

I tend to work more with the annuum,

frutescens and chinense varieties.

411

: 00:23:48

Just I prefer those flavors

when we're making a hot sauce.

412

: 00:23:52

But baccatum still, there's so many

beautiful plants in that species.

413

: 00:23:57

One of the nice things with that

is, also, the flowers are purple.

414

: 00:24:01

So, this is what attracted me

to chilies in the first place.

415

: 00:24:05

I love growing things anyway, but

chilies, obviously they taste great,

416

: 00:24:09

they look awesome, there's so many,

there's tens of thousands of varieties

417

: 00:24:15

of chilies, but each of the flowers

they look different, each of the

418

: 00:24:19

species they just look amazing.

419

: 00:24:21

The Capsicum pubescens also has

purple flowers, it's stunning.

420

: 00:24:25

There's just so much so much variety.

421

: 00:24:26

You'll never run out of

new varieties to grow.

422

: 00:24:30

So it is a great hobby

if you haven't done it.

423

: 00:24:32

One of the first wild types, because

there's quite a few different wild

424

: 00:24:35

types out there, one of the first

ones that I really wanted to grow,

425

: 00:24:39

and I've never had success with

it, is the Capsicum galapagoense.

426

: 00:24:43

And this is something that's

native to the Galapagos Islands.

427

: 00:24:46

And it's a stunning little chili, a

tiny little fruit, but it's really

428

: 00:24:51

difficult to get that thing to germinate.

429

: 00:24:53

That will typically take about

a month at least to germinate.

430

: 00:24:56

And the problem is if you have

something sitting in a humid

431

: 00:24:59

environment for that long, the chances

are you're probably going to make it

432

: 00:25:02

rot before it actually germinates.

433

: 00:25:04

So it's a bit of a balancing act.

434

: 00:25:06

But that's, that's one

of the interesting ones.

435

: 00:25:08

There's so many Plenty, plenty

others that you can get into.

436

: 00:25:12

The chacoense, eximium,

flexuosum, some beautiful ones.

437

: 00:25:16

And most of them are more

on the wild varieties.

438

: 00:25:18

And there's quite a community, a sub

community within the Chile community

439

: 00:25:22

that love to grow these wilder varieties.

440

: 00:25:24

And it fascinates me.

441

: 00:25:26

There's so much choice.

442

: 00:25:28

Carmen: How do the wild varieties

differ in terms of the fruit?

443

: 00:25:32

Shaun ChilliChump: Most of

the ones that I've seen, they

444

: 00:25:34

tend to be quite small fruit.

445

: 00:25:35

Like I said with the galapagoense,

they're tiny little round things

446

: 00:25:38

and maybe about a quarter of an

inch, maybe even smaller than that.

447

: 00:25:43

They have some heat.

448

: 00:25:44

And, and some of them, some

interesting flavors as well.

449

: 00:25:48

But, Yeah, it depends.

450

: 00:25:51

Like I said, there's another 30 or so

species out there, and they all have

451

: 00:25:55

something a little bit different to them.

452

: 00:25:57

But typically the ones that I've seen,

the ones that I've grown before, Capsicum

453

: 00:26:01

exile is another one I've grown.

454

: 00:26:02

I did that successfully, but those

are also small little tiny fruit.

455

: 00:26:07

Tons of seeds, which is never great when

you have a small fruit, but They are,

456

: 00:26:12

yeah, they're interesting to look at

more so than for me to use in a sauce.

457

: 00:26:16

Because again, I'm growing a ton of

chilies, I'm not just growing them just

458

: 00:26:19

to look at, I'm going to eat the things.

459

: 00:26:22

So I like to grow the bigger varieties.

460

: 00:26:24

Carmen: Would you say that there are

differences in general flavor between the

461

: 00:26:28

species or is it more between cultivars?

462

: 00:26:33

Shaun ChilliChump: Species definitely.

463

: 00:26:35

Obviously I review these chilies on my

youtube channel But I also sell seeds

464

: 00:26:40

for quite a few different varieties and

one of them that I'm selling this year

465

: 00:26:44

is, It's a chinense variety, so it's a

chinense species, but it has no heat.

466

: 00:26:52

So what's unique with this

one is you get the flavor of

467

: 00:26:56

a super hot chili but no heat.

468

: 00:26:59

Now that's not really a good

thing because the chinense species

469

: 00:27:03

Don't tend to taste fantastic.

470

: 00:27:05

It's a very unique taste.

471

: 00:27:07

I'll be able to tell you, even from

the smell, I'll be able to tell

472

: 00:27:09

you that it's a chinense variety.

473

: 00:27:11

So yeah, definitely between the different

species they have very unique flavor

474

: 00:27:15

profiles and also spice profiles too.

475

: 00:27:19

You obviously get heat from

the Capsicum annuum species and

476

: 00:27:22

also the Capsicum frutescens.

477

: 00:27:24

If you've ever had a Thai chili,

you'll know it's got some spice to it.

478

: 00:27:27

But there we're talking maybe 50, 000 to

100, 000 Scoville in terms of heat levels

479

: 00:27:33

compared to a chinense you know, some of

these super hots like Carolina Reaper 1.

480

: 00:27:37

3 million Scoville, you know,

the heat levels are drastically

481

: 00:27:40

different, but the flavors are

certainly very, very different.

482

: 00:27:44

So.

483

: 00:27:45

My favorite chili is probably the peri

peri, so it's an African bird's eye.

484

: 00:27:50

I am from Africa.

485

: 00:27:51

And the flavor of that I would

describe it as smoky and sweet

486

: 00:27:57

and it's got a good spice to it.

487

: 00:28:00

spice profile, it burns, your

lips and your tongue but it

488

: 00:28:05

also goes away very quickly.

489

: 00:28:07

So it's a lot of heat very

quickly, but then it goes away.

490

: 00:28:09

Whereas quite a few of the Capsicum

chinense they'll build, build, build.

491

: 00:28:14

And again, even the different

varieties within the Capsicum chinense,

492

: 00:28:18

they'll burn in different ways.

493

: 00:28:19

Some will have an upfront burn in

your tongue, some will burn the back

494

: 00:28:23

of your throat, some will burn the

entire mouth, some will take a while to

495

: 00:28:26

build, some will hit you very quickly.

496

: 00:28:29

So, yeah, they will have their own little

intricacies, but you can typically

497

: 00:28:34

tell which species it is by the

smell, the flavor, and even the heat.

498

: 00:28:40

Carmen: And certain ones can

actually be cross bred as well.

499

: 00:28:45

Shaun ChilliChump: Yeah, so that's,

that's one very cool thing about

500

: 00:28:47

chilies is they are very promiscuous.

501

: 00:28:50

They, Not in that way, But

they, well, kind of, yeah.

502

: 00:28:58

Number one, they can self pollinate,

and number two, they are promiscuous,

503

: 00:29:02

and they got no problem pollinating

within the different species.

504

: 00:29:07

Now some species cross,

easier than others.

505

: 00:29:10

Some you could probably cross but

you'd have to do some very specific

506

: 00:29:14

things to get that to happen.

507

: 00:29:16

So if you consider if we take two Capsicum

frutescens species of chilies and cross

508

: 00:29:22

them, they're going to be highly fertile.

509

: 00:29:24

The F1, the first generation, is

likely going to be very fertile, and

510

: 00:29:30

you're going to have no problem seeding

that and creating a new variety.

511

: 00:29:34

So let's say you want to cross a

jalapeno with cayenne right, you're

512

: 00:29:38

going to cross those over, and they're

most likely going to create a new

513

: 00:29:42

variety of that species, and it'll,

you know, it'll be quite interesting.

514

: 00:29:45

You might get something unique,

you might get something that

515

: 00:29:48

reverts to whichever was the most,

you know, longest living gene.

516

: 00:29:52

So if the jalapeno has been around

for many, many generations, then

517

: 00:29:56

that specific one is likely to

come through in the genetics.

518

: 00:30:00

But then when you get to the more

interesting things is when you want to

519

: 00:30:02

cross something like something from a

baccatum species with a frutescens, right?

520

: 00:30:08

That's not going to be easy, right?

521

: 00:30:10

Your hybrids are going to germinate

okay, so you'll be able to cross them.

