#VegetableGrowing
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tuftymctavish.com
🌶️ As we arrive in November my plants out in the garden have limited time left before ❄️

I’ll be doing a final pass of the Chilli plants v.soon.

If any 🇬🇧-based mutuals on the socials would like a 🌶️ Chilli Sample Pack 📦 then hit me up 🙋‍♂️

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
A selection of Chilli varieties arranged in a grid around a central image inside the Greenhouse from a couple of months ago. The assorted Chillies are varieties that I’ve grown this year, most of which have some left.
November 2, 2026 at 12:19 PM
tuftymctavish.com
🌶️ Let the seasonal teardown of the Chilli crops commence.

Today I started hacking away at a corner of the Chilli House. This revealed a few Buena Mulata, many Fatali Yellow and a selection of Hot Chocolate pods.

Plenty more to find.

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #GardenSky #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
A hand holding a stack of plastic punnets over an empty space that has just been cleared in a glass house. The upper punnet is full of freshly harvested ripe-looking Chilli pods, with a whole bunch behind it that still need clearing and harvesting. Mostly visible are Fatali Yellow, but there are a bunch of Hot Chocolate pods still on the plant on the right-hand side.
November 2, 2026 at 5:14 PM
tuftymctavish.com
🫑 Had a little rummage around the Sweet Pepper plants looking for ripe fruits to harvest.

I’ve since chopped up most of them as I was recently able to recover a block of space in the chest freezer for another tub full.

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #GardenSky #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
A hand holding a square plastic tub full of ripe red bell peppers of various sizes over a bed full of the plants that supplied them. The results of a Sweet Pepper harvest spread across several plastic tubs and punnets, arrayed over an outdoor picnic bench. There are various sizes, mostly red, with a tub of yellow ones in the top-right corner. The end output is a large, clear plastic tub placed upon its lid on a white kitchen worktop, filled with large chunks of chopped up Sweet Peppers. These often have thick flesh, while the sizes of the chunks varies at random.
October 31, 2026 at 1:24 PM
tuftymctavish.com
📬 In a 💬👇 @chillichirps.bsky.social mentioned a Caz Hildebrand book on 🌶️ which I went and found from @thamesandhudson.bsky.social

Very happy to add 🌶️ books to my shelves ☺️

👨‍🏫 #NonFictionBooks 💡📚💙 #BookSky 🦋 #OctoberBookHaul 📦
👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌶️🌱
A hardback edition of “An Anarchy of Chillies” by Caz Hildebrand placed on a table. A peek inside the covers of “An Anarchy of Chillies” and I happened across the Ancho Poblano entry, which I have been growing this year. An enormous volume of large brown Ancho Poblano pods growing on a tall plant.
October 21, 2026 at 11:02 AM
tuftymctavish.com
🌶️ Received a morning report from one of my ‘customers’ (friends!) that the Jalapeño I sent were *extra hot* this year!

“I made 'Cowgirl candy' using them and OH MY...... 🥵😂”

Apparently skin burning after processing batch without gloves 😅

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
October 19, 2026 at 9:20 AM
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🌶️ Starting to call time on the Pepper plants as the season rolls onwards towards Winter.

Today I chopped up some Marconi Red 🫑, CC Chonky Cayenne 🌶️, Rocoto Manzano 🌶️ and these lovely red/green CC Jalapeño which are extra spicy this year.

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌶️🌱
A square plastic tub full of an assortment of red and green Jalapeño peppers (v.CC Jalapeño), placed on a red pot in amongst some other plants in similar pots. This plant has been chopped down and all that remains is a few inches of the main stalk, which has been trimmed. A bamboo cane is stuffed into the edge of the pot, which was used for support.
October 19, 2026 at 4:58 PM
tuftymctavish.com
📦 Sending out another care package tomorrow, so it’s time to do a pepper harvest and see what I’ve got that’s ready.

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
October 18, 2026 at 2:56 PM
tuftymctavish.com
🌶️ I was watching a chatty episode on CakeTube just now that mentioned lots of folks got into baking as a hobby during that 😷 🦠 year.

I realised I probably got into Chilli growing as my lockdown hobby, and it has led me to where I am now 🤓

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
A hand holding up a plastic punnet filled with ripe red Chilli against a plant with more unripe green pods on it am9ngst the foliage.
October 18, 2026 at 10:25 PM
tuftymctavish.com
🪫 Thinking I have some batteries that need replacing out in the garden glass houses…

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
A portion of a temperature graph from an outdoor garden temperature sensor, showing quite a few drop-outs to its lowest value at various points through the night.
October 17, 2026 at 9:02 AM
tuftymctavish.com
🥶 Found a smidge of soft ice on the wet roof of the outdoor glass houses as I was opening up the garden this morning. It was a cold one last night.

