Chillies - growing and overwintering 2024

[Andraste]

Our Cayenne and Eureka have been ripening well and we've picked a few fruits from both. I've not been as obsessive with 'diddling' the flowers with my paintbrush this year and have noticed a dramatic reduction in yield compared with last year's Eureka. They're still putting out lots of flowers so I'm trying to be more vigilant

[Mark Rand]

I will admit that I use a finger tip. Easy on things like jalapeños and sweet peppers with big flowers, but not so efficient with things like Scotch Bonnet and others with tiny flowers and not much pollen. I keep thinking that I need to give each variety its own paintbrush (so I've got some chance of collected seeds growing true)

[ameno]

I use a fingertip, too.
I've always been worried with brushes that too much of the pollen would stick to the sides of the bristles, and thus not transfer to the stigma. I feel a flat surface like a fingertip must surely be more efficient. No idea if this is actually true or not, though.

[Containergardener]

I use fingertips too. Id lose a brush

[Jungle Jane]

I use a cotton bud as the bee,very easy to see the yellow to pass on. Each plant could have its own cotton bud,leave them in the pot

[Andraste]

My sausage man-fingers aren't dexterous enough to finger pollenate - I'd knock all the flower off I'd never thought of using a cotton bud - great tip!

If anyone's interested I use a size 2 brush (for painting with acrylics/watercolours) with a rounded tip They're pretty cheap if bought in a pack (you don't need the fancy painting-quality brushes).

The Cayenne and Eureka each have their own brush (jabbed into the pot for safekeeping & to remember which one diddles which plant) and they live at opposite ends of the windowsill to avoid cross-pollination (in theory).

[Andraste]

Our chilli plants are looking quite sorry for themselves I awoke yesterday to noticeably dramatic drooping leaves. On closer inspection they were absolutely plastered in greenfly - how they managed that on the windowsill I'll never know. I gave them a very liberal spray with a washing-up liquid/water mix and they seem to have recovered a bit today.

[Containergardener]

Mine arnt doing much tbh.

[bramble]

Mine are very slow this year.
I pollinate them with a feather,

[Mark Rand]

Mine are slow, but coming in. I've had one or two each from 5 chilli and one pepper plants so far.. With a fair number of fruit on the plants at the moment.

[Mark Rand]

When I went to Aldi yesterday, I noticed that they had a selection of potted chilli plants. Unfortunately, quite a number of them had lost their labels, but according to Aldi's web site they have :- Jalapeno, Chenzo, Habanero, Hot Wax, Reggae or Scotch Bonnet.

The vast majority of them were just coming into flower which, at the end of August is rather late unless you're in Australia or New Zealand. Don't know if it would be worth overwintering any of them for next year?

[Containergardener]

Worth a try I'd say

[ameno]

End of August is indeed rather late if you want ripe chillies, especially of varieties in species other than C. annuum.
But there's still plenty of time for green ones. The jalapeno seems especially suited, as you pick those green, anyway. Hot Wax is often picked underripe, too (although their unripe colour is yellow, rather than green, and will ripen to red if left).