Any tips on how to go about this effectively? I suppose it varies from srrain to strain. I've got some Ghost Peppers going and I started them around late June. Just recently, they've started budding. I've read that sometimes cutting the flowers early causes the plant to focus its energy on fruiting. I've also read thatthe plants need to grow flowers in order to self pollinate and fruit. So, what should I do? I'd like to get some fruit before the winter season arrives in full force. Last year it was in the 30s - 50s and snowed twice from December onward.
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Inducing fruit early
- Thread starter yochannontzvi
- Start date
Âyochannontzvi said:
The flowers are what become the fruit -- so you do not want to cut them off if you are wanting pods !!! -- what you mention is that cutting the flowers off early will cause the plant to focus more on growth of the branches so that the plant gets larger thus fruiting more later in the season since it is a larger plant with more branches to grow the fruit on. (but that is for early season later in the season you do not want to do that because it will just cause you not to get the few pods you might have gotten before frost sets in - since if you do remove the first blooms it will grow more plant and then bud more several weeks later but by then you will be out of season before those have time to develop - so may not get any ripe pods.
Ahh, that's where my confusion was. So stressing it out is probably the best thing to do? Give it less water and maybe put up shade cloth or something to help cool it down?
To achive maximum fruit you want maximum beneficial climate including plenty of fertilizer (whether it be organic or synthetic, but go light on nitrogen which does not mean don't let them have any at all), temperature, and light. Subjecting them to cold just stunts growth, including pods, as does limiting light, and getting too cold means the flowers will just be aborted. This last part is not all bad because in a small # of weeks you won't want the plant to try to produce new pods, instead putting its energy into finishing up the pods it already started.
Ultimately the plant responds best to a shift in light color temperature from normal daylight ~ 5000K to lower which is natural as fall moves in including reflections off leaves turning light colored.
The best way to get as many pods as possible is do all the above and put them in pots if not already in pots so you can bring them inside to finish up any pods they have started once it gets too cold outside for them. Do not wait until first frost to do this. Doing so will have subjected them to enough excessively cold days that they start to drop an excessive # of leaves from it. They will still drop leaves inside if there is a reduction in light but not so many as subjecting them to cold causes.
Frankly, I wouldn't start such a plant in June with a climate where they're no longer growing by December and greatly slowed down growing before then. If you wait that late it should be a plant that takes fewer days to maturity/pod-ripening unless you plan on finishing up inside with grow lights.
Ultimately the plant responds best to a shift in light color temperature from normal daylight ~ 5000K to lower which is natural as fall moves in including reflections off leaves turning light colored.
The best way to get as many pods as possible is do all the above and put them in pots if not already in pots so you can bring them inside to finish up any pods they have started once it gets too cold outside for them. Do not wait until first frost to do this. Doing so will have subjected them to enough excessively cold days that they start to drop an excessive # of leaves from it. They will still drop leaves inside if there is a reduction in light but not so many as subjecting them to cold causes.
Frankly, I wouldn't start such a plant in June with a climate where they're no longer growing by December and greatly slowed down growing before then. If you wait that late it should be a plant that takes fewer days to maturity/pod-ripening unless you plan on finishing up inside with grow lights.
