Greenhouse Peppers

[DaveC]

Hi Everyone

I have seen a lot of posts here regarding Tomato's not ripening in the GH and I'm having the same problem in and out of the GH with only 1 or 2 starting to turn this morning. I also have 7 mixed pepper plants growing very well in there with the plants on average around 3 ft tall. All plants are fruiting well with peppers of all sizes and all are green.

Now being the first year I have grown them I haven't been sure when to pick them and have tried one of each size hoping one would taste OK but none of them do, even the fist sizes peppers don't taste right. Also none of them are changing colour, I even grew one plant outside as I have done with toms and cue's so see if I'd get better results. They are still green too. I feed them fortnightly with tom food. I have good temperatures during the day but am down to single figures at night. We have yet again had a rubbish summer up in Barnsley with loads of rain.

Your help would be greatly appreciated

[rustylady]

Hi Dave. As far as I'm concerned it's been a rubbish summer all round. Did get a good crop of tomatoes in the unheated plastic Norfolk greenhouse eventually, but I've now got botrytis so the plants have to come out. Chillies have been rubbish this year. Last year and the year before I had bumper crops and they've had no different treatment. It's got to be down to the weather. The only thing I can suggest is to treat your plants a bit unkindly - stop feeding them and cut down on the watering. That way they will want to produce viable seed so hopefully will start ripening. It works with chillies (but not this year)

[DaveC]

Thanks for your swift reply rustylady. I have just googled botrytis.

Would be a good idea to cut back the leaves on the plants so more energy is put in to the fruits?

[rustylady]

Dave, if you have loads of foliage (leaves) then you can cut some of them off. I always remove leaves below the lowest fruitbearing truss of tomatoes anyway. As to peppers I've never removed any leaves.

[rustylady]

I think most of us have had a bad year this year for one reason or another.

[Tomatoking]

Nip out the growing tips if you have not already, will help them to mature faster.
It has been a slow year even for me in a polytunnel in Brittany.

Mr TK