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Here is my August update of my Channingswood Prison grow of 2000 chilli plants using the Autopot Watering System.The plants are using a staggering amount of water/nutrients now. I’m using a specially formulated two part feed from Growth Technology that has been made to suit the water supply in the prison. We have to make sure that all seven of the 1000L Flexitanks are constantly topped up, to give you an idea of the usage come Friday lunchtime all of them are full to the brim & when I return to the prison on Monday morning all 7 are near enough empty,so that’s 7000L (7 ton) gone over the weekend!

It is rewarding working with the offenders & seeing them enjoying and learning from this unique “Chilli” project,although it has been frustrating & challenging working in this environment with regards to Health & Safety/Security issues. One thing that has amused me is that “Chillies” are the new currency on the wings!

Other things that have been done this month are the Polytunnel doors have had the polythene sheeting removed and replaced with a fine mesh to allow more airflow.Also a couple of the offenders have started making permanent concrete plinths to support the Flexitanks instead of pallets as security deemed these to be a risk.

All 2000 plants are now fully supported by canes/string and this has mostly been done by one offender that has past experience of working on a tomato farm in Greece for over 7 years, his skills have been a huge help on our team. The plants are looking awesome now but where has summer gone? We really do need an Indian summer to help ripen the pods now.

These will be available through my website.