Q about hot peppers that haven't turned red yet

habitat_gardener · October 11, 2009

1-- Do hot peppers need to turn red for the seeds to be mature? Or can I save seeds from any pepper that's a good size?

2 -- I plan to dry most of the hot peppers and use them as a condiment. I'm used to seeing red pepper flakes, and I'm wondering if it'd be worth drying the not-yet-red peppers. Is there any reason not to dry the green ones?

3 -- How long should I wait before harvesting whatever's left on the plants? Usually we don't get a freeze until the first week of December, but it took until this week to get the first red one. Nighttime temperatures are heading into the 40s. And a big rainstorm is coming on Monday.

mjc · October 11, 2009

1. Yes, they need to fully mature. Now that doesn't mean there won't be some viable seeds in peppers that aren't completely turned, but the number drops dramatically the 'greener' they are.

2. If you are planning on drying them, a couple of days in a paper bag with a red apple will hasten the color change and turn a lot more of them than just letting them sit.

3. You can cover them and extend the season even a little longer. In fact most peppers can handle cool temperatures. There's somewhat of an unwritten rule about the hotter the pepper the better it handles the cold...I've never paid that much attention to it, though. You can also dig and pot up the plants and bring them inside. Peppers are really frost sensitive perennials, so as long as they are kept from freezing they will survive. I've found that the harvest on second year and older plants (I'm in WV and have overwintered peppers often) is both earlier and quite a bit larger. In fact, this year, I dug my Habaneros about two weeks ago (didn't need to, as we didn't get a frost then) and most of the peppers have now turned...very few green ones left. The plants are starting to send out new shoots/leaves. My container grown plants that I brought in at the same time are still flowering and setting fruit (three pepper plants...a variegated purple leafed plant that now has quite a few peppers on it..but none close to maturity, a Fish pepper that has twenty some full sized and just turning color fruit and another hot with fruit waiting to turn). I've got several more that I've got under cover now that are doing quite well. I do need to dig them and pot them up, still.

habitat_gardener · October 11, 2009

Thanks! I have some of those purple-leaved peppers, too, and they're all in containers. I don't have anyplace indoors to keep them, but I can set the pots in lots of mulch, put them in a cold frame, and see how they do. I successfully overwintered lemongrass in a cloche last winter.

Do your overwintered peppers get supplemental light, or are they in a south-facing window?

mjc · October 11, 2009

On an enclosed heated porch, light on three sides, plus 'gro-lights' on cloudy days...

TZ-OH6 · October 11, 2009

My peppers survived the first light frost but the ones damaged most were the hottest [C chinense varieties]. The frost mostly singed the upper immature leaves, but after that the plants started to drop leaves. the peppers themselves were fine but the temps have been too cool for them to do much other than sit on the plants. The more mature fruits turn colors after I pick and bring them in.

There's a post over in the GW hot pepper forum where a guy pulls the plants, severely prunes the tops, repots them into small pots and grows them inside with just the light from a small window for the winter. That way they stay alive but do not grow much.

tjg911 · October 11, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by TZ-OH6

The more mature fruits turn colors after I pick and bring them in.

don't the peppers start to get soft after say 5-7 days on the counter? mine did (cayenne). how long would it take for green cayenne peppers to turn red in the house on the counter? i ate one green one today and it was amazingly hot, about/almost as hot as the red ones.

i have about 35-40 green cayennes i just picked today due to hard freeze coming tonight. i'll try the apple in the paper bag, how many days for that to turn the green cayennes red? i'd think the apple in the bad is not inside the fridge, correct?

tom

mjc · October 11, 2009

Yes, after about a week, the peppers are soft...but if they are being dried, they are half way there. If you string them up to dry instead of using a dehydrator, they often will finish turning while drying.

With an apple in a bag, I get nice color on my cayennes in a day or two.

tjg911 · October 12, 2009

thanks mjc. i thought they'd turn red but remain hard tho i see no reason why they can't be used fresh if getting soft. so the apple in the bag is in or out of the fridge? still not clear on that.

tom

Blueaussi · October 12, 2009

In my experience, some peppers will start dropping their leaves as soon as the nights start to cool, but some hang in there until there's a good freeze. One of the reasons I wanted to grow the C baccatuum variety of Aji Rojo is that it is reputed to survive light frosts unprotected. Sadly I ended up with the chinense variety.

But anyway, varieties that do well in cool weather, in my experience, seem to be spread across at least three species; annum, chinense, and baccatuum, and peppers with at least a little heat do better than sweet peppers.

I would offer more specific information, but my computer was stolen this weekend, and with it most of my notes.

mjc · October 12, 2009

Out...the bag is sitting on a corner of the counter.

A day or two in the bag and then pop them in the dehydrator...nice dry cayennes in 3-4 days.

sfmathews · October 19, 2009

That's just rotten!

