[mrs bouquet]

They're in the greenhouse, mostly laden down, (the yellow ones haven't turned yellow)
but how do I tell when they are all ready to crop,  ?   thanks,  Mrs Bouquet

[The Norfolk Turkey]

I had no idea either, so I picked our first one last week going on the 'big enough' criteria!! It was about the same size as a shop bought one and it was tasty!!

[mumofstig]

That's about it really.......when they are big enough Will take a lot longer if you wait for them to change to yellow, or red......so it's up to you whether you wait or not

[peapod]

Pick them when they are the right size for me too 

[titch]

mine are the right size but still green - i love peppers   :)but green ones do not like me    and come back to haunt me for hours after - so i am in for the long haul i think 

or shall i pick them and do the dark drawer with a banana or apple thing?

[mumofstig]

I don't think that works for peppers When i buy them, they are usually in a pack of 1 of each green, yellow and red but the green 1 never begins to ripen, no matter how long you keep them

[sclarke624]

I grow orange peppers, don't they taste sweeter and better than the supermarket ones.

This time of year, I pick when right size and just about all over orange and then leave on a windwosill to turn completely orange, not always succesful as they cook a bit in my hot conservatory.  A few had holes in them though, really annoying, as they didn't look too good inside.  But I have loads of buds, which I find bizzare at this point in its growth, didn't look too closely but look like small peppers, might just be flowers about to open though.  I'll have a proper look tomorrow.

[Janeymiddlewife]

mine are the right size but still green - i love peppers   :)but green ones do not like me    and come back to haunt me for hours after -




ooooohhh titch - I know what you mean, except i can take green ones, not red  most unpleasant

[strangerachael]

None of mine have changed colour at all yet - they're supposed to be red and orange. I have removed all the excess foliage and all the flowers/buds and very small fruits in order to encourage the bigger fruits to ripen. They are beginning to darken, but are being very slow about it. I suppose it's quite cold for them

[mrs bouquet]

I have just been into the g/house and removed the shading, and taken some foliage off each plant.  There are 5 plants, each one has 5/6 fruits.  One is called 'new ace', which I choose because the label showed it to be black, they started to go black, and are now going red.  The yellow ones are very large but green as are the red ones.
I thought a few days of sunshine now might colour them up.  However, as I worked the heavens opened, and I was stuck in there for 30 mins, so probably not much hope today    Thanks for all the info, Mrs Bouquet

[LivvyW]

Mine go blackish before they go red.  About 20% have started to colour up, and we have had very little sun up here.

I have kept the greenhouse closed though so the temp has been quite good. 

I read a tip for putting foil under the plants to reflect the light to encourage ripening, havn't got round to doing it yet, so can't tell you if it works. Can't do much harm though!

I don't like green peppers either, but my Mum tells me that when they are roasted they go as sweet as the red ones do.   I'll try it with whatever doesn't get to green stage by the time the colder weather comes.

[titch]

thats a good tip livvy might give it a go - on a day off tho 

am also going to try the tinfoil - nothing ventured

[lovemyveg]

I have just been into the g/house and removed the shading, and taken some foliage off each plant.  There are 5 plants, each one has 5/6 fruits.  One is called 'new ace', which I choose because the label showed it to be black, they started to go black, and are now going red.  The yellow ones are very large but green as are the red ones.
I thought a few days of sunshine now might colour them up.  However, as I worked the heavens opened, and I was stuck in there for 30 mins, so probably not much hope today    Thanks for all the info, Mrs Bouquet

I've been stuck in my greenhouse because of rainfall and now keep a brolly in there, which I needed to use yesterday.  Annie, my cat also had to make a dash for the house, under the brolly with me as she was in the greenhouse taking shelter too.