Tiny But Mighty

I've always wanted to grow my own chilies and finally since moving into my new house a year ago, I'm able to do it. It seems that chili plant can be really fussy. Or easy. I figured its mood swings are pretty much dependent on the type of soil, weather and pest-free environment. And of course, with a huge dose of luck on your side, your chili plant will surely grow and thrive.

I have two bird's eye chili plants currently growing in my messy backyard. Few months ago I scattered some seeds on a small corner patch in my backyard and two sprouts survived and grew. I was pleasantly surprised! Despite the fact that my backyard is somewhat of a 'wild country' with all sorts of pesky and gigantic ants, snails, bugs, caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles etc - basically the whole 'insectdom' - I'm lucky that my chili plants are still doing rather well so far. They aren't tall, just a mere 2 feet perhaps. I'm not complaining though, as they've produce so many luscious red little chilies for me. These chilies are quite hot and I love seeing them turning colors. When they're bright red, they're most pretty and cute (as long as you don't bite into one)!

Chili plants are able to grown on clay soil, need adequate watering like twice a day during dry season. To be honest, I hardly water my chili plants. I just let them be and thankfully, they've been surviving rather fine. I do scatter a tablespoon of organic fertiliser (chicken pooh) once every few weeks.

Interesting facts:
What makes chili hot? The answer is capsaicin - an alkaloid substance which is present in chili seeds and membrane.
How did chili became global? Was used in Mexico as early as 7,000 BC. It reached the rest of the world when Christopher Columbus discovered America (this was what I got from the Internet, but seriously, I think it has already been used in parts of Asia much earlier than that).

Given how much I love my chilies, think I'll sow some more seeds real soon :).