522

: 00:30:13

The hybrid, the combination of the

two will likely germinate, but

523

: 00:30:19

you're probably not going to

have too much luck going into F2

524

: 00:30:22

or F3, so the next generations.

525

: 00:30:25

The big one that people try and do is

the chinense variety, so the super hots.

526

: 00:30:28

They try and cross a super hot

with something that's large, like a

527

: 00:30:31

Capsicum annuum, maybe a bell pepper.

528

: 00:30:34

It's always the the comment I get

on my crossing videos is hey, you

529

: 00:30:38

know what you should do you should

take a Carolina Reaper and cross

530

: 00:30:40

with a bell pepper and then you'll

have a massive Carolina Reaper.

531

: 00:30:43

It doesn't work that way unfortunately,

you might end up getting a very small

532

: 00:30:46

bell pepper you know, so It's a lot

of fun, and it does take a lot of work

533

: 00:30:53

because obviously F1 is easy enough,

but then you have to then stabilize

534

: 00:30:59

it, isolate it so that it doesn't

cross again with something else.

535

: 00:31:03

You've got to make sure that it's going

to pollinate itself, like I said, they

536

: 00:31:07

self pollinate, so you can isolate them

by using mesh bags, things like that,

537

: 00:31:12

or put them in a location that they

don't have access to any other pollen.

538

: 00:31:16

And then you can self pollinate these

things, and then you have to grow

539

: 00:31:19

it out over multiple generations.

540

: 00:31:21

So, it takes about seven generations

before you get to a point that

541

: 00:31:25

they're going to be fully stable.

542

: 00:31:27

And that means that, from there

onwards, You don't need to be very,

543

: 00:31:30

very specific about, isolating them.

544

: 00:31:33

Those seeds that are going to

be coming from those plants,

545

: 00:31:36

they're likely to grow true.

546

: 00:31:38

They'll have the same look and

taste of the chili that came

547

: 00:31:40

before it, the parent plant.

548

: 00:31:42

But anything like F2, F3, F4, the

likelihood is it's going to keep changing.

549

: 00:31:48

And you might have something that

looks a bit different, tastes a bit

550

: 00:31:50

different, it might not grow very

well, it might not be very healthy.

551

: 00:31:54

And That's where the challenge comes

in because you can't just grow one

552

: 00:31:59

or two of these resulting seeds.

553

: 00:32:02

You need to grow, you know, 50, 60 of

them and then decide which of those

554

: 00:32:06

50 or 60 have the traits that you're

looking for and then isolate those

555

: 00:32:11

further and then grow another 50 or 60

in the next generation and keep doing

556

: 00:32:14

that down multiple generations until

you get to something that, I'm happy

557

: 00:32:18

with this, this is exactly what I was

looking for, the color, the look, the

558

: 00:32:21

shape, the taste, and there you go, at

F7 there you have a brand new variety.

559

: 00:32:27

So, it can be a little challenging

to get it happening, but it is

560

: 00:32:30

worth it when you've now created

a brand new variety of chili.

561

: 00:32:34

So I do have a few.

562

: 00:32:37

I don't know if you've come across that.

563

: 00:32:38

I have a few that I've done.

564

: 00:32:39

I have one that's at f5 right now.

565

: 00:32:43

That was really challenging, and that was

crossing a baccatum with a frutescens.

566

: 00:32:48

So I mentioned before Peri Peri

is my favorite chili, and I have

567

: 00:32:51

my own variety of Peri Peri that

I've been selectively breeding for

568

: 00:32:55

a while, the Chili Chum Peri Peri.

569

: 00:32:58

And I crossed that with an Aji Lemon

Drop, which again I mentioned earlier.

570

: 00:33:01

So it's called the Lemon Peri,

and It's at f4, well f5 this year.

571

: 00:33:07

But it's been a real challenge to get

that thing to, number one, to fruit.

572

: 00:33:13

I can get a massive plant, a

beautiful plant that looks amazing.

573

: 00:33:16

The fruit that come off it, I love

the shape of it, but I'm getting

574

: 00:33:19

three or four fruit on this plant.

575

: 00:33:22

Now what I have to do is try and make

it so that it's gonna, You know, grow

576

: 00:33:25

out, I'm going to grow out another 30 or

40 of them this year, maybe 50 of them,

577

: 00:33:29

and then choose the plants that grow the

most fruit, and keep isolating it down

578

: 00:33:34

until I get to a point that I've got a

prolifically growing plant with a lot of

579

: 00:33:37

fruit coming off it, but with the unique

traits that I've been looking for, and

580

: 00:33:41

the taste, which is kind of a sweet taste,

the citrusy taste, mixed with that smoky,

581

: 00:33:46

spicy, sweet taste of the peri peri.

582

: 00:33:49

So it's, it's challenging, but

it's a lot of fun, very rewarding.

583

: 00:33:53

Carmen: I'm a little curious,

because I know that when you

584

: 00:33:56

are crossing, stable varieties.

585

: 00:34:00

So within the same species, when you make

your F1, you'll get mostly dominant traits

586

: 00:34:06

that are going to be coming out, but then

when you plant out those seeds, you're

587

: 00:34:10

going to get a lot of recessive genes

manifesting, so you have to plant a lot

588

: 00:34:15

of them, and then select plants from that,

and then continue down the line if you're

589

: 00:34:20

dealing with a self pollinating plant.

590

: 00:34:24

I guess what I'm wondering

is when you're going cross.

591

: 00:34:28

species are the challenges different?

592

: 00:34:32

Shaun ChilliChump: There's a study done

back in, I think,: 1986

593

: 00:34:36

that I read about, and it talks about

some of the more common varieties, I think

594

: 00:34:40

there's 12 species that they worked with,

and they did the crossing between the male

595

: 00:34:45

and the female parent, and they worked out

which were going to germinate normally,

596

: 00:34:49

which ones would be partially fertile,

which ones would be highly fertile.

597

: 00:34:53

So the one that I crossed, the frutescens

and the baccatum, it says there

598

: 00:34:56

that the hybrids germinate normally.

599

: 00:34:57

So that's fine.

600

: 00:34:59

But beyond that, that's where

the challenge comes in, right?

601

: 00:35:02

Because your first F1, it's

fine and it's going to be great.

602

: 00:35:06

But then after that, that's

where you have problems.

603

: 00:35:09

I remember when I tried F2 of that

specific species, it took me, it

604

: 00:35:15

took me about 150 seeds to get four.

605

: 00:35:17

to actually germinate and ended

up having to keep doing that.

606

: 00:35:21

That's why it's taking so long.

607

: 00:35:22

I started this project

quite a few years ago.

608

: 00:35:25

It's quite challenging.

609

: 00:35:26

But yeah, there are different

challenges when you're crossing

610

: 00:35:28

between different species.

611

: 00:35:29

If you're crossing within

the same species That's easy.

612

: 00:35:32

That's fairly easy.

613

: 00:35:33

You've still got a lot of work to

do because you're going to have to,

614

: 00:35:35

like you've said grow out many, many

different plants to try and get the

615

: 00:35:39

traits that you're looking for and hope

that you don't get any recessive genes

616

: 00:35:42

popping in some of the stronger genes

coming in from one of the parents.

617

: 00:35:46

But, yeah, it's when you start

crossing between species, that's

618

: 00:35:49

where it gets pretty difficult.

619

: 00:35:51

Carmen: So I guess viability

is something to overcome when

620

: 00:35:55

you're going cross species.

621

: 00:35:57

Shaun ChilliChump: Viability,

the health of it as well.

622

: 00:36:00

What I've found, I've got about

12 different crosses that I'm

623

: 00:36:03

working with at the moment.

624

: 00:36:04

There's a few that

actually sell in my store.

625

: 00:36:06

I've crossed a few chinense varieties

with each other and come out

626

: 00:36:10

with some very interesting stuff.

627

: 00:36:12

Those I see as fairly easy to do.

628

: 00:36:14

It's still a lot of work and you

have to really be careful with it.

629

: 00:36:17

But, some of the others that I've

tried, I just, I'm getting nowhere

630

: 00:36:21

with it because the fertility of it.

