Hi there again. Temperatures here in zone 3 are going to remain at a steady 34-43 degrees daytime and lower at night, into the frost level. I have a lot of unripe pods on my plants. Trinidad Moruga Scorpion (4), Bhut Jolokia (4), Brainstrain (3), Caribbean Habanero (2), 7 Pot Douglah (3), Rocoto (1), Trinidad Perfume (2). What is my best bet to having these things ripen? Is pulling them from the ground, pruning them leaving the pods still on the plant, then tying up and hanging upside down in my garage (unheated). A few of the pods are in transition or starting to change color, but many are not yet turning. Or is cutting off the pods and placing in a paper bag with piece of potato a better option. If so, how much of a potato is used? This is my first year, and what a crappy year I picked to start as the weather was terrible. Bringing these indoors is NOT an option as the missus will Not let me bring any of these indoors. Any help and advice is always welcome. Thank you.
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What To Do With Unripe Pods On Plants? Temperatures Dropping
- Thread starter obchili
- Start date
I usually pick all pods that are a mature size and put them in a bag to ripen. I figure anything smaller isn't going to continue to grow after it's picked, so I just compost those. The ones I pick that end up never ripening I just put in green salsa.
Wait until the missus is out of the house and bring them indoors. When she gets home, you be ready with a bottle of wine and tickets to a play/ballet that she would like to see - something you normally wouldn't want to do but are willing to in order to get the plants inside. And offer to take her to the play/ballet again if she starts piping up about the plants. 
bhut camp said:
Duh!
I wish I had thought of that yesterday before I composted about 200 pods. They'd be just like habanero pepperoncinis! Tender, mild habanero pickles. Oh well, 2015...Well, all plants are out of the ground, and all pods were cut off the plants. I will be getting a cardboard box tomorrow for the next step.
And now for those who recommended the idea of a banana in the box, at what temperature do I do this. In a cooled environment, such as my insulated but un-heated garage, in the basement in the dark? Thanks again.
Lastly, I thought I would try to winter a couple plants. Yes, I know I was told NO, but take a guess as to who is working this evening.... She will never know, as I will have these in my hobby room window before she comes home. Strike up 1 point for me.... Anyways, this is just a trial run, as they were destined to die anyways. So I tried an extreme pruning. Hopefully they will make it, but if not, I will know better. These were severely trimmed and pruned above and below the ground. I know it was not a good smart idea, but the window they will be sitting in will not allow much more. I will be posting progress whether good or bad.
Bhut Jolokia on left, Brainstrain on right.
Here they switched sides. Brainstrain on left, Bhut Jolokia on right. Piece of aluminum is there solely for size reference, nothing else....
And now for those who recommended the idea of a banana in the box, at what temperature do I do this. In a cooled environment, such as my insulated but un-heated garage, in the basement in the dark? Thanks again.
Lastly, I thought I would try to winter a couple plants. Yes, I know I was told NO, but take a guess as to who is working this evening.... She will never know, as I will have these in my hobby room window before she comes home. Strike up 1 point for me.... Anyways, this is just a trial run, as they were destined to die anyways. So I tried an extreme pruning. Hopefully they will make it, but if not, I will know better. These were severely trimmed and pruned above and below the ground. I know it was not a good smart idea, but the window they will be sitting in will not allow much more. I will be posting progress whether good or bad.
Bhut Jolokia on left, Brainstrain on right.
Here they switched sides. Brainstrain on left, Bhut Jolokia on right. Piece of aluminum is there solely for size reference, nothing else....
They will ripen faster at room temperature than in the near freezing garage, but if in the basement, make sure humidity isn't excessive or they may still mold, even in a paper bag. You can also toss some dry rice or other desiccant in to absorb some of the moisture to hold back molding for a while longer, keeping in mind you may need to swap the ripening agent (banana or whatever) out with fresher fruit one or more times before they're ripe.
Yup^
Also, I saw nothing...
obchili said:
Also, I saw nothing...
Be careful leaving things to ripen along side a banana as the banana can impregnate the "other" fruit/veg with a distinct banana smell or taste.
I'd rather a green pod over one that smells like banana.
I'd rather a green pod over one that smells like banana.
Are you doing these hydroponically?obchili said:Well, all plants are out of the ground, and all pods were cut off the plants. I will be getting a cardboard box tomorrow for the next step.
And now for those who recommended the idea of a banana in the box, at what temperature do I do this. In a cooled environment, such as my insulated but un-heated garage, in the basement in the dark? Thanks again.
Lastly, I thought I would try to winter a couple plants. Yes, I know I was told NO, but take a guess as to who is working this evening.... She will never know, as I will have these in my hobby room window before she comes home. Strike up 1 point for me.... Anyways, this is just a trial run, as they were destined to die anyways. So I tried an extreme pruning. Hopefully they will make it, but if not, I will know better. These were severely trimmed and pruned above and below the ground. I know it was not a good smart idea, but the window they will be sitting in will not allow much more. I will be posting progress whether good or bad.
Bhut Jolokia on left, Brainstrain on right.
Here they switched sides. Brainstrain on left, Bhut Jolokia on right. Piece of aluminum is there solely for size reference, nothing else....
I'm also a little confused about what you are growing those in - straight perlite, or is that just perlite on top? Note that ideally you would have cut the roots to be the same distance from the soil line as the stem. The one on the left (in the upper picture) is closer to that than the one on the right. It will be interesting to see how things go for you. Also, did you cut large holes in the bottoms of the cups? They need good drainage even though they are now small. Overall the plants are shorter than I prefer when I prune mine, but I've done about that height before, too. You have kept enough growth nodes, so unless something gets to them (like a fungus) they should be fine.
@hot stuff - No, no hydro. Just in those cups with a new soil mix.
@geeme - No, not straight perlite, itis was just on top. It looked very nice, until I tried to give them a little drink. So I removed all plants, poured all soil and perlite into a bowl, then mixed thoroughly. I then re-cupped all plants. As for trimming equal distances above and below soil line, thank you as I had read that somewhere earlier. I had cut the roots first, then also remembered earlier in the year about topping a new plant and had read that it should be done above the first 'Y' branch, which is why I trimmed it that high. And as for drain holes, I had melted 9 holes with my soldering pencil in the bottom of the cups. So, there are 9 holes approximately 3/16 - 1/4" in diameter in each bottom.
@geeme - No, not straight perlite, it
I've thought about it, has anyone tried it and what was the outcome?
Ok. Just a little update on my extreme pruning. Both plants are showing new growth over the last week. Not much, but very nice and a healthy green color. I had also done 2 more plants while she was at work. One seems to be rather woody looking as well as the other. Neither of these are showing any signs yet. I am by no means any expert, but if either of the last two are picked up by the stem/stalk, the cups they are in do not fall or the plants do not pull out with a gentle tug. So, I am crossing my fingers that they are taking their sweet time putting out roots as one had a small root system to begin with and the other underwent a major pruning as well ( it also spent the night outside after being pulled from the garden). Just trying things out for future knowledge, and as stated earlier, they were destined to hit the landfill anyways. I will try and post a picture later, or tomorrow.