Joy Michaud

A vegetable seed company – run by gardeners for gardeners – selling #seed of only the very best varieties. Specialists in #chillies and breeders of #DorsetNaga.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

We have been selling seeds to the Eden Project for years for a capsicum display in the Mediterranean Dome. So we took a trip to Cornwall to see it.
Our chillies look great, and the labelling gives us full credit for varieties we bred. #chillies #edenproject

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

We found this cabbage white caterpillar on the netting surrounding our kale.

It had succumbed to an attack of parasitic wasps, which themselves became enclosed in yellow cocoons after doing their job.

Too bad there are not more of these wasps around.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

We produce seed of over a 100 Capsicum varieties, all grown behind screens to stop any cross pollination. But elsewhere, where we are not producing seed, we encourage these lovely friends as much as we can. #seeds #chillies #capsicum

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

@MatronsVeggies I completely agree. ONLY want posts on gardening and growing; totally uninterested in anything else in my twitter feed.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

Every year since 2021, we've donated chilli seed to the Iwerne Horticultural Society; this year it was 'Pixie Lights'. Interested members raise a plant then enter it into the Iwerene Horticultural Show. This summer there were 13 entries, producing an impressive set of plants.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

Anyone desperate to satisfy their heat fix will be pleased to know we have now started selling fresh fruit of Dorset Naga. To buy go to https://t.co/H8aZ7J0dZN
#chillies
#DorsetNaga
#seeds

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

@Labs_Habs Looking good! Well done.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

Extracting seeds from our Bangladeshi cucumbers, "Keera".
#cucumbers

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

Speedo carrots growing in one of the bathtubs we keep by the back door of our house. Despite the weather, they have performed extremely well from a 19 April sowing.

Today we harvested an excellent yield of large-sized roots from just a 60cm row.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

Tomorrow we're off to the Great Dorset Chilli Festival. At 12 noon Joy will be giving a talk on Top Ten Tips for Growing Chillies, while later in the day Michael will be judging the chilli growing competition sponsored by Sea Springs Seeds and Simpson Seeds.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

We are growing long-fruited snake gourd for seed production in one of our polytunels. They are heat lovers that originate in the tropics, and are popular in Asian cooking. They are eaten at about this size, but will get much longer when grown to maturity.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

Tiny Tim tomato.

Probably the smallest tomato plant there is. They taste ok, but plants only produce up to 50 small fruit.

But they are cute!
#tomatoes
#seaspringseeds
#tinytim

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

Look what single seed must have escaped when we sowed our kohlrabi for the Chelsea Flower Show back in February.

Only just noticed it now!

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

This year we trialled seven different varieties of chillies to see which were the earliest to ripen. So the earliest were Hot Juan and Hot Juanita; after that Dawn and Dusk (all varieties we sell). Basket of Fire and Quickfire (which we don't sell) followed.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

Our greenhouses with pepper seed crops behind screens in today's early morning sun.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

Tequila is an amazing sweet pepper. The fruit have a pretty standard blocky (bell) shape, but the plants are SO productive, and the fruit start a beautiful purple, then ripen to stripy purple/yellow/orange, before finally turning red.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

I picked my first blackberry of the year today. Last year, I also had my first blackberry of the year in June. I remember when blackberries didn't start until the end of July.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

We are growing a trial to find the earlist dwarf chilli. Seeds were sown on 3 March, and some fruit of Hot Juan have already ripened from yellow to a bright red. That is a little more than 4 months from sowing the seed to a red fruit. A remarkable achievement.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

55 fruit of padron chillies picked from three plants! (last picked 3 days ago)! To get the fruit at the perfect stage for the Spanish "mangetout" tapas, the chillies need to be picked at about 4cm, any larger then you risk getting one that has started to get some heat.

[Joy Michaud @SeaSpringSeeds]

@muddymuddymum I know, I am really enjoying our salsify seedheads. So beautiful.