631

: 00:36:25

I have these seeds that look beautiful

and healthy, but getting them to even

632

: 00:36:28

germinate, it's not happening, right?

633

: 00:36:30

That's the some of the challenges

that I face with the crossing piece.

634

: 00:36:35

But it is, it's something as long as

you go into it, understanding that

635

: 00:36:38

you're not going to just, Hey, I'm

going to take this flower, take that

636

: 00:36:41

flower, squish them together, and

now we're going to get new species.

637

: 00:36:44

As long as you're not going to think

like that, then you should be okay.

638

: 00:36:47

As long as you understand that

there is a challenge to it.

639

: 00:36:49

It makes it more worthwhile when you

actually do get something interesting.

640

: 00:36:52

Carmen: And I imagine because there

are so many different species and

641

: 00:36:57

even varieties within the species,

stable varieties within each

642

: 00:37:01

species you have a lot to work with.

643

: 00:37:05

There's a lot of different flavors,

there's a lot of different shapes,

644

: 00:37:08

even if you are just going to be

crossing varieties within one species.

645

: 00:37:13

Shaun ChilliChump: Absolutely.

646

: 00:37:13

The challenge that I have found

is I don't necessarily trust that

647

: 00:37:19

the seeds that I've purchased in

the past are isolated or stable.

648

: 00:37:25

So, you know, even though you might

grow it out and, hey, I've got exactly

649

: 00:37:29

what I was told it's going to be.

650

: 00:37:31

When you try and grow it out the second

season, if you save seeds from it,

651

: 00:37:35

the chances are you're probably going

to get something that's a little bit

652

: 00:37:37

different than what you originally had.

653

: 00:37:39

So you have to then isolate.

654

: 00:37:41

Before you even get to the point of

wanting to cross your different varieties.

655

: 00:37:46

You need to make sure they're

fully stable and isolated.

656

: 00:37:48

So, most of the time I'm buying seeds,

I have certain suppliers that will help

657

: 00:37:54

me out with this, and they'll be quite

candid with whether it is isolated or not.

658

: 00:37:58

So it helps me out.

659

: 00:37:59

But otherwise I treat it as if it's F1.

660

: 00:38:01

And I will grow it out for 7 generations.

661

: 00:38:05

Now you can do multiple

generations in a year.

662

: 00:38:07

But typically, A generation

happens once a year.

663

: 00:38:10

So that's seven years just to get

your plants to a stable, position.

664

: 00:38:15

Once they're in a stable position,

then you start doing the crossing.

665

: 00:38:18

Because if you're using an unstable

variety to then make a cross, it's

666

: 00:38:22

unstable with its two parents.

667

: 00:38:23

So now you might have recessive

genes coming in from two different

668

: 00:38:26

parents that you're now trying

to cross with another variety.

669

: 00:38:30

Which one is actually going

to come through, if you have

670

: 00:38:33

something specific in mind.

671

: 00:38:34

So you can do it if you just want to

have a go and see what you're going

672

: 00:38:39

to get from a cross and you're not too

bothered by the parents or what the

673

: 00:38:43

end result might be, then that's fine.

674

: 00:38:45

Go ahead and, you know, do that cross.

675

: 00:38:48

But if you are looking for something

very specific, maybe it's I want a

676

: 00:38:51

plant that is going to grow massive, be

very healthy, it's going to germinate

677

: 00:38:55

very quickly, and I, at the end, want

the fruit to look a certain way, and I

678

: 00:39:00

want the flowers to look a certain way.

679

: 00:39:03

Then I'm going to be very

specific about which varieties

680

: 00:39:05

I'm using to cross to get that.

681

: 00:39:07

If you're not bothered by that, and

you just want to make a new variety,

682

: 00:39:09

and it's going to be fun, then,

yeah, you can go ahead and do that.

683

: 00:39:12

Carmen: Have you found particular

traits that are dominant

684

: 00:39:17

within the different species?

685

: 00:39:19

Shaun ChilliChump: Not really.

686

: 00:39:20

It's more down to the varieties.

687

: 00:39:22

I've been isolating, you know,

selectively breeding my CC Peri

688

: 00:39:27

Peri, for example, the Chili Chump

Peri Peri, to be something that

689

: 00:39:30

has all the qualities that I need.

690

: 00:39:32

Number one, I had to choose a variety

that had chilies that were bigger,

691

: 00:39:37

because Peri Peri tend to be quite small.

692

: 00:39:40

And we're talking about like an inch maybe

half an inch even sometimes and harvesting

693

: 00:39:45

those smaller pods is a bit of a pain.

694

: 00:39:48

So if you are making sauce from

these things you want bigger pods

695

: 00:39:51

but you want to maintain the taste

and the heat of the smaller pods.

696

: 00:39:55

So Selectively breeding to get bigger

pods, that was one of my initial things

697

: 00:40:00

that I was looking for and then secondly

it was for the size of the plant,

698

: 00:40:03

so how prolific it was going to be.

699

: 00:40:05

And then after that, well, I mean I'm

looking for all these things at the

700

: 00:40:07

same time so, I keep track of all

these things, the app that I mentioned

701

: 00:40:10

around the beginning, it's Seedsio,

anybody can use it, it's not just for

702

: 00:40:15

chili growers, s e e d s i o dot com.

703

: 00:40:18

And basically it helps you to track your

germination rates and things like that.

704

: 00:40:22

So, I can keep track of all the plants.

705

: 00:40:25

Growing out the peri peri, I would

know, this plant here took four and

706

: 00:40:29

a half days for me to germinate.

707

: 00:40:31

So that's great.

708

: 00:40:32

I love that.

709

: 00:40:33

These ones here are

seven days, eight days.

710

: 00:40:35

Yes, the fruit are nice, but it

took a lot longer to germinate.

711

: 00:40:37

So I want the ones that germinate quicker.

712

: 00:40:40

Then I want the plants

that have a bigger yield.

713

: 00:40:42

So if i'm getting three kilograms of

chilies off a specific plant versus

714

: 00:40:46

this one over here has only a kilogram

and a half, then I know that I want to

715

: 00:40:50

save the seeds from that specific plant.

716

: 00:40:52

And you keep on doing that over and

over again and you keep on isolating

717

: 00:40:55

it to a point that now i've got a plant

that every year i'm going to get that

718

: 00:40:59

same quality, i'm going to get the

same virility from the germination.

719

: 00:41:04

I'm going to have easy fruit setting

and I'm going to have a delicious fruit

720

: 00:41:08

that's going to be the size that I want.

721

: 00:41:10

That's kind of what you're aiming

for, but it's keeping track of

722

: 00:41:13

everything as you're doing this.

723

: 00:41:15

That's where the real challenge comes in.

724

: 00:41:16

Some plants are bigger than others.

725

: 00:41:18

Some will grow into monsters.

726

: 00:41:21

So, some of the Capsicum chinense

varieties, some of them grow very

727

: 00:41:24

small, so it'd be like a small bush.

728

: 00:41:26

But, things like the naga

morich, that's a classic.

729

: 00:41:30

I absolutely love that chili.

730

: 00:41:31

It grows massive, very hot chilies.

731

: 00:41:34

It's not the hottest in the

world, but it's massive chilies.

732

: 00:41:37

You typically get a very large

tree, pretty much, from this plant.

733

: 00:41:42

And, in a single season, you'd have

tons and tons of fruit coming off it.

734

: 00:41:46

Now crossing that with something else,

so one of the crosses I've done is

735

: 00:41:53

between a Naga Morich and a Viper.

736

: 00:41:56

So a Naga Viper.

737

: 00:41:58

It's because I like more heat,

but I want the size plant

738

: 00:42:02

that the Naga Morich puts out.

739

: 00:42:04

So yeah, it definitely, it's

not down to species necessarily.

740

: 00:42:09

Yes, some species like the

baccatums can grow massive.

741

: 00:42:12

You can get four or five

meter high baccatums.

742

: 00:42:14

There's a friend of mine in Finland.

743

: 00:42:17

He runs Fatalii Seeds.

744

: 00:42:18

So, he calls himself Jukka Fatalii.

745

: 00:42:21

And he grows these monster baccatum

plants that It's unbelievable.

