[tam]

I poked mine with a paint brush and I've got a good crop just going red. It's amazing how fast the peppers develop after the flowers, I think my banana ones grew about 1/2" a day!

[monkeywobbler]

What the heck? Mine are about 3 inches high - what am I missing? Do you guys have bionic plant food or something?!! 

[tam]

Once the flowers turn into baby peppers I've been feeding mine tomato food.

I did sow mine in November though so that might be more to do with it One I sowed mid feb is just flowering now. Seems to vary with variety though as others done at the same time are half the height and they were treated exactly the same.

[Yabba]

What the heck? Mine are about 3 inches high - what am I missing? Do you guys have bionic plant food or something?!! 

It's only my first year growing chillis/peppers so don't quote me on this ...... but, the main thing you're missing is "time", my chillis were started off in january, the "b****r, I seem to have killed them" follow up group were started last month, and they're only a couple of inches high ... damn, guess you do have time eh? .... hmmm ... maybe you're missing optimism?

*note to self* start feeding the chillis eh? 

¥

[monkeywobbler]

What the heck? Mine are about 3 inches high - what am I missing? Do you guys have bionic plant food or something?!! 

It's only my first year growing chillis/peppers so don't quote me on this ...... but, the main thing you're missing is "time", my chillis were started off in january, the "b****r, I seem to have killed them" follow up group were started last month, and they're only a couple of inches high ... damn, guess you do have time eh? .... hmmm ... maybe you're missing optimism?

*note to self* start feeding the chillis eh? 

¥

Lol!
I cheated and purchased mine as plug plants from Wilko's about 2 months ago. They haven't really grown much - they're the only thing that hasn't though, everything else is shooting up at a rate of knots.

My secret - I talk to them! Maybe the peppers don't like my accent and I should fake something more peppery? 

[sunshineband]

My (overwintered) Anaheim chilli seems to set fruit without any pollination, unless I've got some very sneaky flies on my kitchen windowsill.  I should think it depends on the variety.

Good for those sneaky flies  

[andreadon]

i'm pretty sure mine must not need a pollinator (self-fertile?)

our bees pretty much stick to the outside of the house!

[Oliver]

... They took ages to germinate. 

They do - but they always 'catch up' and do well
O

[jamesbrownontheroad]

Thanks all for your advice - as they're indoors do i need to get jiggy with a paint brush in place of the bees ? 

bumping this up - do the flowers need pollinating - they're on the kitchen windowsill at the mo and greenhouse & cold frame full of peas/toms/chillis & flowers waiting to go out!
I could put peppers out on a sunny day when the flowers open but wuld rather use a paintbrush as there are quite a lot of plants!

Providing it's not a F1 varietyIf you use the paint brush, thus pollinating them yourself, mark the fruit 
so you can tell at a later date which fruit it was and then when you come to use the fruit you can save the seed for next year.

I'm sorry to ask a dumb nooobie question, but we have two kinds of F1 peppers (Matador & Yellow Bell). Does this mean that we don't need to pollinate them?

[little sweetpeas]

Yes, peppers need to be swon early. If you've nowhere warm to let them grow January is a good time to sow but I never sow later than the second week of February

[tam]

I'm sorry to ask a dumb nooobie question, but we have two kinds of F1 peppers (Matador & Yellow Bell). Does this mean that we don't need to pollinate them?

You still need to pollinate them to get the pepper to develop, but if they are F1 then if you save the seeds from the pepper they might not grow the same as the parent plant.

[mumofstig]

I've just found flower buds on my peppers and aubergines WOOHOO currently sitting on the bathroom windowledge, with ali foil behind Hope it warms up enough to put them in g/house soon, as somehow veg next to the loo doesn't seem a good idea