[3759allen]

could anyone help me with some info when to harvest chillies.

i have some little elf (dwarf / mini) chilli plants on the window sill, some have now turned red, does this mean they are ready to harvest?

i've also got some jalapeņo in the poly tunnel. these don't seem as long as i was thinking they would grow, pretty fat and round though. they don't seem to be getting a lot bigger so are these ready to harvest? if i do take some off will it encourage more to grow or the ones that are there to grow longer?

sorry for all the questions.

thanks in advance.

[syks grower]

I harvest chillies when I need some.
The more green one you use the more I find the plant produces.

If they are big enough use em

[compostqueen]

I'd harvest them if they've turned red so they'll keep producing 

[allot2learn]

Mine are cut green and frozen. They still work.

[gobs]

As said, harvest them, when you need one. And yes, it will keep the plant producing, instead of growing seed. It might seem a bit late to say now in the season, but, hey, for next year!

[compostqueen]

Yes but sometimes you want a red chilli, especially if you've grown a red variety

[JayG]

Peppers, chilli or otherwise, are highly unlikely to survive over winter in a cold GH or poly, so won't produce many more fruits whether you pick them ripe or unripe, although it's true that picking them does stimulate the plant to produce more flowers, conditions permitting.

If you can find a suitable position in the house they should go on to produce further flushes of fruit, although they will obviously slow down as the daylight and temperatures decrease. I fully expect to still find a few cayenne peppers on my two plants at the winter festival (not that they'll be on the menu I suspect!) 

[samnorfolk]

Harvest them as and when and then use surplus that i make into a hot pepper/chilli sauce delicious! Im addicted to it!!!

[3759allen]

thanks for all the advice.

i'm not in any real need for any more chilli's, over done it a bit with the amount of plants i think. i'll go with the majority and pick as i need and freeze whatever's left when the temperatures drop.