Should I bring my chillis in?

[Caro]

Hi,

Just a quickie to ask advice on my chillis. I have lots of lovely fruits, some cayenne and some razzamatazz and I'm keen to let them ripen to increase strength (ie "hotness" )

As I'm in the west coast of Scotland and it's primarily wet and miserable here now, and the greenhouse was just over 10 C the other night, should I bring them into the house to ripen there, or are they best left in the greenhouse to get the most natural light?

Many thanks

Caro

PS do purple razzamatazz turn red too when they're fully ripe?

[bluemoon]

I'd recommend light over heat every time. It will still be warm during the day and 10C is fine, plants keep growing healthily above 6C.

[Capsid]

Do you want to keep the plants overwinter? If not then picking the fruit and drying it for long term storage will work. Just string them up and leave them in a cool place. I grow cayenne peppers and they turn red even if you pick them green (and they get hotter as they redden and dry).

I still have a lot from last year but I'm using this year's now.

[Caro]

Hi guys, thanks for your replies. Yes, I definitely want to overwinter some of them.

I'll keep them in the greenhouse for now then, unless it looks like they're starting to suffer or we get a cold snap.

Thanks again

Caro