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Peppers, Blooms and Ants

pepperpikker

pepperpikker

Will Peppers just quit putting out blooms after a while or will they continue to put out blooms up until the end of the growing season? I was just wondering if they have only so many blooms to put out and then just quit or do they maybe quit putting out blooms when they get a certain amount of pods going or do they just keep trying to produce more peppers right up to the end?

Also, are ants good for peppers? Do they aid in pollination or should I be worried if there are a lot of them on my plants and in my garden?
 
pods will come until it dies in my experience. I will have a big green pepper crop at the end of this season and they can make a good sauce too for me. :D Ants can be farmers too, some like to farm aphids. :eek:
 
The plants will keep producing pods. You could say that there is only so many pods that a plant can handle at one time but that is different from plant to plant, and as the pods start to ripen and get picked more blossoms and pods will take their place.

As for ants. I don't think ants themselves do anything bad to plants but they will protect aphids so they are not really good for your plants either.
 
They'll keep producing until it gets too cold or they die, that’s how I understand it.

I haven't had to deal with the ants yet, but assume they wouldn't be beneficial to the plants well being.
 
My observation is that chilies produce flowers at nodal junctions, so as long as the plant keeps producing more stems and branches, you have the potential for more flowers/pods.
My other observation is that if ants are crawling on your plants like they are on a mission, then they are. Ants will bring aphids on your plants, and nurture them. I recommend you keep ants off your plants.
 
Plants will stop producing flowers if the temp gets cold like everyone said, and if there is some sort of external problem like nutrient deficiency or no light. A lot of plants, including chillies, will respond to picking by putting out more growth.

If you leave a ripe pod on the plant and let it wither, the plant will slow right down producing buds. If everything else is ok in the enviroment and you pick all ripe pods then the plant will keep making more. I have heard that after a few seasons old age will catch up with a plant and it will just die but never gotten to that point. :P
 
Ants also excrete chemicals to slow aphids down, bite off their wings to keep them in place, carry them to new food sources, and even try to fight off aphid predators. :eek:

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