746

: 00:42:27

Every year I see his growth

and it's amazing to me.

747

: 00:42:31

But those things can grow huge.

748

: 00:42:33

So, you can imagine you might want

to cross a baccatum with something

749

: 00:42:37

like my peri peri because again,

I want these massive plants.

750

: 00:42:40

Unfortunately, the plant size

is more the size of my peri peri

751

: 00:42:43

rather than the baccatum, that

lemon peri that I'm growing.

752

: 00:42:46

But yeah different species They do have

certain traits, but within the species,

753

: 00:42:51

there's so many different varieties

that they can make such a difference

754

: 00:42:54

in terms of the yield and size of

the plant, the health of the plant,

755

: 00:42:58

germination rates, things like that.

756

: 00:43:01

Carmen: So you've mentioned a couple of

different, of your favorite varieties,

757

: 00:43:03

but would you mind talking about

a few other recommended varieties?

758

: 00:43:09

Shaun ChilliChump: Another favorite is

something I recommend to people that maybe

759

: 00:43:13

aren't too interested in the hotter stuff.

760

: 00:43:16

One of the most tasty ones

out there are the peppadew.

761

: 00:43:20

Now, This is something that many people

have had access to, so in the shops,

762

: 00:43:26

I don't know if you can get them over

where you are, but it's very popular

763

: 00:43:30

here in the shops, peppadew, pickled

peppadew, they're like little round

764

: 00:43:34

pods, and it's like a sweet pickle.

765

: 00:43:37

So I have a recipe on my website

which, on my YouTube channel actually,

766

: 00:43:41

to show you exactly how to make the

exact stuff that I'm talking about.

767

: 00:43:45

It's a sweet pickle and it is delicious.

768

: 00:43:47

But these chilies are just perfect for it.

769

: 00:43:50

They grow abundantly and they

grow into massive plants.

770

: 00:43:54

If you are wanting to start out with

growing chilies, number one peri peri

771

: 00:43:57

is obviously great because if you like

peri peri chicken and nando's and things

772

: 00:44:00

like that, then you can make some awesome

stuff with that and it makes great sauces

773

: 00:44:04

as well, but the peppadew or otherwise

known as the Malawi piquante, those are

774

: 00:44:11

amazing because they're just so sweet.

775

: 00:44:13

They have a bit of spice so enough

to you know, let you know that it's

776

: 00:44:17

there, but when you pickle them

in this way, it's just delicious.

777

: 00:44:21

And also you can stuff them with

cheese and things like that.

778

: 00:44:24

Then there's obviously the

classics like the jalapeno.

779

: 00:44:27

Every year I grow many,

many jalapeno plants.

780

: 00:44:29

You can imagine, I mean, I have access to

so many different varieties of chilies,

781

: 00:44:34

but I still grow some of the classics like

that because it's a classic for a reason.

782

: 00:44:38

It tastes great.

783

: 00:44:39

It's versatile.

784

: 00:44:40

It's good in a sauce.

785

: 00:44:41

It's Good on the barbecue, wrapped

in bacon, stuffed with cheese.

786

: 00:44:46

I mean, there's so many different

ways you can have it and it

787

: 00:44:48

does make fantastic sauce.

788

: 00:44:50

So a lot of people don't

know like jalapeno, they

789

: 00:44:52

think it's just green, right?

790

: 00:44:54

That's how it grows and then you end

up with a green pod It's not ripe

791

: 00:45:00

Jalapenos go red and that's safe.

792

: 00:45:02

Yeah, I get that question quite a lot.

793

: 00:45:04

It's like hey, my jalapeno is

changing color I think there's

794

: 00:45:06

something wrong with it.

795

: 00:45:07

I'm like, no, it's just ripening.

796

: 00:45:09

So sriracha is made with

jalapeno, ripe jalapenos.

797

: 00:45:13

They're also made with serranos.

798

: 00:45:14

So it's another classic as well but

those are some great varieties to grow.

799

: 00:45:18

They're fairly easy.

800

: 00:45:19

They germinate quite quickly and You

won't have too many problems with them.

801

: 00:45:24

Their season is fairly short.

802

: 00:45:25

So even if you are living in a place like

I am and you don't have a greenhouse, you

803

: 00:45:29

want to grow on a windowsill or something

like that, then those are good options.

804

: 00:45:33

But a lot of beginners they'll end up

rushing over to the superhots, like

805

: 00:45:37

they're the scary sounding ones, I

understand why I love growing them but

806

: 00:45:42

the problem is they need a long season

and they get very disappointed and very

807

: 00:45:45

disheartened when they start them in April

because sometimes on the seed labels it

808

: 00:45:50

says hey, you can start these in April.

809

: 00:45:51

That's great but by October,

November, you still haven't

810

: 00:45:55

got any pods or any ripe pods.

811

: 00:45:58

It's gonna make you feel

very despondent about things.

812

: 00:46:00

So those ones can be

a bit more challenging

813

: 00:46:03

Carmen: So you touched on a couple things

that I'd be curious to elaborate upon.

814

: 00:46:07

One is the preparation.

815

: 00:46:10

So what are some recipes

that you would recommend?

816

: 00:46:15

Shaun ChilliChump: So I'm a big

supporter of fermentation of chilies.

817

: 00:46:20

So a lot of people don't really know

that most of your most favorite sauces

818

: 00:46:24

out there are actually fermented.

819

: 00:46:27

They might not say fermented

because fermenting it's kind of

820

: 00:46:29

a scary word for some people.

821

: 00:46:31

It makes you think something

is rotten or whatever.

822

: 00:46:34

So a lot of these brands will say it's

aged chilies, which just means fermented.

823

: 00:46:39

It's a natural process that uses

a naturally occurring bacteria

824

: 00:46:43

that's on the chilies themselves to

actually process them into something

825

: 00:46:48

that is a little bit more acidic.

826

: 00:46:50

So lactobacillus is the

bacteria that's on the chilies.

827

: 00:46:53

It's the same bacteria that's on cabbage.

828

: 00:46:56

So if you're making sauerkraut,

it's the same stuff that

829

: 00:46:58

you use to make sauerkraut.

830

: 00:47:00

It changes the flavor of a chili so much,

and the sauces I make with my fermented

831

: 00:47:05

chilies, I far prefer to anything else,

because it mellows out the green taste.

832

: 00:47:12

There's kind of a green taste to

chilies, that's the way I describe a

833

: 00:47:15

green taste, and you'll know when you

try it, but it's a bit more of a harsh

834

: 00:47:19

taste, like eating leaves a little bit.

835

: 00:47:21

I'm not selling this.

836

: 00:47:22

But when you're fermenting it,

it mellows out the flavors.

837

: 00:47:25

The flavors all come together.

838

: 00:47:26

It sort of evens out the peaks of some

of the harsher flavors that are there.

839

: 00:47:32

The heat level is still there, but a

lot of people think that fermenting,

840

: 00:47:35

it actually reduces the heat level.

841

: 00:47:36

It doesn't, really.

842

: 00:47:37

It might seem like it, just because

the rest of the flavors all come

843

: 00:47:40

together and, like, supplement the heat.

844

: 00:47:43

But if you're fermenting a super

hot chili and you try that, believe

845

: 00:47:47

me, you're still going to have

a lot of heat coming through.

846

: 00:47:49

So, fermenting is one way that

I love to prepare my chilies.

847

: 00:47:52

What's great with that as well is

you get an abundance of fruit late in

848

: 00:47:56

the season, and you can't necessarily

use them all at the same time.

849

: 00:47:59

So by fermenting them, it allows you

to make sauce throughout the year.

850

: 00:48:04

So I have buckets and buckets

of fermenting chilies right

851

: 00:48:07

now for my sauce business.

852

: 00:48:09

They're all ready to go, and when I

need to make new bottles of sauce, I

853

: 00:48:12

can then process it from these batches.

854

: 00:48:15

Yes, you can freeze them, but that's

a bit of a different ballgame.

855

: 00:48:19

Carmen: Do you salt them?

856

: 00:48:20

Are they in a brine or

what's your process?

857

: 00:48:22

Shaun ChilliChump: Yeah, so there's

two, two different ways that I do it,

858

: 00:48:24

kind of three ways, but two main ways.