Sorry to hear that!

I would offer more specific information, but my computer was stolen this weekend, and with it most of my notes.

tuttimato · October 19, 2009

Yep that's a rotten deal. I'd be devastated if somebody stole mine but I have a backup drive on order.

I have potted peppers and leave them out until they get frost killed but not completely frozen. They winter over as dormant roots in the greenhouse and I just water lightly every few weeks. When they like the temps and day length in spring, they're off to a running start with new growth. I can crumble a dried pepper in the pot with mama and the seeds will sprout right there. To me, it's easier than starting fresh plants in the house and they stand up to the aphids better than the small seedllings too.

October 11, 2009	#1
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	Q about hot peppers that haven't turned red yet 1-- Do hot peppers need to turn red for the seeds to be mature? Or can I save seeds from any pepper that's a good size? 2 -- I plan to dry most of the hot peppers and use them as a condiment. I'm used to seeing red pepper flakes, and I'm wondering if it'd be worth drying the not-yet-red peppers. Is there any reason not to dry the green ones? 3 -- How long should I wait before harvesting whatever's left on the plants? Usually we don't get a freeze until the first week of December, but it took until this week to get the first red one. Nighttime temperatures are heading into the 40s. And a big rainstorm is coming on Monday.

October 11, 2009	#2
mjc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: WV Posts: 603	1. Yes, they need to fully mature. Now that doesn't mean there won't be some viable seeds in peppers that aren't completely turned, but the number drops dramatically the 'greener' they are. 2. If you are planning on drying them, a couple of days in a paper bag with a red apple will hasten the color change and turn a lot more of them than just letting them sit. 3. You can cover them and extend the season even a little longer. In fact most peppers can handle cool temperatures. There's somewhat of an unwritten rule about the hotter the pepper the better it handles the cold...I've never paid that much attention to it, though. You can also dig and pot up the plants and bring them inside. Peppers are really frost sensitive perennials, so as long as they are kept from freezing they will survive. I've found that the harvest on second year and older plants (I'm in WV and have overwintered peppers often) is both earlier and quite a bit larger. In fact, this year, I dug my Habaneros about two weeks ago (didn't need to, as we didn't get a frost then) and most of the peppers have now turned...very few green ones left. The plants are starting to send out new shoots/leaves. My container grown plants that I brought in at the same time are still flowering and setting fruit (three pepper plants...a variegated purple leafed plant that now has quite a few peppers on it..but none close to maturity, a Fish pepper that has twenty some full sized and just turning color fruit and another hot with fruit waiting to turn). I've got several more that I've got under cover now that are doing quite well. I do need to dig them and pot them up, still.

October 11, 2009	#5
TZ-OH6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mid-Ohio Posts: 851	My peppers survived the first light frost but the ones damaged most were the hottest [C chinense varieties]. The frost mostly singed the upper immature leaves, but after that the plants started to drop leaves. the peppers themselves were fine but the temps have been too cool for them to do much other than sit on the plants. The more mature fruits turn colors after I pick and bring them in. There's a post over in the GW hot pepper forum where a guy pulls the plants, severely prunes the tops, repots them into small pots and grows them inside with just the light from a small window for the winter. That way they stay alive but do not grow much.

October 12, 2009	#8
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	thanks mjc. i thought they'd turn red but remain hard tho i see no reason why they can't be used fresh if getting soft. so the apple in the bag is in or out of the fridge? still not clear on that. tom

October 12, 2009	#9
Blueaussi Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Carolina Zone 8a Posts: 1,205	In my experience, some peppers will start dropping their leaves as soon as the nights start to cool, but some hang in there until there's a good freeze. One of the reasons I wanted to grow the C baccatuum variety of Aji Rojo is that it is reputed to survive light frosts unprotected. Sadly I ended up with the chinense variety. But anyway, varieties that do well in cool weather, in my experience, seem to be spread across at least three species; annum, chinense, and baccatuum, and peppers with at least a little heat do better than sweet peppers. I would offer more specific information, but my computer was stolen this weekend, and with it most of my notes.

October 19, 2009	#11
sfmathews Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Allen, TX Posts: 398	That's just rotten! Sorry to hear that! I would offer more specific information, but my computer was stolen this weekend, and with it most of my notes.

October 19, 2009	#12
tuttimato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Gulf Coast USA Posts: 17	Yep that's a rotten deal. I'd be devastated if somebody stole mine but I have a backup drive on order. I have potted peppers and leave them out until they get frost killed but not completely frozen. They winter over as dormant roots in the greenhouse and I just water lightly every few weeks. When they like the temps and day length in spring, they're off to a running start with new growth. I can crumble a dried pepper in the pot with mama and the seeds will sprout right there. To me, it's easier than starting fresh plants in the house and they stand up to the aphids better than the small seedllings too.