Chillies - Growing and Over wintering 2020

[SimpleSimon]

I would still feed now sure but I'd let the plant droop before you water again. As I said still loads of time. If by October they aren't budging just neglect the plant to the brink of death. They'll ripen before your eyes as the leaves fall off. You can even ripen them by pulling the plant and hanging upside down in your greenhouse. I did this with a few plants last year in November and it worked (least for the ones that didn't rot ).

[annie8]

Yes have been bit less generous with the water. Assuming I still feed though?

[SimpleSimon]

So the scotch bonnets are definitely getting bigger but still no sign of them changing colour. Not sure what else I can do to speed things along.

There is still plenty of time for them to ripen but you can really stress the plant by not watering it and they will start to ripen.

[SimpleSimon]

Mine are all starting to ripen as I went away for a week and didn't water them. It's amazing what a little bit of stress does to a chilli plant.

This is rather cute looking 7 pot

[annie8]

So the scotch bonnets are definitely getting bigger but still no sign of them changing colour. Not sure what else I can do to speed things along.

[annie8]

Am thinking I’ll bring some of my chill plants inside at some point when the weather gets colder. Will see how it goes for the next few weeks.

[stigs]

I am tempted to add lights to my greenhouse, it's September and still lots of plants with immature fruit

[annie8]

My chillis - apart from the cayenne - have been on a bit of a go slow. Lots of flowers and buds but nothing really happening. Weather here has been pretty grim recently not warm and little sun. Finally seen some movement in the last few days with lots of chillis forming on the scotch bonnets and choc and organe habaneros. Enjoying the cayenne we have had. They are the least hot of the ones I am growing and still pretty hot. Can’t wait to try the rest.

[ameno]

Slugs love chillies, I remove about 20 every night from my small greenhouse , I have to make 3 trips out after dark, they seem to give up about 3.00am, my plants would be decimated if I wasn't this vidulant.

Wind could also be a factor here.

I would hold off on the tomato feed until they are flowering, chillies like low P, I don't know what manure you are using but I find horse manure too strong for chillies, I'm told that "funny" plants don't like horse manure either.

I find slow release fish bone meal works well, when re-potting mature plants I may put it in the spice grinder and mix it with the new soil, I would never try this with young plants.


btw does anyone know if it's my spellcheck or does this site not like the word "chillies" in any form

Oh, they are all flowering and fruiting well. Have been for some time now.
It's just the ones in the pots of manure mix (it's horse manure) have larger and more numerous fruits, despite having been sown 6 weeks later (and being the same variety), and I was wondering why.

I doubt it's wind, as the allotment site is fairly sheltered, too. Obviously not as much as my patio is, but it's not like we've had any strong winds here this summer.

[stigs]

What sort of growing medium to peppers actually prefer?

I ask because the chillies I have growing in pots on my patio are actually doing better (larger plants, with darker green leaves, and larger fruit) than the ones I have growing through black plastic at my allotment (same variety), despite the fact that these plants were sown 6 weeks later and they only get sun for about two-thirds of the day (whereas the allotment gets sun for the full day).
The difference can't be temperature or light levels, as both are higher at the allotment (the place really bakes on a sunny day), and I've been watering the plants well, so I wouldn't have thought it would be water. The allotment ones have had some slug damage, which set a few of them back a bit, but I wouldn't think it would make this much difference.
Soil is the only thing I can think of. The allotment is a clay soil, whereas the potted ones are in a mix of 2 parts manure, 1 part garden soil, 1 part used compost, with added poultry manure and slow-release fertiliser. I'm feeding all of them every 7-10 days with tomato feed.

...Actually, now that I type all that out, might it just be fertiliser levels? Manure + poultry manure + slow-release fertliser + tomato feed must be quite potent. The sweet potato plant I have planted in the same mix is certainly exploding with growth. The allotment ones, on the other hand, just had poultry manure and tomato feed.

Slugs love chillies, I remove about 20 every night from my small greenhouse , I have to make 3 trips out after dark, they seem to give up about 3.00am, my plants would be decimated if I wasn't this vidulant.

Wind could also be a factor here.

I would hold off on the tomato feed until they are flowering, chillies like low P, I don't know what manure you are using but I find horse manure too strong for chillies, I'm told that "funny" plants don't like horse manure either.

I find slow release fish bone meal works well, when re-potting mature plants I may put it in the spice grinder and mix it with the new soil, I would never try this with young plants.


btw does anyone know if it's my spellcheck or does this site not like the word "chillies" in any form

[ameno]

What sort of growing medium to peppers actually prefer?

I ask because the chillies I have growing in pots on my patio are actually doing better (larger plants, with darker green leaves, and larger fruit) than the ones I have growing through black plastic at my allotment (same variety), despite the fact that these plants were sown 6 weeks later and they only get sun for about two-thirds of the day (whereas the allotment gets sun for the full day).
The difference can't be temperature or light levels, as both are higher at the allotment (the place really bakes on a sunny day), and I've been watering the plants well, so I wouldn't have thought it would be water. The allotment ones have had some slug damage, which set a few of them back a bit, but I wouldn't think it would make this much difference.
Soil is the only thing I can think of. The allotment is a clay soil, whereas the potted ones are in a mix of 2 parts manure, 1 part garden soil, 1 part used compost, with added poultry manure and slow-release fertiliser. I'm feeding all of them every 7-10 days with tomato feed.

...Actually, now that I type all that out, might it just be fertiliser levels? Manure + poultry manure + slow-release fertliser + tomato feed must be quite potent. The sweet potato plant I have planted in the same mix is certainly exploding with growth. The allotment ones, on the other hand, just had poultry manure and tomato feed.

[ameno]

Picked my first three ripe chillies today (Beaver Dam, grown outside at my allotment).
Well, they weren't quite fully ripe (80-90%), but they already had slug damage and the slugs were eyeing them up worryingly, so I thought I'd better pick them before the slugs ate them.

I tried them green a week or so ago and they had no heat whatsoever, but the red ones do have heat. They're fairly mild (which I prefer), although not the mildest I have ever had. They're just about mild enough that I can munch on them raw (seeds and pith removed) without it being unpleasant.

[stigs]

i always leave mine to change colour , i dont like green peppers or chillies

I was a sliced ime green chilli in a ham and cheese bap about 25 years ago that got me into chillies in the first place.

[Ms-T]

Sound nice , let me know what its like once it ripens.

[ameno]

what sort are they.?

Beaver Dam, which has large pointed fruit and is very mild (500-1000 Scovilles). I don't like much heat.
Although I had a nibble on one of the green fruits (I had to remove it because slug damage had caused rot to start to get it), and it had no heat whatsoever. I just tasted like a green pepper. I'm hoping a little heat will develop once it ripens, as I'm already growing 12 sweet pepper plants as well, so don't really need more.