2015 Competition - The Longest Chilli!

Measurement was along the full length of the chilli as
many were heavily curved. 
This particular chilli type is typically upright and bushy.

Back in the early part of the year, we announced that the theme of the 2015 competition would be the "Longest Chilli", and sold a number of small chilli seedlings to members for them to bring on through the year.  Participants were asked to bring in their chillis (whether individual fruits or the whole plant) to the AGM for judging.  When sold to the members (at a token price to cover a rather paltry prize), and in the spirit of true competition, no hints on growing or cultivation were given.

We do have to admit that the subject of "Longest Chilli" was a late decision, as the original intention was to be "Most Fruits On A Chilli Plant".  We duly planted about 50 seeds of Dorset Naga which is supposed to be the hottest variety bred in Britain, and began to raise them to a decent seedling height for distribution to the members.   Sadly, one of the cats wandered into the conservatory and saw a tray of fresh earth on the floor, prompting her to do what comes naturally to a cat, and bringing the annoyment of kitty dirt from the outdoors to the indoors as well.  The Dorset Nagas ended up strewn across the floor and we could not rescue enough for a competition.  Those that were left had a distinctive odour, although they were at least well fed and fertilised.

Therefore, frantic replanting of another variety that we had to hand meant that the theme had to be changed.  The Chilli chosen (or more accurately, still available) was Joe's Long Cheyenne.  This has the distinction of being one of the longest chillis available, and in commercial propagation will often grow over a foot long (30 cm, for our more modern readers).  This chilli is listed as being of "medium" heat, and is significantly less hot than Dorset Naga.

After highly scientific collation of results involving a piece of string and a child's ruler, we are pleased to confirm that the winner was Vicky Regan, who managed a chilli of 10.5 inches!  She won a rather small box of chocolates, which are estimated to have survived less than 10 minutes.

Most growers recommend that chillis are grown under glass for larger fruit, and to ensure that they ripen sufficiently in our climate, as they are used to longer, hotter summers than are typical here.  Joe's Long Cheyenne is also a tall bush variety on account of the length of the fruit, and does need staking and some room to develop.  We did however discover when talking to the participants in this "trial" that there was little to be determined from the results on whether the plants were best grown under glass or in the open (so long as they did get some decent sun and heat).  Some of the smaller plants were grown under glass, and some of the longer in the open.  The moral is therefore that, if you want to grow chillis (and they are quite easy), but don't have a greenhouse, don't get too hung up on their final position as you can get good results wherever they are placed, at least in our part of Surrey.

Thanks to all the competitors: although many of the initial entrants fell by the wayside - typically going on holiday and losing the original plant (!), which should teach them a salutory lesson for next year - the full results are below:

Name	Length (inches)
Vicky Regan	10.5”
Jilly Ball	10.25”
Ken Jobling	10.0”
Sandy Berry	9.5”
Jeremy Ball	9.25”
Richard Dove Mary Hutchinson	9.0” (tied)
Jane Firmin	8.5”
Julie Mitchell	7.5”