859

: 00:48:26

There's a brine fermentation.

860

: 00:48:28

So that's where you're adding salt

to water typically at about a 2.

861

: 00:48:31

5 to 3 percent ratio.

862

: 00:48:33

So 2.

863

: 00:48:34

5 percent by weight the salt to the

water and then you're rough chopping

864

: 00:48:39

up your chilies covering them over

with this brine and then sealing it up.

865

: 00:48:43

I use airlocks similar to if

you do homebrewing then you'd

866

: 00:48:46

use these little airlocks.

867

: 00:48:47

I like to use it that way.

868

: 00:48:49

I see some people saying you can use like

a mesh cloth over the top and not seal

869

: 00:48:56

it, but I'm not a fan of that because it's

not as foolproof as the way that I do it.

870

: 00:49:01

So that's one way of doing it.

871

: 00:49:02

The other way is a mash fermentation

where you don't add water.

872

: 00:49:06

This works better for juicier chilies.

873

: 00:49:09

So you basically blend

up the chilies with a 2.

874

: 00:49:12

5 to 3 percent weight

of salt to the chilies.

875

: 00:49:16

So you'll weigh out all your ingredients

that you're going to ferment and then

876

: 00:49:20

you measure out the salt as 2.5 or 3

percent depending on how you want to go.

877

: 00:49:24

But 2.

878

: 00:49:25

5 I would say is the minimum.

879

: 00:49:27

And then you measure out that salt,

mix it in, blend it up, and again seal

880

: 00:49:30

it and let it go at least 3 weeks.

881

: 00:49:33

Let it ferment at temperatures of around

68 Fahrenheit or 20 degrees Celsius.

882

: 00:49:39

And by the end of that you'll

have a nice fermented, Chili

883

: 00:49:42

mash or chili fermentation.

884

: 00:49:44

Then you process it into your sauce.

885

: 00:49:46

You can do so many different things

and this is again where you probably

886

: 00:49:50

want to go to my youtube channel,

I have probably about 40 or 50

887

: 00:49:53

different recipes up on my channel.

888

: 00:49:55

On my website I've got a bunch

more and I've got a recipe book

889

: 00:49:58

as well that's got a few in there.

890

: 00:50:00

But there's different ingredients

you can add you can keep it simple.

891

: 00:50:03

Have you had Cholula before?

892

: 00:50:05

Cholula hot sauce?

893

: 00:50:06

So that's a fermented hot sauce that

they use fermented chilies in there.

894

: 00:50:09

I believe it's fermented

cayenne if I remember correctly

895

: 00:50:12

and they keep it very simple.

896

: 00:50:14

They add in some vinegar, there's

some salt and there's chilies.

897

: 00:50:16

That's it.

898

: 00:50:17

Tabasco same thing.

899

: 00:50:19

Tabasco is fermented chilies.

900

: 00:50:21

Tabasco use a lot more vinegar but they

ferment their chilies for about three

901

: 00:50:25

years four years, so you can go that long.

902

: 00:50:28

The longest I've done is three years,

but three weeks is the very minimum

903

: 00:50:33

I would normally recommend a month, a

month and a half, two months, and then

904

: 00:50:37

you can use it but you can keep it

for a lot longer than that, obviously.

905

: 00:50:41

But Tabasco, they do about, it's about

70 percent of the ingredient is vinegar.

906

: 00:50:45

So they add vinegar after which is

why it is so watery and vinegary.

907

: 00:50:49

But most of your big brands,

Sriracha is fermented Who else?

908

: 00:50:52

Franks.

909

: 00:50:53

Franks is definitely fermented.

910

: 00:50:54

Franks uses cayenne as well.

911

: 00:50:56

Franks is straightforward.

912

: 00:50:58

It's probably the type of vinegar they use

is what changes the flavor a little bit.

913

: 00:51:02

But other than that, there's

no other ingredients in there.

914

: 00:51:05

But if you do want to start playing

with ingredients, some of the

915

: 00:51:07

ones I like to use, especially

when you're doing hotter chilies.

916

: 00:51:10

So, ones that can be a

bit more overbearing.

917

: 00:51:13

You want to get that balance right.

918

: 00:51:14

You need to use stronger

other ingredients.

919

: 00:51:17

So, garlic is obviously a good one.

920

: 00:51:19

Garlic works great.

921

: 00:51:22

So you can add that in there,

blend it in with your sauce.

922

: 00:51:24

One that I like to use

as well is Cardamom.

923

: 00:51:28

If you have got an extremely hot chili,

something like the Carolina Reaper or

924

: 00:51:32

7 Pot Primo, something like that, and

you're making a sauce from it, If you

925

: 00:51:36

go and add something subtle, you're

not going to taste it, because the

926

: 00:51:40

heat is just going to overwhelm you.

927

: 00:51:41

So you need something

that's going to be strong.

928

: 00:51:43

So green cardamom, I like to use

that, roasted green cardamom.

929

: 00:51:47

Blend that up into your sauce, and that

really brings out some amazing flavors.

930

: 00:51:51

And there's some other great ones.

931

: 00:51:52

Cumin is great.

932

: 00:51:53

You know, a lot of the Indian spices,

they work really well with this.

933

: 00:51:57

Ginger, always a good one, but that's,

again, it's quite subtle in my mind.

934

: 00:52:01

If there's something missing, and

I'm battling to get past the heat of

935

: 00:52:05

something, and I need to get some flavor

in there, then cardamom is normally one

936

: 00:52:10

of the things I'll start playing with.

937

: 00:52:12

But yeah, there's so many

different ways to prepare it.

938

: 00:52:15

That's just the sauce side of things.

939

: 00:52:16

Then you've got the other side, pickling.

940

: 00:52:19

Pickled chilies are amazing , but

doing it is so so easy again, I have

941

: 00:52:24

some very simple recipes on my channel

which will help you with pickling.

942

: 00:52:28

There's the sweet pickling that I

do with the peppadews, the Malawi

943

: 00:52:31

piquant, and those are great.

944

: 00:52:33

You can do it with many different chilies.

945

: 00:52:34

Malawi piquant is one of them

that are particularly nice.

946

: 00:52:37

Pickled jalapenos are always good.

947

: 00:52:39

Sliced pickled jalapenos.

948

: 00:52:40

I put those into salads

and, well, into most meals.

949

: 00:52:44

Chili con carne, I'd go and

stick it in there as well.

950

: 00:52:47

So pickling is fantastic.

951

: 00:52:49

Yeah, the other way is every

year we have lots of barbecues.

952

: 00:52:53

I'm South African, so barbecues

or braaing, what we call a

953

: 00:52:58

barbecue, that's like our life.

954

: 00:53:00

But every time spring, summer comes

along I am doing my stuffed jalapenos.

955

: 00:53:05

So what we call jalapeno poppers.

956

: 00:53:08

Basically you slice it in half, take

out the seeds and stuff it full of

957

: 00:53:12

Philadelphia cream cheese, and then

wrap it in bacon, and then barbecue

958

: 00:53:16

it and it's awesome, tastes so good.

959

: 00:53:19

So yeah, there's so many different ways

so many different ways to prepare them.

960

: 00:53:22

And then the obvious way which is just

chop them up into whatever you're making.

961

: 00:53:26

Making a bolognese?

962

: 00:53:27

Throw in some chilies make it taste

nice and spicy or chili con carne.

963

: 00:53:32

It's always good

964

: 00:53:33

Carmen: Well, a quick little interjection

there if you're chomping them.

965

: 00:53:37

So do you have any remedies for the burn?

966

: 00:53:40

Shaun ChilliChump: Yeah gloves no,

So again, I'm processing chilies,

967

: 00:53:45

especially when it gets to around August,

September, October, I am processing

968

: 00:53:50

chilies daily and I use latex gloves,

but I'm still burning because some of

969

: 00:53:57

the hotter stuff that I use, even when

it aerates and if I'm sweating and

970

: 00:54:02

it happens to stick to my skin, I'll

feel that burn for the next few hours.

971

: 00:54:06

There's no way around it really.

972

: 00:54:08

So you just kind of get used to it.

973

: 00:54:09

Enjoy the tingle.

