Chilli harvest

[jayfrancis]

A little help required here peeps.

We had a go at growing some chillies from a kit we bought at B&Q. After a slow start we now have loads of large green chillies. We've picked a few and put them in a few dishes but they're a bit tame to say the least.

So what should I do, pick them? leave them? pickle or dry them. Some seem to be turning red on the plant so are they red chillies that aren't ripe?

Any help greatly appreciated.

[jpringle819]

It can take a long time for them to ripen in this country some times they never do. I have found that sometimes the chilli is not hot, this seems to be link to the type of seed used. It seems to be a russian roulette really.

[FrankHovis]

If they are not that hot, I'd be inclined to leave them on the plant for a few weeks to see if they ripen more. I've grown 'apache' chilli's for the last 2 years, which ripen easily and are pretty hot when green or red. The plants last well into the winter and I was still picking fresh chilli's in December last year. I freeze the majority of mine for use in curries, stews, pizzas etc. They go a little soft when defrosted but retain all their heat.

[Pferdestarke]

Leave them on to develop their placenta. This the membrane which holds most of the heat. Buy yourself some seeds off eBay and it'll be sure to contain some far hotter ones for next year!



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Massive-chili-chilli-see...

[Kneetrembler]

The best place to go for advice & to see the best selection of Chillis is at West Dean College nr Chichester West Sussex.
www.westdean.org.uk/garden/chillifiesta 27th - 29th July 2012