• If you need help identifying a pepper, disease, or plant issue, please post in Identification.

Ghost pepper fell

Stefan_W

Stefan_W

This morning I was picking off a few ghost pepper that were ripe, and I accidently clipped the stem of one that was full sized but still completely green. I stuck the green pod in my pile of ripe peppers so that it ripens to red in the next few days.

I am asking those who have had this happen in the past whether the pods that completely ripen off-vine will still have the same amount of heat as those that turn partially or mostly red while on the vine.
 
I do not know about ghost peppers but tepins I know are a lot hotter before they turn red. Ghosts might be the same.

I always leave my pepper ripen on the plant so I can get the full flavor out of the pepper but it might be good even green---try it---then let us know.

luck to you
 
My unripe ghosts arent much hotter than a red hab atm. They are juststarting to ripen.. I didn't know that they ripen off the plant tho. That's interesting.
They didn't taste so good green either tbh..
 
Last year i picked the rest of the peppers off my ghost as winter was setting in. There were some still green. I let them ripen in a window and they definitely were not as hot as ones that ripened completely. But they did have heat.
GA GH
 
Last year most of my end-of-season pods were not nearly as hot as the full-season pods, even fully ripe. So GA GH, the lack of heat may just be nature's way of starting to shut down for the season, rather than that they were green.
 
geeme said:
Last year most of my end-of-season pods were not nearly as hot as the full-season pods, even fully ripe. So GA GH, the lack of heat may just be nature's way of starting to shut down for the season, rather than that they were green.
Click to expand...

Geeme,
I agree completely. I saved bags of them in the freezer from first harvest to last. And with the last harvest going in the freezer last, it was the first bag to the front, and got eaten first. As i made my way thru the bags to earlier harvest, the pods definitely got hotter. But when comparing all pods pulled in late Nov, my less ripe pods versus the one that were completely ripe on the plant, were a good bit weaker after finishing to ripen inside. Still where awesome nevertheless. Thank for clarifying that though.
GA GH
 
Being completely green, I doubt it's going to ripen before it starts drying out and rotting unless it was very close to turning color already.
 
Dave2000 said:
Being completely green, I doubt it's going to ripen before it starts drying out and rotting unless it was very close to turning color already.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but my green Bhut pods that are full size still have a good flavor, just different. Use it like you would a green jalapeno, just expect more heat. My first 2 dozen pods were harvested while still green and made some awesome powder, but don't expect it to fully ripen before going soft if you don't use it.
 
GA Growhead said:
Last year i picked the rest of the peppers off my ghost as winter was setting in. There were some still green. I let them ripen in a window and they definitely were not as hot as ones that ripened completely. But they did have heat.
GA GH
Click to expand...
Have you tried ripping the plant out and hanging it upside down leaving the peppers on to ripen? I did that last Fall with great success.
 
If you want speedy ripening try sticking it between a few bananas and covering it with a plastic bag. Bananas are champs at secretion of ethylene which is the chemical which usually causes fruits to ripen.
I'm not sure if pepper are affected by it but if they do it should ripen pretty fast.
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
Have you tried ripping the plant out and hanging it upside down leaving the peppers on to ripen? I did that last Fall with great success.
Click to expand...

I did that too but the cold temperatures in my garage took their toll, many didn't ripen and those that did, did so very slowly. Should've brought them inside if I had the space but I didn't. Wouldn't have even had the space in the garage but I have a long ladder suspended from the ceiling.
 
I hung a branch that snapped off of my firecracker chilis upside down, and while they did turn red they definitely were different from the others I harvested. They also stopped growing, of course, which means that a few were quite tiny.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top