Rubbish at peppers and chillies... HELP

[zazen999]

I gave my peppers and chillis a good feed today after a bit of a nightmare week and many of them have doubled in size since last weekend - particularly the sweet peppers. Amazing.

[Lisamcflisa]

Hey Zazen, I agree my have grown considerably with the nice weather and heat, so nice to know its not my newbieness as a gardener that's doing something wrong, that actually its the dodgy year we're having for these heat loving plants... I gave them all a feed also yesterday and maybe if I'm lucky and we get a bit more decent weather this month I might get some red ones I think I'm going to have to bring my scotch bonnet in on the window sill to over winter it as its still not even got flowers!!

[The Large One]

i went to a chilli festival near Bath on saturday and their poly tunnels to put it blunt were awful
last year they were chest high, this year just over knee high so even the pros are suffering

[Lisamcflisa]

Just thought I'd say ty to everyone for the advice with my chillies and peppers, I still haven't had any that have ripened to there final colour BUT today I picked loads of both, random varieties, used them, my ripe toms, some courgettes that have appeared in the sun over the last few days and made a nommish roasted veg chutney... Good comes from poor yields

[Two_Sheds]

if I'm lucky and we get a bit more decent weather this month I might get some red ones

Can you bring the plants indoors, onto a warm (south) windowsill? That'll speed up the ripening

[Lisamcflisa]

unfortunately i have no south windows, crap eh... gonna overwinter a couple on my kitchen window to get a head start next year, thanks tho

[Lisamcflisa]

yay one of my chillies has actually gone red, woohoo for sun for a few days... look proof too

[Two_Sheds]

This is the worst year I've had for chillies, I've not got even one fruit

bring the plants indoors... That'll speed up the ripening

Well. I didn't get many, but apparently they're hot. The habaneros were green all summer, then ripened to orange on the windowsill. I had a bite a few weeks ago, and no heat at all, hopeless.

I can now report that ripening indoors does work, and they DO get their heat.

Himself has just found the hottest chilli on the bush! OMD, he just scared the cr@p out of me. I'd made a ghoulash, didn't have any paprika at all, so I popped a whole habanero in the pan, meaning to pick it out like a bay leaf.

I can't describe properly what happened next: I thought he was choking on a bone, he was actually crying, snot was pouring out his nose, he was being sick ~ he downed a pint of milk, puked it back up, downed another pint... we're laughing about it now, but it was really scary. I thought I'd have to take him up the hospital in my beastie* and slippers


* beastie: huge fluffy dressing gown, covered in dog hair and toast crumbs

[Lisamcflisa]

hey TS, i'm really sorry to hear it, but i must say i did just nearly pee myself reading your post, lol, sorry!