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  They are all in black pots, so they will be fine. Up on the Gold Coast, we get to about 4C minimum overnight at the very worst, so should be OK. I'm growing Cacao at home and it's survived the winter without an issue.

So for the last year and a bit, I've been trying different types of chilli grafts onto a plant called the Devils Fig (Solanum Torvum), and I'm finally starting to get somewhere.   The key seems to be patience... if you take the plastic wrap off even after 2-3 months, the thing just ends up...

Has anyone ever seen fused flowers on a chilli plant before? I've seen fused stems but never fused flowers until I found it in my garden today.

A few pics of the plant from last year. It's still alive, but got hit by mites pretty hard.

I have grafted a Yellow 7 Pot onto an Asian Birdseye rootstock.   I'm experimenting now with grafting onto other members of the Nightshade family to see how it goes.

I think the picture speaks for itself...  

I think I have an Asian Birdseye x Capsicum growing. It definitely has the Asian Birdseye growing habits, but it's thicker and the bottom of the pod has that capsicum style ridges. Seeds are at the top of the placenta only and not along the entire pod like a typical Birdseye. Wife took a bite...

Holy crap, I go away for a few days to Sydney and come back to an almighty plague of Plague Soldier Beetles.     And then I found them all over my pepper plants as well     Luckily all literature online points to them being completely beneficial with aphids being a favourite. Looks like my...

I can't believe how much growth in 18 days has happened.   6th of December   24th of Dec   As for the plant that showed its hook in late August:  

I know what you're thinking, whats sandpaper got to do with coconuts??   I found a company called Australian Coconuts that sourced 5 different coconuts for me and sent via post down to Melbourne.   I've been trying to sprout the coconuts for a while, and they've been in a plastic bag for at...

I guess the Barry Manilow love music I have playing in repeat in the garden is working...     Also, what the hell is this?     Suspect it might actually be a Ladybird going through the pupa stage, if so, that's pretty cool! I have seen a dozen or more ladybird larvae in my garden recently...

I found a ladybird larvae this morning. I did have a pretty bad outbreak of aphids a few weeks ago, but it seems a couple of neem sprays and what looks to be significant breeding of ladybirds is now keeping them at bay.     I also saw a green lacewing larvae the other week. Notice the dead...

Love when it hits December in Melbourne, things just pick up dramatically.  

Give me another month. Temperature in tents are now > 25C and the humidity is high, and I can see flowers forming in places I hadn't seen before. Once I hand pollinate a few and get some traction, I will post picture updates regularly.

Update - 5th October   So putting out straight after a hook emerges is not such a great idea... I tried with Bhut Jolokia seeds and some T Scorp seeds I had from pods grown a few years back, only 4 are alive now.      The above is a Bhut Jolokia that is going ok, but not many are like that.  ...

Took some pics this morning while the sun was out this morning.   First pic is the Dwarf Catui, second has an Arabica in front and a K7 at the back behind the Raspberries. There is also 2 Tea plants at the base there, they struggled in their soil mix in their pots, so only took them out a few...

I grow coffee, have 4 plants, 2 x Arabica, 1 x K7 and 1 x Dwarf Catui.   All 4 are outside, and are right against concrete walls. They've been left outside all winter, we get down to no more than say -2C at the very worst where I am, and while the leaves fade a little over winter they spring...

  Yep, 25km north of the CBD. Has been getting cold, but this experiment seems to be succeeding from what I can tell at the moment. I think the thick layer of mulch I have is also warming up the soil underneath, which may be contributing to heat rising underneath the jiffy pellet.   Who knows...

And here's the same seedling on Sep 3:     To me, this looks like its going to be a success. Currently have 12 plants in the bed in jars, all from the same method of putting in there as soon as the hook shows up in the jiffy pellet. Temperatures have been getting to 20C some days, so when I...

First hook showed up this afternoon, chucked straight into one of the glass jars.     Have my water based germination chamber inside with a water heater running at 30C, should start to bring the seeds up rather quickly now. Will keep an eye on the seedlings in the glass jar and detail progress...