974

: 00:54:11

But yeah, I mean, there's obviously some

remedies if you are eating some hot stuff.

975

: 00:54:16

If you're going to eat a hot chili and

you want to try and cool that down.

976

: 00:54:20

Milk, fine, but there's

better things than milk.

977

: 00:54:23

Milk you'll end up just drinking

way too much and make yourself sick.

978

: 00:54:27

A bit of ice cream will solve

it if it's a really hot one.

979

: 00:54:31

Anything that's kind of greasy, try

and eat that before, because it's not

980

: 00:54:34

the burn initially that's the problem,

because that normally goes away after

981

: 00:54:38

about 10 minutes, the burn in your mouth.

982

: 00:54:41

The problem is when it gets into your

stomach, and it's not I'm not going to get

983

: 00:54:46

too graphic here, but it's not about what

comes out of the other end, it's actually

984

: 00:54:49

the process of your body digesting it.

985

: 00:54:51

It can give you such serious cramps.

986

: 00:54:54

That's my biggest problem because

I eat these super hot chilies to

987

: 00:54:57

figure out the flavors and how

I'm going to use them in sauces.

988

: 00:55:01

My biggest problem is not

the heat in the mouth.

989

: 00:55:04

I can get through that.

990

: 00:55:05

It's the next two, three hours while

it's going in your digestion system.

991

: 00:55:10

Your body is detecting that capsaicin,

the hot stuff that's in the chili,

992

: 00:55:14

and you get such severe cramps.

993

: 00:55:17

So anything you can do to avoid

that, that's hugely beneficial.

994

: 00:55:21

That's normally where I'll drink something

like a milkshake before or something

995

: 00:55:25

like that, just so it lays your stomach.

996

: 00:55:27

But in terms of your

hands, yeah, wear gloves.

997

: 00:55:29

That's the only real way.

998

: 00:55:31

There's no other way to do it.

999

: 00:55:32

And if you do happen to get it on

your hands, be careful of where

: 1000

00:55:35,131 --> 00:55:36,321

else you're going to put your hands.

: 1001

00:55:39,361 --> 00:55:42,271

Carmen: So the capsaicin

is fat soluble, right?

: 1002

00:55:42,691 --> 00:55:44,131

So that's why no water.

: 1003

00:55:44,131 --> 00:55:47,801

Shaun ChilliChump: Water is going to

do the same as milk really, it cools

: 1004

00:55:47,871 --> 00:55:51,203

your mouth down while it's in your

mouth, but then it's going to feel even

: 1005

00:55:51,213 --> 00:55:53,453

hotter once you've swallowed the water.

: 1006

00:55:54,293 --> 00:55:55,743

So that's why milk kind of helps.

: 1007

00:55:55,743 --> 00:55:59,723

It will kind of break it down a little

bit, but it doesn't matter when you're

: 1008

00:55:59,743 --> 00:56:01,843

going to some of the more extreme chilies.

: 1009

00:56:02,338 --> 00:56:03,898

It doesn't matter what

you put in your mouth.

: 1010

00:56:03,908 --> 00:56:04,798

It's gonna hurt.

: 1011

00:56:06,208 --> 00:56:09,938

But yeah, if you're doing things like

the Peri Peris, then just eat something.

: 1012

00:56:09,938 --> 00:56:10,798

Eat some cheese.

: 1013

00:56:10,848 --> 00:56:11,778

That's a good one.

: 1014

00:56:11,828 --> 00:56:14,705

Some cream cheese or some cottage cheese.

: 1015

00:56:15,695 --> 00:56:18,565

Anything like that to just cool

your mouth down for a while.

: 1016

00:56:19,255 --> 00:56:19,945

Yogurt's good.

: 1017

00:56:20,015 --> 00:56:20,285

Yeah.

: 1018

00:56:20,486 --> 00:56:24,591

Carmen: So you mentioned that some

of them require a longer season.

: 1019

00:56:24,611 --> 00:56:27,611

I have heard of people

overwintering their plants.

: 1020

00:56:27,941 --> 00:56:29,971

Is that something that can help?

: 1021

00:56:30,791 --> 00:56:31,321

Shaun ChilliChump: Absolutely.

: 1022

00:56:31,401 --> 00:56:35,091

You get a nice early start, but it

can also present its own challenges.

: 1023

00:56:35,091 --> 00:56:37,161

So I've done some experiments

with overwintering.

: 1024

00:56:37,231 --> 00:56:43,191

I think certain species, certain varieties

are more adept to being overwintered.

: 1025

00:56:43,921 --> 00:56:47,321

I tried overwintering my jalapeno

plants because I wanted some nice

: 1026

00:56:47,391 --> 00:56:49,301

early jalapeno poppers on the barbecue.

: 1027

00:56:50,101 --> 00:56:54,461

And I did, I got some early

fruit, but they had no heat.

: 1028

00:56:54,781 --> 00:56:58,591

So even though it's the same plant the

second year of growing and the third

: 1029

00:56:58,591 --> 00:57:03,355

year of growing, I found that it

changed the heat level of these chilies.

: 1030

00:57:03,475 --> 00:57:04,885

So that didn't really work out too well.

: 1031

00:57:05,375 --> 00:57:09,365

With some of the super hots, Capsicum

chinense varieties, they seem to

: 1032

00:57:09,385 --> 00:57:13,495

do quite well especially because

of the fact that they take such

: 1033

00:57:13,495 --> 00:57:15,372

a long time anyway to set fruit.

: 1034

00:57:15,722 --> 00:57:18,972

So if you are someone that has started

at one of the super hots or something

: 1035

00:57:18,972 --> 00:57:22,502

like a habanero for example, and

you started that in April, May you

: 1036

00:57:22,502 --> 00:57:23,862

might not have fruit that first year.

: 1037

00:57:23,912 --> 00:57:26,042

That's not a problem

you can overwinter it.

: 1038

00:57:26,352 --> 00:57:29,425

So trim it right back, get

rid of a lot of the leaves.

: 1039

00:57:29,435 --> 00:57:30,835

So there's only a few leaves on there.

: 1040

00:57:31,465 --> 00:57:35,820

Clean out the soil and clean off

the roots, put in some fresh soil,

: 1041

00:57:35,870 --> 00:57:37,720

and keep it indoors, somewhere warm.

: 1042

00:57:38,080 --> 00:57:40,530

You don't necessarily need any

light or anything like that,

: 1043

00:57:40,560 --> 00:57:41,720

because you want it to go dormant.

: 1044

00:57:42,140 --> 00:57:45,180

And then just lightly water it,

maybe once every two weeks or so.

: 1045

00:57:45,460 --> 00:57:50,050

And when it comes to the next April,

and you're ready to take it outside,

: 1046

00:57:50,050 --> 00:57:51,260

you're going to get an early head start.

: 1047

00:57:51,270 --> 00:57:53,160

So that's what overwintering really is.

: 1048

00:57:53,710 --> 00:57:57,320

But it is important not to overwater,

because that's what a lot of people do.

: 1049

00:57:57,320 --> 00:57:59,500

They think, well, it's growing,

I need to give it water, right?

: 1050

00:57:59,500 --> 00:58:00,210

It looks dry.

: 1051

00:58:01,420 --> 00:58:04,110

But yeah, all that's going to

do is just sit in there with wet

: 1052

00:58:04,110 --> 00:58:06,730

roots because it's not actively

going to be sucking up that water.

: 1053

00:58:07,580 --> 00:58:10,890

So yeah overwintering does

work with some varieties but I

: 1054

00:58:11,020 --> 00:58:12,830

don't do it myself too much.

: 1055

00:58:13,130 --> 00:58:16,510

Number one, I really enjoy growing

from seed I love that whole process

: 1056

00:58:16,510 --> 00:58:20,380

starting off from seed and seeing

them grow and you know If you time

: 1057

00:58:20,380 --> 00:58:21,850

it all right, then you're fine.

: 1058

00:58:21,850 --> 00:58:24,185

I get good harvest, so it's all good.

: 1059

00:58:24,575 --> 00:58:28,215

And the second reason is, some

varieties, I just don't get the quality

: 1060

00:58:28,305 --> 00:58:32,765

of the chilies that I'm expecting

or wanting when we get to, you

: 1061

00:58:32,765 --> 00:58:34,105

know, the second year, third year.

