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health correct me if i am wrong

T

tims77

i've read the archives a good bit on this, so i think i know my answer



i've got some huge superhot plants (7 pot orange, devil's tongue, bhut, choc hab, congo black) that didn't fruit/just flowering that i will winter over; but indoor space is semi-limited


i've got some that are full of green pods.....i'm getting a trickle of chocolates & congos, but the bhuts are still green....i am thinking the devil's tongues & 7-pots will all be next year plants


getting a few nights in the upper 40's, but the 10 day forecast looks pretty good....based on averages, i shouldn't see temps dip below 40 until mid next month, and i can limp the suprhots along with some frost blankets, too


IF i have to pick green pods, i can set them on a screen in the laundry room......stays good temp, dehumidifier keeps it dry....i've dried my garlic & onions back there, i've been getting partially ripe mexicans and other pipers to finish ripening just fine......i'll sauce some green as well, i guess

am i missing anything?



and is there a plant slower than aji panca? i had two 'accidental' germinations after i had given up (after 40-50 days).....the plants are still less than 6"......going to try to keep them active in a window all winter
 
Ripening bananas give off ethylene gas which hastens ripening of other fruits. So put a few bananas in a brown paper bag (so the gas is kept from dispersing) with your green pods and they will speed up the ripening process.

Seeds saved from pods ripened this way may not be as viable as naturally ripened pods, but have a go. Always better to have naturally ripened pods if possible.

I sowed two seeds of aji panca and have nothing yet after 3 or four weeks. Had sort of given up on them.
 
last year i got really worried about the cold this time of year, to the point of covering all the plants on nights when it got into the low 40's. in my very limited experience, pepper plants seem a lot more hardy then people let on. you read all the time about how hard they are to germinate and grow, but really they're pretty hard to kill. when i finally decided to pull the plants out of the ground in mid november last year they were still putting out new pods and i had long since stopped covering them up on nights when the temps were getting low enough to frost. i just couldn't kill the things. that being said, the plants i did pull i hung indoors to let the peppers ripen and i found that i only had a day or two between when the peppers would get ripe and then rot. if i didn't get them during that window they were compost. i ended up only getting a few decent pods from the plants i pulled and hung. this year i'm just going to keep them outside until the snow eventually kills them just so i can see how long they'll last.
 
the problems i've had in the past with peppers is once the pods get a frost or near frost, they turn to mush and rot

i'm going to pick a green hab and put it on my screen and see what happens.....so far i've picked a few that were half ripe (choc hab, guajillo, pulla, super chili, red hab) and they've colored up perfect......

not sure what they will do if they haven't shown any color change yet.......but air flow should be key to protecting from rot; i'd rather pick early than later as well


the superhots are clustered close together, and show zero signs of decline from the cooler temps; meanwhile some of my other peppers are not looking as happy.......and i still have 4-5 weeks if all goes well....so we'll see



was really just wondering if anyone had luck leaving green pods inside to ripen; i know i can pull it off with peppers that have started to turn, but not sure what will happen with green peppers



mega - my aji pancas didn't germinate.....then my seed pots got SOAKED when i watered some of my already potted seedlings......3 popped almost immediately, and two survived.....they are just super slow growing so far
 
I have an Aji Panca plant about 3 feet tall. Great looking plant, but every little bud it tries to form turns black and falls off.
 
Late in the season it is hard to predict what the *full* size of the final pods will be, you can't always assume they'd get as large as those earlier in the season. With that in mind, if a pod made it to its own full size there is a good chance it will ripen inside before rotting. If a pod stayed at its full size on the plant for a couple weeks there's a better chance of making it to full ripe or at least an intermediary color.

A significant percentage of those that didn't make it to full size will usually either rot or dry out, depending on temperature, airflow and humidity levels. All you can do is wait as long as possible to pick and as mentioned don't let frost get them, then leave them spread out as much as possible rather than in a big pile and monitor their progress. When they start to go from firm to soft (a subtle change, not squishy soft) you have only a few days left before they should be processed for use or freezing or drying, etc.
 
