Chillies - growing and overwintering 2018

[Small pumpkin]

I bought a chocolate habanero plant from Homebase 2 weeks ago for £1. Totally green pods, it was outside there so I kept it out until I brought it in last Tuesday. It's not cold down here but it was very windy. I was surprised yesterday to see they were not only yellow but turning red. Very happy, mind you it's only about 18 inches high so not taking up too much room. It may survive the winter but if not seeds for next year too.

If it's a chocolate habanero it shouldn't be turning red!
They go from green to brown

[Scarlet]

I bought a chocolate habanero plant from Homebase...I was surprised yesterday to see they were not only yellow but turning red......seeds for next year too.

Are you sure it’s a chocolate hab? Are the pods red or brown? See my photos above, chocolate hab pods are a dark brown colour.
Post some photos if you can? I find if the plant is small it often overwinters really well. Any seeds saved are unlikely to run true and may have crossed with something else.

[Scarlet]

If it's a chocolate habanero it shouldn't be turning red!
They go from green to brown

Oops, started to say the same and then poured my coffee

[Scarlet]

Am trying to decide when to bring my orange and lemon habaneros inside. They are still looking good with lots of buds and small chillis but all green. They haven’t started dying back still looking healthy. They are in the greenhouse which is still getting pretty warm during the day - into 30s sometimes but down as low as 7 at night. Not keen to bring inside until I have to because they will take up all my window space but I would really like some ripe chillis this year.

If you leave it too late you will lose them. A few nights of below 7 for a length of time will certainly lessen their chances of overwintering.

[HoneyChild]

Due to the frost today I thought now would be the time to harvest the chillies. I've only dabbled a little with growing peppers before and this is my first year of attempting to grow them properly.



Top left - 500g Mr F Friggitello from 2 plants, supposed to be sweet and have turned out HOT. I previously picked some so don't know my exact yield. If I grow them again next year I can't decide whether to pick them early before they get a chance to develop heat or harvest late as chillies.

Top right - 800g Mr F red cherry from 3 plants, also picked some before so don't know exact yield. Good amount of heat.

Bottom - Devil's brew from seeds I saved last year. Have totally neglected them as sowed seeds late and left them in tiny pots. There are still some green ones on 2 plants that I will pick later. Good heat.





Mr F 800g jalapenos from 3 plants. Not picked any before so this is the entire yield. I know these are supposed to be mild but I really don't taste any heat from them at all. I don't really see the point in growing them to be honest.


All of the peppers apart from Devil's brew were sown end of Feb and then some of the plants were put under basic LED lights in April. I can't really remember what I did with the rest of the plants. May have had them in the GH during the day and brought in at night. They were all planted in pots that were roughly 10litres and I used a variety of composts including home made and lidl peat-free. I added FBB at time of planting and watered with a very dilute miracle grow.

I'm not sure what I'm going to grow next year. Ones that were supposed to be sweet were hot, some that were suppost to be hot were sweet. I'm not sure if it's the varieties, Mr F or something else to blame. At the moment I don't really feel like a convert. I feel a bit overwhelmed with all these peppers and there's no way I'll be able to make use of them all myself . If I can get them to ripen I'm thinking of making powders and flakes to sell in the local village shop.

[Baldy]

I just watered some chillies in the greenhouse - which was a bit silly, as I was intending to let them dry on the plant... which I'm told works...

[annie8]

Took them in tonight. Bit chilly. Will take some back out tomorrow if weather is sunny. Interested to see if they change colour now they are inside.

[Scarlet]

Mine changed in two days...

[Scarlet]

Mr F 800g jalapenos from 3 plants. Not picked any before so this is the entire yield. I know these are supposed to be mild but I really don't taste any heat from them at all. I don't really see the point in growing them to be honest.

Where are you getting your seeds from? jalepeanos do pack some heat - green ones are much milder- I let mine ripen on the plant but they are a great pepper to grow, fabulous pickled.

[ChilliWilly70]

Another batch harvested today.

[robbra]

Are you sure it’s a chocolate hab? Are the pods red or brown? See my photos above, chocolate hab pods are a dark brown colour.
Post some photos if you can? I find if the plant is small it often overwinters really well. Any seeds saved are unlikely to run true and may have crossed with something else.

The tag from Homebase says that so it may not be correct. My camera is on the blink, they look identical to your photo and have started to darken from an orange/red so I'm still hopeful. If not no great shakes, a bit like the surprise tomatoes springing up from B&Q compost.
Changing so quickly unlike tomatoes. Definitely a new challenge for next year, can't wait to try out my new heated propagator.
Rob

[HoneyChild]

Where are you getting your seeds from? jalepeanos do pack some heat - green ones are much milder- I let mine ripen on the plant but they are a great pepper to grow, fabulous pickled.

I got my seeds from Mr. Fothergill's Pepper Seed Collection, bought from a local garden centre.

[Mitzi]

Yesterday I managed to pot down 5 plants from MFBs into 8" square pots and brought them in. Also a further 5 plants that never made it into large pots so they are still in pop bottles. Three runty plants that are still in porridge pots. That is absolutely all I have room for indoors, as my OH is insistent that no large plants can go on our bedroom windowsill this year. Last year it became extremely difficult to close the curtains, they tended to get knocked off resulting in compost on the carpet, shed leaves all over, and got a bad aphid infestation making the carpet under the window all sticky. So I guess he's got a point. Anyway if I keep that windowsill clear then I can use it for the new plants next year! (Shh, don't tell him!)

I also cut back the three bonnets in the little bedroom to a far more manageable size; unfortunately this meant I accidentally cut off several unripe pods - probably too small to ripen but we'll see. I also found 4 live ladybirds plus one larva, which was a nice surprise as I had thought they had all died or escaped out of the window, which has been open all summer.

I still have over 30 plants in large pots (MFBs and upwards) outdoors. It breaks my heart that they are all doomed. Some of them haven't even ripened any pods yet.

[Small pumpkin]

Picked a couple more chillies today

[Philthy]

^^ Blimey! (that's putting it conservatively)

What are those long reds bottom right, they look massive. Can you measure one, SP? Just curious