[cabbagehead]

Looks like the great British summer has peppered our peppers! Hooray! just found a Dorset Naga about the size of a marble  just the one. Thanks for replys guys.

Have had some small peppers - tried 2 chillis about 2 inches long, indertiminate variety (green) but they were bitter and not very hot 

Janey, did you use fresh seeds from a packet or saved/given seeds from a friend?

[cabbagehead]

Insects!!! I've done some research and our problem maybe insects. The lack of. Our peppers are not getting enough sex.  Flowers with no fruit = virgins. So, get out there and manually pollinate your peppers. Not a problem I've come across before but, maybe this year we have a shortage of insects?

Use a soft damp brush and pollinate your peppers.

I'm pollingating mine today. If you give it ago then please post your success here.

Remember, if you cross pollinate, next years seeds will be cross pollingated. So you might end up with a very hot sweet pepper. 

[Yabba]

I must be lucky, several of my chillis, and sweet peppers, have been in fruit for months now

Had crops off :
Orange Bell (pepper)
N.Napia (pepper)
Pretty In Purple (chilli)
unknown #1 ( chilli )

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[scabs]

I got given a pepper seedling off a friend; it's about five inches tall now, rather 'bald' and had two flowers, one of which fell off. I now have a solitary pepper about the size of a 1p piece that is is not putting on much weight at the moment.

Never having grown them before, I have done little more than look at it and water it. It did occur to me that maybe I was over-watering and that, perhaps, I should be feeding it, but with everything going on at home, I kept forgetting to look it up. 

[lovemyveg]

My chilli plants are in the greenhouse and there is not even a bud in sight.  The plants are about 8" high and looking quite healthy.  These are Cayenne chilli seeds, which were free with Gardener's World magazine, so maybe I can't complain?

[diggerjoe]

last year  was the first time I'd grew them and they grew like mad, big plants but not much fruit. This year I've looked after them all five and they are only just flowering and leaves a bit sparse - looks like no fruit this year. They are in the greenhouse, last year they were all outside. A chilli I was given has three about an inch long!!! cant wait to see what happens to them.

[Bobbeh]

For my first attempt mine seem to be going quite well.

I've got a few 'Nigel's Outdoor Chilli' plants grown from seed from Realseeds and a few 'Worldbeater' salad peppers from seed I got with John's book on the go in the conservatory.

All seem to be doing very well so far. There are lots (maybe 15-20?) chillies on each of the chilli plants and there are still flowers opening and there are peppers forming nicely on the Worldbeater plants again with flowers still opening.

I've been tapping the plants gently every day or two to pollinate the flowers as I read somewhere that was the easiest way to do it and it seems to have worked.

Does anyone know how many peppers plants can cope with? Do I need to start pulling them off after so many to give them more chance of ripening?

Some chillies

Some salad peppers

[tam]

They seem to self regulate, once they get to too many they'll either drop off or stop growing until you've picked the first lot

[mumofstig]

All of my chillies and salad peppers are fruiting, some inside p/t but most outside, and these ones have been really battered about by the bad winds lately They have held on to their fruits though, so i'm hoping for the best
This years bell peppers California something (doh..pkt downstairs ) are really thin walled, same as last years..different variety!  Can anyone recommend a bell pepper that does actually grow with thick walls like the ones you buy, or would this be asking too much for home growing? Won't bother again if they are all going to be like this

[Yabba]

I should have some more orange bell peppers ready in the next couple of days, I'll take a pic of a cut one and you can tell me if it's thick walled enough for you ( got some spare seed you can have )

This is one of my Pretty in Purple as of 5 minutes ago. The rest are in the potting shed at the field.



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[Bombers]

I grew Californian Wonder ( I think they were called ) Last year. Very nice they were too. I didn't think they were thin walled though... I tried to over winter, but failed.  The only thing I have got going at the moment (Thanks to Sadgit) are my Habaneros... Started late (21st March). Transplanted into 5" pots, and 'treated em mean'! Am well pleased wth them.

[Faz]

Some chilis respond really well in their 2nd year, if you have somewhere to overwinter them.

I gave my friend some cayenne peppers last year and his had red fruit on several weeks ago, whereas my 2009 sowings only started to bear fruit around 2 weeks ago. It really does give them a massive head start.

I pollinate all my chili flowers most days, just a quick tickle with a tiny paintbrush seems to do the trick.

[cabbagehead]

I got given a pepper seedling off a friend; it's about five inches tall now, rather 'bald' and had two flowers, one of which fell off. I now have a solitary pepper about the size of a 1p piece that is is not putting on much weight at the moment.

Never having grown them before, I have done little more than look at it and water it. It did occur to me that maybe I was over-watering and that, perhaps, I should be feeding it, but with everything going on at home, I kept forgetting to look it up. 

It's better to keep the pepper dryer than you would tomatoes. Try and water in the mornings so the roots aren't wet over night. Wet and cold as it is now probably once a week will do. Feed your pepper once a week.

[scabs]

Thanks Cabbagehead.

[janiejakemum]

I thought we weren't meant to feed chillis/peppers??  What should we feed them - tomorite or worm is what i have available.