Board wisdom advises to pick the first early peppers before they are ripened, so the plants can spend more energy to produce more peppers, instead of using energy concentrating on the first peppers. Would it help to pick when the peppers are so small and immature that they have little value in eating?
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How early to pick?
- Thread starter dragon49
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If I pick "early" anything, it's buds and flowers on very small, young plants, which are clearly too weak to be wasting all their energy on a pepper at that point. And any of those tiny peppers that have managed to get started on such weak plants.
The focus I have is to make the plants strong so that later when they do start producing (and are allowed to), they'll be more capable of producing many more peppers.
You could also attempt to pick peppers while mature but before completely ripe, but you'll be sacrificing some sweetness for a probably imperceptible heat level difference, but who knows... surely some people do it and can tell you just how much of an improvement it makes (if any).
To me... pinching buds and flowers just makes more sense than picking unripe peppers (unless you like them that way).
In reality... peppers are safe to eat, no matter how big or small, mature or immature they are, and can be "picked" at any size that is useful.
The focus I have is to make the plants strong so that later when they do start producing (and are allowed to), they'll be more capable of producing many more peppers.
You could also attempt to pick peppers while mature but before completely ripe, but you'll be sacrificing some sweetness for a probably imperceptible heat level difference, but who knows... surely some people do it and can tell you just how much of an improvement it makes (if any).
To me... pinching buds and flowers just makes more sense than picking unripe peppers (unless you like them that way).
In reality... peppers are safe to eat, no matter how big or small, mature or immature they are, and can be "picked" at any size that is useful.
if you dont, will it make the plant grow slower? or will it make the plant not as big as it's full potential?
They will continue to ripen after being picked, to an extent. If they're picked at about 50% of the final color change they'll usually fully ripen, so I think it's a good idea to pick them at this stage to get maximum production and still get fully ripened pods. Unless I'm saving the seed, then I would let them fully ripen before picking...
It depends a lot on the variety of chile. I usually pick large podded annuum flowers/pods off until almost July to get full production but most other types I just leave alone.
In my opinion picking pods under-ripe and then letting them ripen will not produce the same great flavors as vine-ripe so it would be up to the individual to decide what best to sacrifice for their personal wants/needs
In my opinion picking pods under-ripe and then letting them ripen will not produce the same great flavors as vine-ripe so it would be up to the individual to decide what best to sacrifice for their personal wants/needs
Well, they do change colors... but I'm not sure that I would call an off-the-plant ripened pepper fully ripe. The second you cut the stem from the plant, the fruit is frozen in time in some aspects.
Yep. I want the full sweetness and "complete" ripe flavor, which is why I tend to not ripen any peppers off the plants. I normally make sure that the peppers have at least reached their "final" ripe color, but I go a bit further and have them sit there for another week or so or until they've darkened a shade or so. Of course, this is the opposite of what you want to do if you are more interested in just getting more peppers, but it's a sacrifice I am usually willing to make.
Of course, this is not always the case though... sometimes I'll pick a pepper only a day or so after it has fully turned its final color, sometimes I'll try one on its second out of three colors (for those that have three color phases), and on occasion I might even pick one green for the hell of it. It really just depends on my curiosity, how anxious I am (to try a new variety), what I'm planning on doing with it, and various other things...
I pick 'em when I want 'em (which is usually when fully ripe), but one thing I'll only do under extreme circumstances is try to ripen them off the plant; I'm more likely to just freeze them as-is, really (which I have done).
The bottom line is, when you pick your peppers is really up to you. I think everyone's got different ideas, and probably stray from their usual timing from time to time...
Usually takes about 1-4 weeks. 3 weeks is certainly not unusual.
Ok, thanks. I was beginning to wonder if I had done something wrong. I just had no idea it took them that long. Anyways, thanks for the help.
Vincent