[Scribbler]

Just got a couple of jalapeno plants in from the greenhouse. Are they going to keep growing or shall I cut them off and freezem. Biggest is about a couple of inches long. Cheers.

[corynsboy]

I had a rubbish crop this year.  The few that I do have are de-seeded and blanched and bagged up in the freezer.  I didn't even have enough to play around with salsas and drying and oils this year.  Oh well.

I don't think that they will survive a big frost in an unheated greenhouse but I've usually harvested them all by now so I'm not a all certain.  

I've hung on to one plant because I learned from Terry Walton's allotment podcast that a chilli bush will grow fruit again if kept over winter.  I keep mine in buckets in the greenhouse.  One of my jobs this weekend is to cover the plant with fleece.  I'll bubble wrap the bucket to stop it freezing and see how it goes.  Apparently the soil has to remain a bit damp but not wet.  Best to keep it off the ground too i guess.

I've kept one of this year's four plants in the hope that I don't have to grow everything from seed again in the spring.

[cawdor2001]

there was another thread on here somewhere talking about this but basically when they have finished, you can prune them back (by about half) and they will grow again next Spring and produce chillies.  Mine were prolific this year but a lot are still green.  As long as you keep the frost off them they will be fine. I would cut back when they have finished, or you have taken all the chillies off them and then put them somewhere cool but frost free. Then next Spring move somewhere a bit warmer and they will start again and hopefully produce ripe chillies earlier as they will have more of a head start (that is what i am hoping anyway   )

Cawdor

[cawdor2001]

funny blog by the way Corynsboy, i see you are a f*****g Ramsey fan, yes?

Cawdor

[corynsboy]

Thanks for stopping by the blog Cawdor.

Yes big boy.  Everybody likes a bit of Ramsey. No?  Excellent!  

Thanks for the confirmation of the process.  I'll keep a record on the blog and report back on my progress with this winters chilli experiment.

Home grown Chillies in early summer, that will be a first for me.

[cawdor2001]

Excellent, look forward to that, i will also post how mine get on next year.

Done

Cawdor

[Fat Hen]

Just got a couple of jalapeno plants in from the greenhouse. Are they going to keep growing or shall I cut them off and freezem. Biggest is about a couple of inches long. Cheers.

Have you brought them indoors?  If so should keep ticking over ok( My malawi bird is just set it's second crop and some are starting to ripen already after only a few weeks).  Will eventually ripen.  

I have a choccy bonnet on windowsill that has produced one crop and has now more flowers ( and fruit setting) than has had all summer.

I was picking ripe chillis at Christmas last yr.  Be patient they'll slow up but will continue to mature.

Annums are hardly worth overwintereing and can be awkward too.  The hotter slower growing varieties however definitely benefit from overwintering producing heavier and earlier crops in subsequent yrs.

Need to keep temps above around 15 C and relatively dryish.