Peppers

[Alice]

Before I eat them I just thought you all might like to see my peppers ripened on the plant. They're quite small. I might be able to get them bigger next year.

[Nicos]

They look really impressive!!
What variety are they?
Are you going to try and overwinter the plant- or does that only apply to some chilli plants?

[Alice]

Hello Nicos, I'm sorry I don't know what variety the pepper is. It was a bit of an afterthought and I bought it as a small plant in Dobbies for about 40p. It's fruited realy well all summer and I've been cutting the peppers green but thought I would leave the last batch to ripen. I'm going to try to overwinter it by cutting it back and keeping it indoors.

[Waffler]

It looks really lovely! Enjoy them.

[JennieAtkinson]

Very impressive Alice. Have you had the pot indoors all summer?

[Alice]

Hello jennie, I had the pepper in the greenhouse to start with but I don't know if it was too humid in there or I was overwatering but the fruits were inclined to get little rotten bits on them. I took it into the house and it's never looked back.

[jools]

I'm very impressed. I tried to grow peppers in my old greenhouse. Lots and lots of foliage, quite a lot of flowers but not one single fruit. Where did I go wrong??? I had lots of chillies on my chilli plants and there can't be much difference in growing them ....can there?
Jools

[shirlthegirl43]

My chilis were fruiting(?) before my pepper even flowered - maybe you just needed more patience. Don't take my word for it though - this is my first year growing anything other than weeds!!

[Earthbabe]

They look great Alice. I've never managed to get mine looking like that. Well done.

[Alice]

The only tip I can think of is, once they had started flowering, I misted them over with water everyday. Here's hoping for the same success next year.

[pigletwillie]

Jools dont over feed them. The poorer the soil the better (and hotter) the crop. When they have set fruit you can five them a feed of tomato food. Chillies especially benefit from an early start (March at the latest) to crop well. If you can't give them the early start you can always buy in plants.

[pickledtink]

They look splendid Alice. Like shiny little gems.
I wish I'd thought to bring my whole plants in instead of picking them all off green. Mind you they're ripening ok in a bag with some apples. You never get the same flavour as fruit ripened on the plant though. Yours'll taste much sweeter than mine I bet.

[Alice]

Hello Pickledtink, I haven't tasted them yet. They look so gorgeous I can hardly bear to cut them. Once the weather had gone I just took the whole plant with the green bell peppers indoors - and there you are. Lovely red peppers.

[mazel-bee]

I'm a little confused , Does this mean that the chilli plant I have in my green house can be bought in and saved for next year? I did have a lot but they were out side and caught the frost.

[bramble]

Hi Masie-be, yes you can bring chilli plants in and over-winter them in a light warm spot but it does'nt always work. Its certainly worth a try as they are a perennual plant and will give you an earlier crop next year. Good luck with that.