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Chilli plants - what to do with them now ?

selinasallyselinasally Posts: 166
in Fruit & veg
My first time growing them- I heard if you put them in a bigger pot they will get as big as the pot - so I had repotted mine - but they flowered late and chillis were slow to come .They are in a greenhouse but nights are getting cooler- should I bring them inside at some point ? One has lots of cayenne I think green chillis- the other has only flowers and then the other is scotch bonnet and has one chilli and several tiny chillis...any advice please ?

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  • selinasallyselinasally Posts: 166

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    They really do need consistent warmth to ripen and this summer hasn't exactly been very helpful.
    You don't say when you actually started them and looking at your set up, they would appear not to have had adequate light levels earlier on and therefore have been forced up to obtain light and warmth which is why they are really only flowering/fruiting at the top of the plants. Better off either on staging or at least raised up a little and not surrounded by panels/fencing ( a bit difficult to tell with the pics ).
    Depending on your location it is probably too late to get much in the way of ripe fruit. You can use the chillies green tho - either fresh or frozen and re think your strategy for next year :)
  • Desi_in_LondonDesi_in_London Posts: 731
    Mine (mid-feb seed-sown indoors until able to move outside late May as no greenhouse) were definitely later to ripen than I have experienced in 'better' summers. You can use them green, although only one of your cayennes on the plant looks a reasonable size (assumes photo 2 the little ones are same plant). Scotch bonnet are capsicum chinense ( like habaneros ) and have a longer ripening time frame - i've never tried but in theory you can overwinter them indoors to get a head start next year. I did grow Apache and super chilli this year , both are quite small (fruit, and also plants ) so can be kept  indoors if needed, and because they are small,  ripened much faster (at least for me).
    if you have the space and light indoors , you can certainly move them indoors for a month to see where you get to with ripening ( and water/feed enough to get the small fruits to grow in size).
    Kindness is always the right choice.
  • selinasallyselinasally Posts: 166
    Thank you - i sowed them ended of feb indoors moved into greenhouse beginning of June and potted up ens of June 
  • EustaceEustace Posts: 2,290
    I think you can move them into direct sunlight mid-morning to hasten the ripening. When the outside temperature falls into single digit, they can be moved on to a window sill. You can use green chillies in your cooking too, it has a slightly different flavour though.
    Oxford. The City of Dreaming Spires.
    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
    And dances with the daffodils (roses). Taking a bit of liberty with Wordsworth :)

  • Simone_in_WiltshireSimone_in_Wiltshire Posts: 1,073
    @selinasally
    I had to take all my green cayenne chilli off as the plant didn’t look healthy 2 weeks ago. They turned red since then. 
    So no worries about that they are green. 

    I ♥ my garden.

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