Temperature in the GH dropped to about 1.8ºC. The 🌶️ and 🫑 won’t be happy 🫤

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
🇬🇧 #UKWeather 🌦
Temperature report from the past day or so out in the Greenhouse, showing a max of 37.9ºC an average of 12.3ºC and a minimum of 1.8ºC early this morning.
October 17, 2026 at 9:02 AM
tuftymctavish.com
🌶️ Oh, hello, look at these gorgeous “Testarossa Orange” pods on one of my plants 😍

Many pods growing away, all of varying ripeness. Hopefully there’s still time for these, though I don’t know how to tell when they’re ready as a new variety.

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌶️🌱
A pair of golden red Chilli pods hanging from a dark branch of a “Testarossa Orange” Chilli plant.
October 16, 2026 at 11:05 AM
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🔋And we’re so back! Two battery units left until I need more.

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
The to of a desk littered with bits ‘n’ bobs as I replace the coin batteries in a pair of remote temperature sensors. There are a couple of depleted CR2477 in the lower-left corner, replacement packs with fresh batteries top-left, a precision screwdriver set (to assist me in battery removal) in the upper-right corner, and a flat head screwdriver on the right (for turning the battery cover). The temperature sensor being worked on is in the middle. Its battery cover has been removed, the battery compartment exposed and awaiting a replacement battery. A cord of garden wire is warned around a securing slot at the top and spills around the desk.
October 17, 2026 at 9:32 AM
tuftymctavish.com
🌶️ Still got a decent quick haul to refresh the depleted container in the kitchen fridge that I cook from.

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌶️🌱
A clear plastic square tub on an outdoor picnic bench in the lunchtime sun, filled with a variety of freshly picked Chilli pods of all sorts of varieties, shapes and sizes. There are a few rights yello “Fatali Yellow” pods in here too, two of which ar plainly visible in the top-left corner.
October 14, 2026 at 11:20 AM
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📬 Got some fresh seeds in the mail today.

Mainly I needed the ‘green manure’ to cover the beds as I tear everything down at the end of the season ↗️ so I took the opportunity to replenish some empty packets and fill some gaps ahead of 2027.

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
A whole bunch of seed packets from Kings Seeds and Suffolk Herbs, including some Tomato/Corn/Lettuce, Sweet Peppers of various sizes, Green Manures, a few herbs like Parsley and Oregano, Radishes/Turnips/Spring Onions.
October 14, 2026 at 1:33 PM
tuftymctavish.com
🌶️ Identifying ripe red Chilli pods from growing green ones is a common problem for colourblind folks like myself.

Sometimes I have to see a contrast side-by-side. Often I get it wrong.

Mentioned to a friend who corrected my image for me! 😂

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌶️🌱
A hand holding up a couple of “Brazilian Pumpkin” Chilli pods against some still on the plant. I picked two *thinking* they were ripe red, but as I struggle to differentiate red/green/brown apart (amongst other similar shades) I got it wrong, and it wasn’t obvious to me until I looked at the photograph. I mentioned this to a friend and he annotated this image for me, highlighting three “green boys” and two “red boys”, one of which in the distant background I hadn’t even noticed. A hand holding up a pair of “CC Jalapeño” peppers against a bunch on the plant. Some are red, most green. So I love it when I get a proper contrast of colours, such as these pods on a “Buena Mulata” plant which are purple when growing, ripening to a bright lipstick red colour, which is completely and utterly obviously different to my eyes. Here, a hand is holding a single ripe red pod up in amongst a bunch of purple ones hanging from the plant.
October 14, 2026 at 11:20 AM
tuftymctavish.com
🥬 I’m planning on making my own Kimchi and have been eyeing up the phattest Chinese Cabbage in my patch for a while now.

Decided to hack it out, see what I’ve got.

These are the best examples I’ve managed to grow so I’m pretty pleased today ☺️

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
A large leaved Chinese Cabbage growing in a patch amongst some Spring Onions and Pak-Choi. There are lots of spreading outer leaves giving it a wide sphere of dominance, and there’s a chunky head right in the middle. A few holes are dotted around but mostly it’s looking clean and pest free. A hand holding a freshly picked and tidied up Chinese Cabbage over an outdoor picnic bench. It’s a tight head with white ribs and light green leaves wrapped around the core.
October 10, 2026 at 8:02 AM
tuftymctavish.com
🫙 Washed, brined, sliced, grated, whizzed and mixed up a load of ingredients fresh from the McTavish Manor Gardens.

I have a 🌶️ paste, mixed in all of the garden veggies, and then filled a jar that is now fermenting at room temp. for 24-48h.

