Well, what a gorgeous Sunday! Ok, so I was a little hesitant about getting up before it was light on a Sunday. It was the only day in a long time that the kids weren’t awake before me. But we made it to the Tamborine Mountain State School Markets. I met loads of new people and sold loads of our wonderful chillies.
On display this month we had a plate of our smoked chillies. We could have sold them a dozen times over. We now have a cold smoker on the farm which is a much slower process than hot smoking, but it retains all the character of the chilli and imparts an amazing smoky aroma and taste. Many cold smoked chillies are the Mexican varieties which are dried and smoked and then used in some of the tastiest sauces, soups and other dishes to come out of Mexico.
Lanacoora Chillies are devoting hours to fine tuning the fine art of preserving these chillies for future sale. So bear with us as we get it right and eventually offer them to all of you who have expressed an interest.
Hopefully, by the time we visit Sawtell in New South Wales for the annual Sawtell Chilli festival, (7 July 2007), we shall have some anchos, mulatos, pasillas and chipotles for tasting and purchase. We will also be selling smoked ground chillies, to complement our current range of chilli flakes and chilli powder. And as usual, there will the opportunity to taste the fresh chillies, harvested in the few days prior to the festival, and make up your own mind.
We are also now offering gift packs for the chilli lover who has everything! The packs contain a selection of fresh chillies, powder or flakes, tasting notes and a little bit of something special! These packs are available in Australia, excluding Western Australia and Tasmania (sorry) for $25.00 plus p&h. I’ll be posting a photo shortly so keep looking.
Hi all, This Sunday – 29th April is once again the day for the Tamborine Mountain State School Monthly markets. There is a mixture of stalls to be perused, including Lanacoora Chillies. We will be there to introduce visitors to the world of the chilli, and provide fresh chillies of many varieties to those who know and love the experience. Heading to the mountain is a fabulous day out, and with the weather still so warm, it gets even better. The markets are open all morning, and the mountain offers a range of wonderful places for lunch.
Hope to see you there.
Saturday 7th July is the date for the Sawtell Chilli Festival. Sawtell is a small community about fifteen minutes south of Coffs Harbour in New South Wales. It promises to be a huge day of festivity, laughter and hot stuff. We will be there, and hope to see a heap of people on the great chilli adventure.
I’ve had a number of requests for seed here in Australia, and I would like to get the information about the purchase of chilli seeds out there.
Lanacoora Chillies doesn’t sell seed at this point, primarily as there are a number of others out there doing it. There a a number of reputable sellers on eBay, I won’t name them as I haven’t dealt with more than a couple of sellers. Check their feedback prior to purchase and they will reveal themselves.
As far as seeds for Naga Morich, Bhut Jolokia and Bih Jolokia, these seeds are not yet available in Australia. I hope that they will be available soon. In the meantime, you may consider contacting www.nagaseeds.org. Tony will send to Australia and supplies quality seed. The same applies to www.thechileman.org.
Importing seed for chillies is not as scary or difficult as it seems. The Australian Quarantine Information Service www.aqis.gov.au is very helpful and accommodating, as long as you follow their rules.
No permit is required to have seed sent to Australia providing that the seeds are clean and free from soil; that the packaging is clean; and that the packaging is labelled clearly stating the botanical name. For example: Capsicum Chinense, “Naga Morich”. If the seeds weigh more than 100 grams (thats a lot of seed), then a commercial permit is required. Not difficult at all.
The only difficulty with moving seed around Australia is the specific requirements of the Tasmanian and West Australian Quarantine services. Due to their isolation from the eastern seaboard, any seed or plant matter being sent to these states will be tested, and will add a cost of up to $100.00 AUD to the cost of the seed. This might be really frustrating and it is disappointing to have to inform people in these states of this situation. However these rules are in place to prevent disease affecting the natural flora. I may not think my seeds are diseased, but I would not know. At this point in time, I cannot afford the testing that is required, and I consider the protection of native plants to far exceed the risk.
It is unfortunate that some see fit to circumvent these rules both from overseas and within Australia. Every time someone takes a chance and has seeds siezed, it undermines the ability for those of us who do stick to the rules to continue doing what we do. Quarantine services are more than willing to discuss any issues, including seed seizures. So if in doubt, call them and have a chat.Â
That’s it – I shall get down from my soapbox. It gets cooler at night here, so I have rolled down the side curtains of the grow tunnel. It still gets really hot in there during the day however, and we still need to keep the water up to the plants. We have always been really careful with water here, as we rely on rain water in our tanks. We may not be bound by the Level five water restrictions being imposed on the rest of the region, but we try to make our water usage count. It is really fantastic when it rains, but watching the tanks overflow and water flowing away bemuses us. It does flow into our creek however and brings back the creek dwellers for a short time.