yield Small pods

[FinInGermany]

Hi folks. Got a question about size (fnarr, fnarr)
Since this is my first year growing habaneros from seed, I bought a "Hana Red" plant to make sure I wouldn't have to go without if things didn't go according to plan. The branches are now pretty loaded with fruit, but the ones I've harvested so far average around 1 to 1.5g instead of around the 10g stated on the label.
Spring here was a bit on the cool and wet side, which left the soil in my pots pretty much waterlogged for longer than I would have wanted. Could this have caused such a drastic reduction in fruit size?
Most of my other peppers seem fine, apart from the cayenne, which are coming in about 2 to 3 inches long.

 

[Anders]

Hi, sometimes size does matter There could be a few different reasons. The first fruits on a plant are often small. And with a short season like we have in northern Europe and with cold temperatures and little sun... you sometimes end up with just small fruits. When the plant is established and with better conditions the same plant will usually produce bigger pods.

That's why we start our plants really early, and also why some pinch of flowers early in the season. Because you won't get many rounds of flowers and fruits here, you'd better make them count

 

[FinInGermany]

Thanks for the reply, Anders.
Due to our short season - although I think yours is even shorter - I started my seeds at the end of January this year. Unfortunately, a plague of fungus gnats, immediately followed by an aphid infestation, set me way back before the seedlings had even had a chance to establish themselves. Despite this, a decent summer with plenty of days over 30°C has allowed most of my own plants to make a reasonable recovery. This is partly the reason this Habanero plant surprised me somewhat with its small pods, since when I repotted it, it got the same earth and conditions as the others.
I'm thinking that maybe the roots didn't develop particularly well in the wet earth, as it looks like all the fruits are all going to be around the same size. Oh well, I'll probably try to overwinter it, so I'll get a good look at the root ball when I downsize the pot .

 

[MarcV]

All my scotch bonnets started with plenty of tiny pods also. Only when the weather finally started to be more like proper summer, pods started to grow normal size. I think many of the THP members had to face this, this season...

 

[FinInGermany]

All my scotch bonnets started with plenty of tiny pods also. Only when the weather finally started to be more like proper summer, pods started to grow normal size. I think many of the THP members had to face this, this season...

Wonder if I should maybe remove all the fruits as soon as they start to change colour and give the plant a chance to kick some more new ones out? It may well be too late, but could well be worthwhile as an experiment, since I'm not exactly going to be short of chilies to take me through the winter .

 

[MarcV]

I removed them. They usually taste nice but don't have much heat...

 

[Englander]

Hi

I was unsure what to do with all the tiny dark green pod's this season Like Marc said mostly seedless.......given every living organism the objective i to procreate I figured what the hell remove them ! Also later in the season I'd started to see where of correct phenotypes and pod texture and colour appear and they seemed not to stop at finger nail size.

The small dark green pods seemed to be staying up ripe for ages ! But I found when picked solid green many have ripen which I didn't expect.

The Yellow ones are Scotch Brains the Red are mostly Trinidad moruga scorpion some Barrackpore a few Chocolate Bonnets in there too.

Incredible to think these are now on the plant that produced these tiny pod's! Trinidad moruga scorpion.

Again Scotch brains now but note the texture and colour of the "normal" pods completely different from the smooth dark green early pod's.

Early pod's on the same plant as above !

In future when I see early pod's that are very dark, very smooth will not hesitate to remove them and force the plant to produce normal pod's.

On a slightly different note I've always been terrified of pruning for fear of loosing future buds,flower's etc However my mini kratky hydroponics this season havechad to be pruned to keep them manageable it remarkable how much abuse chilli plant's can take

 

[FinInGermany]

Cheers, guys. I decided to open one of the ripe pods and check before deciding my next course of action. As you can see, there weren't a great deal of seeds, but it wasn't completely neutered either. Just popped half of it in my mouth to check if it had anything to offer. Wasn't quite up to normal habanero standard, but it certainly tasted nice and gave me a rather firey tongue and a damp forehead, so I reckon I'll try to keep the plant going over the winter in the indoor greenhouse, and see if I can get some of the seeds to germinate meantime. All just adds to the fun really, doesn't it?

 

[Englander]

Hi Guy's

Word of warning on those tiny pod's.........I've just used a "small" handful about the same as if I'd used one single normal sized pod.

The red one's on the plate above are a mix of Trinidad moruga scorpion, 7 Pot Barrackpore, 7 Pot primo.......I only used a tiny handful mashed into paste and added to my Nagaland pork belly recipe Wow !

I really underestimated those tiny pod's so be warned........

I "will" eat it don't worry toilet rolls already in the freezer

 

[MarcV]

yes don't underestimate them... put a couple of those small ones in a stir fry... it turned out hotter than I expected!

 

[FinInGermany]

Hi Guy's

Word of warning on those tiny pod's.........I've just used a "small" handful about the same as if I'd used one single normal sized pod.

The red one's on the plate above are a mix of Trinidad moruga scorpion, 7 Pot Barrackpore, 7 Pot primo.......I only used a tiny handful mashed into paste and added to my Nagaland pork belly recipe Wow !

I really underestimated those tiny pod's so be warned........

I "will" eat it don't worry toilet rolls already in the freezer

Yup, half of these were completely green when I picked them and have ripened in the saucer. Chucked a couple in an omelette yesterday and ended up eating half of my wife's part of it, as it wasn't quite as "mild" as I reckoned it would be .