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
A mix of Kimchi Peppers, Onion, Garlic and Ginger, whizzed up in a blender to form a rich red Chilli paste. This is poured out into a rice flour ‘porridge’ that I cooked and cooled separately. This is all mixed up in a white bowl. Off to the side is a clear glass bowl full of sliced and grated garden veggies, with carrots most visible at the top. After the veggies are mixed into the spice paste porridge we have a white bowl full of mixture, sat atop a dark chopping board, with a bunch of brined and washed Chinese Cabbage off to the side. The Chinese Cabbage has been liberally smothered in the Chilli paste and garden veggies mixed, then crammed into a sanitised square glass Kilner jar with a clip top, sat on a dark chopping board on a white kitchen worktop.
October 10, 2026 at 11:50 AM
tuftymctavish.com
🍅 Officially called time on the 2026 Tomato Season today, after the garden teardown reached the last of the Toms.

I took off everything that has coloured enough to hopefully ripen in the bowl, and cut up all the plants.

All over until we go again 2027

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
A yellow bowl and a square plastic tub placed side-by-side on a white kitchen worktop. Each is filled and brimming over with a multitude of green Tomatoes that I hope to finish ripening off the plant. A few are quite coloured already, but many have some way to go yet.
October 8, 2026 at 4:33 PM
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🌧️ Woohoo! Waking up to some persistent rain tinkling down. Hoping it lasts a while today 🤞

Have opened up the garden, uncovering beds that desperately need refreshing.

🇬🇧 #UKWeather 🌡️ #WeatherStation 🌦
👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
A rainfall report from a garden WeatherStation showing 4.4mm of rain so far this morning starting from 5am.
October 7, 2026 at 7:45 AM
tuftymctavish.com
🌶️ Last of my primary 🌶️ Chilli Care Package 📦 deployments packed & launched 🪂 towards its recipient this lunchtime, after making another pass through plantlings 😅

Now I wait on rest of harvest to ripen.

📮 Postage went 🆙 yesterday 🥺

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌶️🌱
A cardboard box placed on an outdoor picnic bench, filled with lot of small freezer bags containing an individual Chilli variety, named and dated either yesterday or today.
October 6, 2026 at 1:02 PM
tuftymctavish.com
🐛 “Hey there, little guy, whatcha doin’ on there?! You can’t have my Chilli.”

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌶️🌱
A hand holding a ripe red Chilli pod v.CC Piri Piri up against a background of green leaves with unripe green pods in amongst the foliage. On the stem of the pod sits a Caterpillar with a yellow stripe down its length.
October 6, 2026 at 11:02 AM
tuftymctavish.com
🌶️ A handful of pods that I’ve bagged and packaged up this evening 😰

Still got lots left to harvest and I wasn’t able to fit everything shown here into the boxes - the Poblanos at the top in particular were way too large.

Another harvest, more 📦 to go

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌶️🌱
A large collection of plastic tubs and glass bowls arranged in a rough grid on an outdoor picnic bench. Most tubs have a single variety of Chilli but a couple double up when the distinction between varieties is very obvious. There are a few Sweet Peppers and Ancho Poblano too, which I was hoping to squeeze into the boxes, but there was simply no room.
October 5, 2026 at 6:37 PM
tuftymctavish.com
🌶️ Harvesting pods for my 🌶️ Chilli Care Packages 📦 that I send to friends. There are a few 🤭

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌶️🌱
A “Fatali Yellow” Chilli plant absolutely festooned with bright yellow pods that need picking. A hand holding up a clear plastic tub full of brightly coloured “Fatali Yellow” pods against the plant which is now mostly picked on this side. There are lots of green pods remaining and a whole bunch more ripe pods on the other side, which won’t fit in the tub. A hand holding a clear plastic tub full of lipstick red Chilli pods of variety “Fruity Volcano” up against the plant that has just been picked from. There are many still green pods remaining for a future harvest.
October 5, 2026 at 11:39 AM
tuftymctavish.com
🌧️ Looking at the weather forecast praying that there is some rain soon.

Every single one of the water butts are empty now - I was even leaning them over to get a last dribble out.

It’s October, not July 😬 though my water problems start April/May now.

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
October 4, 2026 at 6:21 PM
tuftymctavish.com
🎃 Okay, turns out that I forgot a plant when I was accounting for all my Squash this season 🤦‍♂️

Oddly enough this v.Harlequin was a spare that I bunged in an empty spot. Got a few heart-shaped fruit from it ☺️

This really is it for 2026 though, all done.

👨‍🌾 #Gardening #VegetableGrowing #GrowYourOwn 🌱
Three heart-shaped Squash, two placed in the background on an outdoor picnic bench with the third being held in the foreground by a hand.
October 4, 2026 at 6:18 PM