My aji panca germinated after 4 weeks, but then I had 90%+ germination! I started them in late January. I had pods in the greenhouse before setting them out in the ground in May. The existing pods ripened in early June. This summer was exceptionally hot with many 100+ days, so buds were aborted all summer on these guys. They are now about 30" tall and full of developing pods! Not enough time to ripen them outside so I am going to dig them up and see what happens. The aji panca is my wife and I's favorite for powder.
 
Dave2000 said:
Late in the season it is hard to predict what the *full* size of the final pods will be, you can't always assume they'd get as large as those earlier in the season. With that in mind, if a pod made it to its own full size there is a good chance it will ripen inside before rotting. If a pod stayed at its full size on the plant for a couple weeks there's a better chance of making it to full ripe or at least an intermediary color.

A significant percentage of those that didn't make it to full size will usually either rot or dry out, depending on temperature, airflow and humidity levels. All you can do is wait as long as possible to pick and as mentioned don't let frost get them, then leave them spread out as much as possible rather than in a big pile and monitor their progress. When they start to go from firm to soft (a subtle change, not squishy soft) you have only a few days left before they should be processed for use or freezing or drying, etc.
Click to expand...



thanks......about what i thought; hoping the bhuts especially at least hit mature size and start to darken a bit......the habs i'll have no problem with, they are starting to ripen little by little already.......i need to leave the next one or two that ripen on the plant a little longer to give off some more ethylene and see if that spurs more ripening; i might even sneak on apple or two under the plants ;)
 
megamoo said:
Ripening bananas give off ethylene gas which hastens ripening of other fruits. So put a few bananas in a brown paper bag (so the gas is kept from dispersing) with your green pods and they will speed up the ripening process.

Seeds saved from pods ripened this way may not be as viable as naturally ripened pods, but have a go. Always better to have naturally ripened pods if possible.

I sowed two seeds of aji panca and have nothing yet after 3 or four weeks. Had sort of given up on them.
Click to expand...

I was just reading about this in the book, "Botany for Gardeners" and it recommended using apple slices to hasten ripening.
 
I say let them go. Dont start worrying till you are expecting it to FREEZE overnight. A heavy frost a night or two in a row will kill off new/young growth and pods but most old growth and pods will do fine. If you are really worried toss a sheet over the top for the night you are expecting frosts. My plants stay outside till a light FREEZE hits them. Frosts be damned, they just help put the plant into hibernation for its little overwinter nap. When the leaves start falling off because it gets too cold then the get pulled. Most in pots will be taken in for the night and put back out in the morning till it is too cold for them during the day, that is usually sometime in early December.

If you pick the pods green there is a good chance the seeds will not be viable, even at full size. I would limp them all along till you get at least a small hint of color as ripening them off the plant wont help the seeds mature. Once picked they stop their development cycle and if not viable when plucked then they will not be ever. What you can also do if you do not have the room is cut the plant down, remove all leaves and stems down to a main point except for all those that have pods on them. This freaks the plant out and usually results in faster ripening.
 
You may already know this but if you are going to overwinter them then remove all pods ripe or not because if a pod is allowed to wither on the plant it sends a signal to the plant that its job is over and its time to die. At the very least it won't start any more flowers. Picking ripe pods encourages more flowers to form.
 
megamoo said:
You may already know this but if you are going to overwinter them then remove all pods ripe or not because if a pod is allowed to wither on the plant it sends a signal to the plant that its job is over and its time to die. At the very least it won't start any more flowers. Picking ripe pods encourages more flowers to form.
Click to expand...


read that


my plan is to obviously leave them as long as i can to ripen on the vine if possible....will use blankets to limp them along if i have to

but i want to get all the pods off, ripe or not, before the real hard frosts kick in......i will winter a handful of plants over as well......i will try and keep a few small containers going all winter, and will throw another 6-8 into dormancy

just trying to plan ahead re: green pods......i actually think i'll do ok on some


did plenty more exploring last night.....found some really nice devil's tongue pods.....dark green & shiny, nice and gnarly, 3+" long......i really, really hope i get a fair number of those

the 7-pot orange also have a fair amount of pods that look more or less full size, too.....and a fair number of bhuts



weather looks pretty slick......going to get the low 80's with nights in the 50's for the next 5-6.....hope they kick into high gear
 
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