After removing all my cut down chillies Mrs blackbird appeared. I assumed she was looking for bug & worms in the pile of rubbish left behind. How wrong was I !
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If you’re not sure what you’re looking at , because photos are a bit cr@p. The female blackbird is eating chillies!
Thai dragon to be precise!
I heard birds don’t have some gland thingy so the heat doesn’t affect them, but I’ve never witnessed it before.
Didn't know that so had a google and there's lots of stuff about birds eating chillies - even spreading the seeds of wild chillies so maybe you'll have some Thai Dragons growing wild.
Only if the spread the seeds in one of the other tunnels
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They'll be Chilis popping up all over Mull
I bought suet pellets previously for the birds and it had been impregnated with chilli to stop the squirrels eating the bird seed. I mixed it with other foods I have for the birds and they demolished it. So I think it’s right the birds don’t have the taste glands to taste the chilli.
SC a question for you please, what do you do with your old chilli plants ?, I stripped the final fruit off mine about 11/2 weeks ago, I then pulled up the plants and broke them down and put in the compost bin. I was surprised how woody the branches were when I broke them down. The root balls on some of 5nem were still quiet strong so I was wondering if perhaps I should have wrapped them up in fleece and left them in the raised bed, would they grow back next year ?
(05-01-2021, 07:22 PM)Can the Man Wrote: [ -> ]SC a question for you please, what do you do with your old chilli plants ?, I stripped the final fruit off mine about 11/2 weeks ago, I then pulled up the plants and broke them down and put in the compost bin. I was surprised how woody the branches were when I broke them down. The root balls on some of 5nem were still quiet strong so I was wondering if perhaps I should have wrapped them up in fleece and left them in the raised bed, would they grow back next year ?
I cut the plant down to just above ground level then they go through the shredder and into the compost bin. I knock as much compost off the root balls as I can, then they go in the compost as well.
Very unlikely they would survive just wrapping in fleece. In the tunnel. Only going to happen if you have a very mild winter. I very half heartedly try over wintering in the tunnel sometimes, I’ve only been successful once. They really need to be in the house with a constant temp of 10 degrees minimum.
(05-01-2021, 08:06 PM)Small chilli Wrote: [ -> ] (05-01-2021, 07:22 PM)Can the Man Wrote: [ -> ]SC a question for you please, what do you do with your old chilli plants ?, I stripped the final fruit off mine about 11/2 weeks ago, I then pulled up the plants and broke them down and put in the compost bin. I was surprised how woody the branches were when I broke them down. The root balls on some of 5nem were still quiet strong so I was wondering if perhaps I should have wrapped them up in fleece and left them in the raised bed, would they grow back next year ?
I cut the plant down to just above ground level then they go through the shredder and into the compost bin. I knock as much compost off the root balls as I can, then they go in the compost as well.
Very unlikely they would survive just wrapping in fleece. In the tunnel. Only going to happen if you have a very mild winter. I very half heartedly try over wintering in the tunnel sometimes, I’ve only been successful once. They really need to be in the house with a constant temp of 10 degrees minimum.
Thanks SC, that confirms it for me, not going to waste my time trying to overwinter in the future. New plants every year then.
I wonder if the blackbird will suffer in the morning like we do after a hot curry
? Jet propelled blackbirds