Chilli/pepper question

[rhyswales]

As you can see in the picture, quite a few of my chilli plants have chillies starting to grow on them, do I pull these off or leave them? Also is it a good or bad thing that they got chillies on them so early?

Thanks

[bramble]

Extremely early Rhyswales but if it were my plant I wouldn't pull them off. It looks very healthy.
When did you sow the seeds and what variety is it?

[bramble]

P.S. To rhyswales. When the flowers open get a fine paintbrush or indeed a feather and brush it inside the blossom to pollinate as its a bit early for the bees to do the job.

[Spunky]

I'd take them off Rhys and nip the growing tip off to get more side shoots

[Scarlet]

The look very healthy plants though they aren't really big enough yet to support the fruit. It's highly unlikely that they will manage to get to the fruiting stage unless you hand pollinate as Bramble has said. I would take them off, let the plant use its energy for growth at this stage.

[sparrow100]

What Scarlet and Spunky said...

[marchogaeth]

^^^^^^^ yep. Let them put their efforts into growth. As a comment (I never have chillies that big this early and yours do look very healthy), I'm always a bit concerned when small plants flower. In nature flowering is about setting seed and passing on genes, if a plant does that before it's mature it can be a sign of stress. I'm sure other early chilli growers will comment.

[Philthy]

I'd take the flowers off and let the plant focus on getting bigger.
It does look very healthy though. Well done

[Spunky]

Have you had them under lights Rhys?

[rhyswales]

Hi all

Thanks for the advice everyone, nipped off all the buds today.

Spunky - yes had them under lights. Sowed middle of January

[rhyswales]

Okay so a quick update, today I must of picked about 20 buds off an apache plant, it's not very big. I have about 20 chilli/pepper plants and atleast 12 have buds on them. This is not one or two buds but 10+ per plant, something's not right here surely?

[libbyloulou]

Bramble asked on the 8th of this month what variety they were ? maybe it's bred into them as i have toms only a few weeks old flowering at under 5inches tall (indeterminate) they are under a metalhyde bulb which is for growth only, quite confusing.

[Kristen]

i have toms only a few weeks old flowering at under 5inches tall (indeterminate) they are under a metalhyde bulb

Interesting! Do you know what variety they are?

[Scarlet]

I think stressed plants flower early to continue their life cycle - as March said above. Which could be the reason the toms are fruiting?

Rhys are all those chillies Apache F1? They are a dwarf chilli, maybe grow no more than a foot tall.a compact kitchen windowsill plant. Have you pinched out the growing tip? This slows the plant down and encourages the growth of side shoots.
It is also a capsicum annum which fruit much earlier than the super hots, aji, habs, nagas etc that have a much longer growing season.

[libbyloulou]

My toms are Sungold, and my marzanos are heading the same way...



Edit, they did get a bit cold early on, about a week after putting under the lights, so as mentioned, stress?