: 1062

00:58:34,795 --> 00:58:36,985

And also some varieties, they

don't do very well in terms

: 1063

00:58:36,985 --> 00:58:39,865

of overwintering too many times.

: 1064

00:58:40,165 --> 00:58:43,605

So the first three years

typically is when the plant is

: 1065

00:58:43,605 --> 00:58:45,185

going to be producing the best.

: 1066

00:58:45,845 --> 00:58:48,285

After that it's not

going to produce as much.

: 1067

00:58:49,205 --> 00:58:52,695

I found that to be pretty much

most varieties are like that.

: 1068

00:58:52,949 --> 00:58:55,309

Carmen: Just one last

thing is seed saving.

: 1069

00:58:55,319 --> 00:58:57,189

So you mentioned you

like growing from seed.

: 1070

00:58:57,879 --> 00:59:03,499

If somebody wants to save their own

seeds, they're only growing one variety.

: 1071

00:59:04,909 --> 00:59:06,419

They are self fertile.

: 1072

00:59:06,419 --> 00:59:08,319

I guess that would mean you

wouldn't have to bag them.

: 1073

00:59:09,184 --> 00:59:11,694

I guess if they have two

varieties, they might need to bag.

: 1074

00:59:11,694 --> 00:59:13,954

Like, what would you suggest

to be good seed saving

: 1075

00:59:13,954 --> 00:59:16,074

practices, if it's not a hybrid?

: 1076

00:59:16,739 --> 00:59:18,459

Shaun ChilliChump: So if it's not a

hybrid, if it's an heirloom, or if

: 1077

00:59:18,459 --> 00:59:22,539

it's something that is considered

stable, some of the less exotic type

: 1078

00:59:22,539 --> 00:59:25,719

of chilies, you know, like a jalapeno

or cayenne, if you're growing something

: 1079

00:59:25,719 --> 00:59:28,479

like that, or scotch bonnet, and you

happen to know that it's good seed

: 1080

00:59:28,499 --> 00:59:33,462

stock, good seed source that you've

started with, then take a chance.

: 1081

00:59:33,462 --> 00:59:34,362

It's not going to be a problem.

: 1082

00:59:34,372 --> 00:59:37,710

Save the seeds from your healthiest

pods and grow them on the next year.

: 1083

00:59:37,780 --> 00:59:42,220

If you want to be very, specific about

what's going to come through and be

: 1084

00:59:42,220 --> 00:59:46,660

very certain of making sure that it's

exactly the right variety, it's the

: 1085

00:59:46,660 --> 00:59:49,330

same as what I've grown this year,

then you're going to need to isolate.

: 1086

00:59:49,910 --> 00:59:54,000

So A flower, chili flower

can pollinate itself.

: 1087

00:59:54,000 --> 00:59:57,110

So it's not just the plant

pollinating itself it's the actual

: 1088

00:59:57,110 --> 00:59:58,590

flower can pollinate itself.

: 1089

00:59:58,590 --> 01:00:01,770

So the pollen that's produced by

that individual flower can then

: 1090

01:00:01,820 --> 01:00:05,320

pollinate itself, which is why

we use things like favor bags.

: 1091

01:00:05,330 --> 01:00:07,860

There's something called

organza favor bags.

: 1092

01:00:07,860 --> 01:00:11,010

They're like little mesh bags that

you can buy quite cheap on ebay.

: 1093

01:00:11,760 --> 01:00:17,430

Cover over the flower before it opens up

and that'll stop bees and other insects

: 1094

01:00:17,430 --> 01:00:21,660

coming along and pollinating it with

potentially pollen from another plant.

: 1095

01:00:22,070 --> 01:00:24,550

Which then means you could have

some sort of hybrid growing.

: 1096

01:00:25,230 --> 01:00:27,690

So that's only if you

want to be very specific.

: 1097

01:00:27,750 --> 01:00:31,010

Like I want to make sure that I get

this exact scotch bonnet next year.

: 1098

01:00:31,010 --> 01:00:33,470

I want it to be that color, I

want it to be that flavor, I want

: 1099

01:00:33,470 --> 01:00:34,940

it to be the same type of plant.

: 1100

01:00:35,370 --> 01:00:36,630

You're gonna need to isolate.

: 1101

01:00:36,920 --> 01:00:40,000

Otherwise you're just taking

a little bit of a risk.

: 1102

01:00:40,540 --> 01:00:43,850

Most of the time you'll be perfectly

fine especially if it is something

: 1103

01:00:43,850 --> 01:00:48,340

that is a fairly stable variety

because the genes are gonna dominate

: 1104

01:00:48,380 --> 01:00:50,070

and it's going to take over.

: 1105

01:00:50,100 --> 01:00:53,770

So if something else has tried

to pollinate with it then it

: 1106

01:00:53,770 --> 01:00:54,690

doesn't really matter too much.

: 1107

01:00:54,690 --> 01:00:57,820

You might get something a little

bit different, but by F2 it's

: 1108

01:00:57,820 --> 01:00:59,640

gonna be back to what it was before

: 1109

01:01:00,115 --> 01:01:01,795

Carmen: And is there

anything for seed storage?

: 1110

01:01:02,208 --> 01:01:04,918

Shaun ChilliChump: You've got to dry

it first properly, and yeah, it's

: 1111

01:01:04,918 --> 01:01:06,478

the same as with most seed storage.

: 1112

01:01:06,478 --> 01:01:10,378

Just make sure you're drying it properly,

not drying it at too high a heat.

: 1113

01:01:10,808 --> 01:01:14,778

So obviously for my seed store

I dry things very slowly.

: 1114

01:01:15,188 --> 01:01:21,193

I simulate drying in the sun, so

I won't exceed 30 degrees Celsius.

: 1115

01:01:21,843 --> 01:01:25,153

And I will then do that for quite a while.

: 1116

01:01:25,193 --> 01:01:28,793

And I'll make sure that my humidity levels

are set to a specific humidity level.

: 1117

01:01:29,493 --> 01:01:31,333

At that point, you can

then seal it in a bag.

: 1118

01:01:31,943 --> 01:01:35,443

Now, if you don't dry it properly and you

seal it in a bag, you're going to end up

: 1119

01:01:35,443 --> 01:01:39,553

getting fungus or some sort of growth on

there and it's going to kill your seed.

: 1120

01:01:39,923 --> 01:01:40,713

So that's not good.

: 1121

01:01:40,973 --> 01:01:43,693

The other thing is, as well,

anything that I want to keep beyond

: 1122

01:01:43,693 --> 01:01:45,273

a year, I'll store it in the fridge.

: 1123

01:01:45,773 --> 01:01:49,753

You can't do that if the seeds

haven't dried sufficiently.

: 1124

01:01:50,473 --> 01:01:54,728

Because you can also store them in

a freezer and again, if you do that,

: 1125

01:01:54,798 --> 01:01:58,028

and they aren't dried sufficiently,

you're just going to break the seed.

: 1126

01:01:58,438 --> 01:02:02,988

So, you could store it as you would

any other seed, just in the dark, in

: 1127

01:02:02,988 --> 01:02:06,958

a space that's going to be fairly

dry, and you'll be perfectly fine,

: 1128

01:02:06,958 --> 01:02:09,948

but just make sure that you prepared

them right in the first place.

: 1129

01:02:10,358 --> 01:02:10,628

Right?

: 1130

01:02:11,023 --> 01:02:14,083

Carmen: So just quickly, would you

mind running through some of the

: 1131

01:02:14,123 --> 01:02:20,078

connections where people can find your

YouTube channel, your all your stuff.

: 1132

01:02:21,098 --> 01:02:22,438

What's the name of your book?

: 1133

01:02:22,488 --> 01:02:23,128

That kind of thing.

: 1134

01:02:23,908 --> 01:02:27,138

Shaun ChilliChump: So I have a little

bit of a tagline at the end of my videos

: 1135

01:02:27,148 --> 01:02:31,648

which I say "stay spicy" and that's

what I named my first recipe book.

