Black spots on pepper stem

[Vagetarian]

The second option is doable Two_Sheds, although they only get a few hours direct light in there so I wonder if they'd be better off under a piece of polycarbonate outdoors?

[rustylady]

OK, so they are at the moment travelling between the conservatory and outside. Where are you going to put them to fruit? Permanent quarters?

[Vagetarian]

The plan was to leave them in the garden eventually.

[rustylady]

In big pots? Or in the garden itself?

[Two_Sheds]

The plan was to leave them in the garden eventually.

That's doable if you can give them a south-facing suntrap. I usually can grow cayenne outside on the lotty, but last year (cool & wet from July-Sept) the whole crop failed to ripen (or even fruit, most of them)

[Vagetarian]

In big pots? Or in the garden itself?

I bought 10L pots for them, the garden is entirely slabbed and decked.

That's doable if you can give them a south-facing suntrap. I usually can grow cayenne outside on the lotty, but last year (cool & wet from July-Sept) the whole crop failed to ripen (or even fruit, most of them)

They've got the sun trap. I'm only really putting them out on the warmer days, if I have to carry on like that I will. My conservatory isn't quite a proper one as it has solid walls so there isn't a lot of direct light.

[Two_Sheds]

That's good then, sun trap on sunny days (that'll be tomorrow hopefully). You're a bit north of me so probably even cooler?
Mine are in the gh (unheated, but very warm in the summer), in 6" pots stood on gravel trays for watering/feeding.

This year's plants haven't started to ripen yet although I've got a few green ones coming, although I've had 5 red ones off my overwintered Cherry Bomb, and half a dozen red toms already

[rustylady]

You really do need to put them in slightly bigger pots asap. If you stand the pots in a seed tray they're easy enough to carry around.

[Vagetarian]

Thank you both for your advice. I am slightly north of you, Two_Sheds. I will carry on as I am then, outside on the hot days and inside on the rainy days, unless I find some scraps of polycarbonate in the mean time to make a cold frame out of. Or an automatic roof opener for the conservatory

I am going to pot them on this afternoon and try to find something to cover the tops of the pots with so if they do get caught in a shower they won't be over watered. I have grow bag trays for bottom watering which I can fill with water and gravel and I think I have some scraps of ply/MDF to carry them on.

I think my chilli peppers must be starting to ripen as the fruits stopped growing a while ago, the Hungarian yellow wax are a fairly close second and the bells are all now starting to fruit. I don't think I'm doing too badly but I want to do that best that is possible. This is my first year after all and I'm probably way overexcited about it.

[rustylady]

Vagetarian, why don't you buy one of the cheap blowaway greenhouses to put your chillies in for the mo. You can get them for around £10 and will at least give them a bit of shelter.

[Vagetarian]

Well, I've now got 12 plants in 10L pots so it would need to be a fairly big one...

I'll have to keep carrying them in and out for now, it's not really that big of a problem. I will make myself a nice big cold frame type thing however.