Things move quickly and surprisingly...

...It's the morning of the 23rd and we have a RED Habanero; not an orange one, as we had thought. What a difference a day makes.



The pepper just to the left is turning also. If you look dead center top, you can just see a spot of reddish orange.

Going Orange...

Here's the latest shot, Monday morning, the 22nd;

Aphids again; the ants are herding them for...

...a kind of excreted "milk". Sprayed again this morning and got everything covered. Aphids can destroy a capsicum within a few days. So far so good.

Orange! This morning...

...It's Friday morning and orange is on the way. The oldest pepper is turning orange at the very top where it attaches to the stem. A lovelier sight I've never seen.

Aphid attack, treat immediately...

...Sprayed first thing this morning (Thursday) especially under the leaves. Aphids will severely stunt the plant and ruin the fruit very quickly. I caught this very quickly, so no harm done.
Had the first real rain in more than 3 months yesterday.

It may be another six weeks...

...before there will be anymore fruit. Daytime temperatures are running 35c with a one or two day break; which isn't long enough. The plant is doing fine; growing, flowering and dropping flowers within 36 hours.

Tuesday; early afternoon and the temperature for the last two days...

...has moderated somewhat, to 34c. No new fruit and the flowers are still dropping.
I moved the plant to a cooler spot that doesn't get so much sun; maybe 3 hours a day direct and the rest filtered.

Saturday evening, six o'clock and 34c...

...Hottest March in 6 years; 37c today. As long as it's watered well, the plant seems to be okay but I don't think there'll be any new fruit for awhile. The five set fruits are fine and looking good.

Flower Drop despite shade cloth...

The days have been 35/36c for over a week now, and this is of course, the temperature in the shade.
Three o'clock is the high point of the day and it's back down to about 32 by around six o'clock.
I'm in a maintenance mode for now. I'm not expecting any new fruit until the end of April when the rainy season starts and the temperatures moderate.

Look at these Bad Boys...

Today March 2, '10. Bad Boys and shade cloth to cool them a bit. It might help stop flower drop;