Chilli expert needed!

[womble]

In Feb I sowed some Apache chilli seeds, they are dwarf plants, as I'm sure you know. I was a bit suprised when they grew quite tall. Now I'm even more suprised when I looked for photos of them on the net to try to find out whether I should pick them green or leave them until they are red........... and I find out my plants look nothing like the photos I find.

As you can see, it has lots of long thin fruits hanging down, the other 2 plants I kept are exactly the same. Any idea what they are?

[Flummery]

Did you buy the seeds or get them from a saved chilli? I only ask because chillies are notoriously promiscuous and unless that is the only variety being grown, you will get some crosses. It's certainly not like the apaches I grew last year but as long as it's a good, tasty, hot chilli I don't think it matters.

[womble]

I can't really remember where the seeds came from, they were in a proper packet that said Apache on it, but I have the feeling that they were old seeds. And being a bit silly I threw the packet out I'm almost certain I opened the packet when I sowed them.

They are nice, we had three of them on chicken breasts together with home grown garlic and some olive oil on the BBQ yesterday, very tasty.

I suppose it doesn't matter, I was wondering what they were and would it mean that it will produce less fruit if I leave them to go red?

[RobintheBobin]

I must admit they look nothing like my Apache chillis, which I bought as a seedling from a garden centre...although my plant looks nothing like the Apache plant I bought from a different garden centre the year before

My Apaches are slowly (emphasis on the word sloooooooooowly) turning red but look a lot shorter. As Flummery says, as long as they taste good

[Phill_1066]

Wow your chillies are doing really well, I have been a little dissapointed with
mine as they only have tiny little chillies on them and not many of them either.

Granted I have only been watering them, do you chillie wizards feed them anything ?

Cheers

Philll

[smallblueplanet]

Its a healthy looking plant you've got there. Maybe its some sort of cayenne? Anyway you could try saving some of its seeds and see what you get next year as you like them.

[Liz 89]

not really a helpful reply, sory, but just wanted to say wow! i've got lots and LOTSof chilly and sweet pepper plants and NONE of them even have flowers on yet!(i'm guessing they do flower first? i've never grown them before)

[devon-surfer]

I have quite a few chilli plants including dwarf Apache, and your are definatly not Apache. I've been picking mine for about 4 weeks now, none are red yet but they are a mixture from 1" - 5" made some burgers yesterday with chilli, mmm lovely!!

[womble]

Thanks!
I think they were started late January and once the weather got a little sunny, they went into my front porch, the only time they came out was for a few days last week to go into the greenhouse, where I have loads of french marigolds and therefore hoverflies and the aphids were cleared off them.

I've fed them twice with a homemade urine/comfrey/nettle tea and like all my tomatoes and chillis, I have been putting banana skins around them at the base this year.

I have to say though, the ones in the greenhouse aren't as advanced as these! They were started a month or 2 later, so I think its all down to the sowing date.

[Caireen147]

Red hot chilli peppers

This is my 5th year of chilli growing and I have had reasonable success to date however Chilli plants are notorious for cross pollinating so you really need to keep the plants separate in order to guarentee what you are going to get. Something which is difficult when space is limited. This year I'm experimenting with the hotter varieties and currently have on the go
Habenero's (white, orange and mustard) - grown both hydroponically and by conventional methods and Bhut jolokia - just starting to fruit.
The indoor chilli plants are doing significantly better than the ones kept in the greenhouse, however i understand that Bhut jolokia need to maintain a steady temp in order to fruit. I've also helped them along with hand pollinating them.
To date I am impressed with the results of the hydroponic white habenero's. The plant is healthier, and has significantly higher numbers of fruit then ones grown by conventional methods. Also has the added advantage of no pests, something that my greenhouse chillis are constantly blighted with. I would be interested in hearing if anyone else has been experimenting with the hotter versions of chilli's particularly Bhut Jolokia or any grown hydroponically.

[unconcerned]

That's some kind of cayenne as smallblueplanet said. Definitely not Apache. Especially if they taste nice (because Apache do not - in my opinion). Your peppers will taste fine if they have been green for a while, and you'll get more pods if you pick them when still green, but they will taste hotter & sweeter if you let them go red. I know that sounds like a contradiction but it is not. The capsaicin concentration increases and this gives it the heat, but the sugar levels increase too. Some varieties taste better 'green' than others.

[Mrs Jackson]

My SIL bought an apache chilli plant from the GC this year that look very similar, really tall even though it's only in a 3" pot. My one that's a couple of years old is less than a foot tall. Maybe there's some dodgy seed going around this year?

I would be interested in hearing if anyone else has been experimenting with the hotter versions of chilli's particularly Bhut Jolokia or any grown hydroponically.

I was growing Bhut Jolokia, Bih Jolokia, Naga Morich, Chocolate Habs and Orange Habs this year (among other less hot varieties). They're all doing really well considering they're outside, lots of flowers but no fruit yet. The Chocolate Habs were overwintered from last year (didn't get any fruit last year but hardly surprising as they only grew 4 sets of leaves all summer). Unfortunately my toddler decided to water some of them on a scorching hot day and burned all the leaves. All have pretty much recovered except my Bhut Jolokia, I'm gutted. There's still hope for it, because the stalk hasn't completely died off and is still green, but there's no way it's going to recover enough to actually flower this year if it recovers at all.

Mrs J

[nilling]

F1 Apache seeds

Here are my two Apache plants I have growing on a sunny window ledge in work. They are approx 18-24" tall. I feed them tomatorite (?) twice a week and when the it's hot they go outside for the afternoon

The others I have attempted to grow them in black supermarket flower tubs in the garden but they are only about 6" tall