: 1136

01:02:31,648 --> 01:02:36,068

So Stay Spicy the recipe book, but that

you can only buy really on my website.

: 1137

01:02:37,055 --> 01:02:37,235

ChilliChump.

: 1138

01:02:37,265 --> 01:02:37,535

com.

: 1139

01:02:37,535 --> 01:02:40,795

So C H I L L I C H U M P dot com.

: 1140

01:02:41,385 --> 01:02:43,975

I also have my seed store,

which is ChilliChumpSeeds.

: 1141

01:02:43,995 --> 01:02:46,985

com, but you can get that

link from my main website.

: 1142

01:02:46,985 --> 01:02:49,185

So most of my links will be on

my main website, if you don't

: 1143

01:02:49,185 --> 01:02:50,255

want to remember all of these.

: 1144

01:02:50,795 --> 01:02:54,355

And YouTube, of course, just search

ChilliChump and you'll see , a big bearded

: 1145

01:02:54,355 --> 01:02:56,555

man showing off his lovely chilli plants.

: 1146

01:02:57,155 --> 01:02:57,785

But that's on YouTube.

: 1147

01:02:57,785 --> 01:02:58,575

YouTube.

: 1148

01:02:58,575 --> 01:03:01,285

com forward slash ChilliChump

and you'll find me there.

: 1149

01:03:01,715 --> 01:03:06,378

But I release videos most weeks,

slow down a little bit at the moment

: 1150

01:03:06,388 --> 01:03:10,976

because obviously running multiple

businesses and coding seedsio, that's

: 1151

01:03:11,026 --> 01:03:12,536

taking a lot of time these days.

: 1152

01:03:13,316 --> 01:03:15,906

But you'll see at least

a few videos every month.

: 1153

01:03:16,256 --> 01:03:20,346

And then, also, hope to see you on the

next one, actually, my live stream.

: 1154

01:03:20,346 --> 01:03:23,946

I do a live stream on the first

Sunday of every month at 5 p.

: 1155

01:03:23,946 --> 01:03:24,126

m.

: 1156

01:03:24,126 --> 01:03:24,376

GMT.

: 1157

01:03:25,266 --> 01:03:26,156

And that's good fun.

: 1158

01:03:26,206 --> 01:03:29,056

People get to ask questions, and if they

have any problems with their plants,

: 1159

01:03:29,056 --> 01:03:32,906

or if they've got some problems making

their hot sauces, then they normally ask

: 1160

01:03:32,906 --> 01:03:36,206

me questions there, and it's a good bit

of time I get to spend with my viewers.

: 1161

01:03:36,880 --> 01:03:40,700

Carmen: Yeah, it seems that

chilis do have quite a community.

: 1162

01:03:41,216 --> 01:03:42,006

Shaun ChilliChump: Yeah, it is.

: 1163

01:03:42,066 --> 01:03:43,946

It's because there's

so many aspects to it.

: 1164

01:03:44,296 --> 01:03:45,736

It is a massive community.

: 1165

01:03:45,736 --> 01:03:48,436

When I first started out, it was

about, I mean, I've been growing

: 1166

01:03:48,436 --> 01:03:50,526

chili since I was very, very young.

: 1167

01:03:50,996 --> 01:03:53,351

But, Not on purpose, right?

: 1168

01:03:53,361 --> 01:03:56,851

Back in South Africa, we had a few peri

peri plants, but it was just in the

: 1169

01:03:56,851 --> 01:04:02,121

garden growing wild and didn't have to

do too much to make them do their thing.

: 1170

01:04:02,321 --> 01:04:05,751

But when I came over to the UK,

obviously you have to do it on purpose

: 1171

01:04:06,311 --> 01:04:07,641

if you're going to grow some chilies.

: 1172

01:04:07,681 --> 01:04:11,091

And I think it was about: 2006

when I started doing this.

: 1173

01:04:11,551 --> 01:04:15,451

And even back then the community was

massive and it's very passionate.

: 1174

01:04:16,113 --> 01:04:20,193

It used to be quite male

dominated, and these days less

: 1175

01:04:20,193 --> 01:04:21,803

so, which is awesome to see.

: 1176

01:04:22,143 --> 01:04:24,503

We have the Chili Queen,

the UK Chili Queen.

: 1177

01:04:24,563 --> 01:04:25,323

She's amazing.

: 1178

01:04:25,353 --> 01:04:29,803

She can eat some hot stuff that

I'll never ever replicate ever.

: 1179

01:04:30,823 --> 01:04:33,013

But yeah, there's some awesome

people in the community.

: 1180

01:04:33,013 --> 01:04:34,913

And there's so many different

areas of it, like I said, the

: 1181

01:04:34,913 --> 01:04:36,533

sauce side, the growing side.

: 1182

01:04:36,943 --> 01:04:41,263

We've got sub sections of it, like these

guys that are growing the wild chilies.

: 1183

01:04:41,333 --> 01:04:42,123

It's good fun.

: 1184

01:04:42,123 --> 01:04:46,083

And, I'd say 99 percent of the community

are just friendly wanting to help.

: 1185

01:04:46,878 --> 01:04:48,258

Sharing the love of chilies.

: 1186

01:04:48,708 --> 01:04:51,698

As always, you're going to get a

small percentage of people that have

: 1187

01:04:51,708 --> 01:04:54,428

something to prove, but I think you're

going to get that in any community.

: 1188

01:04:55,228 --> 01:04:58,368

I think the tomato community

is probably even bigger.

: 1189

01:05:00,093 --> 01:05:03,213

I was quite amazed by that because

obviously I've never really been into

: 1190

01:05:03,233 --> 01:05:06,393

that side of things but I do grow some

tomatoes because I use them in some of

: 1191

01:05:06,413 --> 01:05:10,753

my sauces and when you start jumping onto

some of the forums and you look online

: 1192

01:05:10,753 --> 01:05:14,253

at some of the YouTube channels, it's

like wow I think this community might

: 1193

01:05:14,253 --> 01:05:15,693

be even bigger than the chili community!

: 1194

01:05:16,523 --> 01:05:18,533

It's they've got, tons varieties.

: 1195

01:05:18,623 --> 01:05:20,283

It's a bit different,

a little bit different.

: 1196

01:05:20,383 --> 01:05:24,323

Yeah, less people trying to

kill themselves with heat

: 1197

01:05:26,796 --> 01:05:28,366

Carmen: Well, thank you

very much for joining me.

: 1198

01:05:28,366 --> 01:05:30,356

It was really great speaking to you.

: 1199

01:05:30,566 --> 01:05:31,486

Shaun ChilliChump: No, it's my pleasure.

: 1200

01:05:31,486 --> 01:05:32,386

I hope I didn't talk too much.

: 1201

01:05:32,386 --> 01:05:35,476

I do go on a, on a bit of a tangent

when I talk about chilis, because

: 1202

01:05:35,476 --> 01:05:36,696

there's just so much going on.

: 1203

01:05:36,696 --> 01:05:39,476

And honestly, I'm so passionate about it.

: 1204

01:05:39,476 --> 01:05:42,340

I love, I love everything

to do with chilis.

: 1205

01:05:42,674 --> 01:05:45,183

Yeah, it's an exciting hobby and

it's awesome to see other people

: 1206

01:05:45,183 --> 01:05:47,673

getting involved in it as well,

especially younger people.

: 1207

01:05:47,793 --> 01:05:51,193

So if any of you that are listening

are wanting to get involved with chilis

: 1208

01:05:51,193 --> 01:05:55,303

and you want some help you can send

me some messages on my youtube or

: 1209

01:05:55,303 --> 01:05:57,256

on my website and i'm happy to help

: 1210

01:05:57,798 --> 01:05:58,798

Carmen: Thanks for listening.

: 1211

01:05:59,258 --> 01:06:01,618

As always, the links

are in the show notes.

: 1212

01:06:02,148 --> 01:06:05,768

If you're enjoying the podcast,

please leave a five star review or

: 1213

01:06:05,768 --> 01:06:07,728

share it with a fellow plant lover.

: 1214

01:06:07,738 --> 01:06:11,218

I deeply appreciate your support

and love hearing from you.

: 1215

01:06:11,598 --> 01:06:12,398

Happy gardening.

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