Episode # 1 – TX 3rd May 20
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane and Blake Proud
Story Title: Harvesting Chilli’s

Trevor’s Garden is an ongoing harvest, and this harvest is all about heat!

• Just at this moment as autumn starts to turn to early winter there’s a lot to harvest… and lot to enjoy as the summer crops are coming to an end .
• Chilli’s are bountiful at this time of year, especially if you over plant them as Trevor has.
• You can grow Chilli’s all year round, but there are some varieties better than most and whilst none of them like winter much, Perth’s winters are generally mild enough to make it through. However you can cheat it a bit by growing some in a glasshouse.
• Chilli’s heat has been described on the Scoville scale – Wilbur Scoville was a pharmacist and he developed was is called an organoleptic test, which is a flash way of saying how the chilli impacted your senses.
• The higher the pungency or flavor score the more potent the chilli, it used to be done through a process with a panel of 5 guys measuring the pungency until they couldn’t stand it any more.
• All of the Chilli’s in Trevor’s garden  fall under the 80,000 mark, but there are chilli’s over a million Scoville points these days and they have the potential to paralyze you for a period of time shutting down all your senses… no thank you, that is way too hot.
• Birds eye Chilli’s are one of the smallest varieties and also one of the hottest,
• For the best results in growing Chilli’s …. always grow them in full sun, improve the soil at planting and apply a controlled release plant food, that's something that feeds over 4 to 6 months and then water twice a week with a deep drench. It’s that easy!!
• The oil in the Chilli can get on your skin, especially your hands and you want to avoid touching any delicate areas. You may ask, what’s the best way to extract the capsaicin from your skin? Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after handling them with dishwashing liquid and warm water to dissolve the oils.
• Handy hit?? Grow Chills in your garden to deter pests the natural way!!