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Noob with a Noob question

H

Hapdad

Greetings all new noob here
long time lurker first time poster. I have a few robust orange habanero plants out in my garden that are heavy with green fruit. What I am wondering is do i harvest and allow to ripen off the plant or do I leave on let ripen on the plant. My concern with ripen on the plant is that the plants are heavy with peppers now and flowering like crazy and I dont want the plants to come crashing down. My hot banana pepper plants are producing nicely a bunch of ripe and ready to pick with more on the way so I have a sort of assembly line but the habs are not doing this just yet.
Thanks
Hapdad
 
Welcome from WA. I am not an expert, but I have picked up alot of good info from this site since I joined. I would do whatever it takes to prop your plants up and let the pods ripen on the plant. I saw a THP member recently who was very creative in tying branches and supporting his plants because of problems with wind. I say, get creative and spend the time figuring out how to support each branch. I think ripening on the plant will bring the best taste and heat possible. Good luck. I wish I had your problem.
 
:welcome:
Like Chileaddict said, prop them up. Or you just let it grow as is, I have an overgrown Thai that is almost parallel. Just be sure the roots are covered with some good soil.
 
Glad to have you on the board! I'm with the others and would let the pods ripen on the plant. There are some very wise minds on here about propping the plants up. There just nothing like picking a fresh ripe pepper off the plant...mmmmmmmmm. :dance:
 
I rarely have a hab fall over. Jalapenos and Serranos are more tippy. I use cheap bamboo stakes and plastic cable ties to hold up my plants if needed. I always let chilies ripen, the only exception is Jalapenos for pickling and Pablanos
 
Thanks for the fast reply's
I think maybe i will drive a fence stake into the ground at either end and run stringers through the row. I did this with the tomato plants (they have cages) and it seems to have worked ok. The tabasco plant has a cage but it is like 3ft tall and bushy as can be. The habs are short and bushy like last yr. (I have been growing one kind or another of hot pepper for a few years)
 
I take cheap bamboo and simple sewing thread to support all plants i grow. You don't need to make the thread tight, just enough to support so when the branch gets longer it has some slack, otherwise you've got a lot of pressure choking the branch. I apply this to all plants that need to be supported. I usually do 3 branches at a time to keep the thread from falling =P. This way the branches sort of learn to support themselves rather than have to much pressure holding them up.
 
Pods will usually ripen off the plant, in my experience, but they are not anywhere as good/tasty. The main problem is that it takes them a long time to ripen off-plant during which time they get soft and kind of mealy - basically, they get old. There is really no comparison. You should DEFINITELY let them ripen on the plant.

I am the aforementioned member with the wind problem who spends the whole growing season staking, tying and propping up my plants, due to unpredictable winds. It is easy to do. Just stick a fat stake right next to the plant, usually a 3' or 4' stake, depending on plant height. You want the stake to be about 6" to 1' taller than the plant. Then tie the fruit-laden branches with a piece of yarn or string and tie the other end to the stake, with the yarn/string at around a 10 to 45 degree angle - in other words, tugging the branch upward toward the stake a little bit, to counteract its desire to droop downward. Do this for each major branch, and don't be timid, do it for smaller branches too. What you end up with is kind of a wheel-with-spoke design, which will withstand very high winds, storms, and certainly will hold up your branches with heavy fruit if you do it right. Something like this:

stormstrategy.jpg
 
these are my scotch bonnets from last year....I drove metal fence posts in the ground and used 3/16" braided nylon rope strung from post to post to keep the branches up...

092309b002.jpg
 
Thanks mega. I don't have wind issues with my plants, but I would use your creative ideas if I did. Sorry I did not remember your name.
 
Greetings all.
Thanks for the replies I braced up the plants and low and behold they are now growing taller and the tops are covered with even more flowers. I think that maybe the max pod load is related to when the plant starts to lean too hard or fall over.
Now if the green pods would just ripen up.
oh and by the way why are some of them black inside? almost like they are getting some kind of fungal rot inside?
Thanks Hapdad
 
i wasn't even going to comment on this thread , but those scotch bonnets are insane!! sometimes i get on this website and i feel like not growing anymore. that pic of the scotch bonnets is one of those times. i've got to go pick my bottom jaw off the ground now. i'm gonna get a complex here eventually.
 
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