[dig4victory]

I have little side shoots on my chilli plants - should I pinch them out like tomatoes or leave? .... and the same with sunflowers, side flowers coming - to pinch or not to pinch - that is the.....errr you know the rest!
 

[Lardman]

Leave the pepper plants alone, they are bushes not vines.

[barbarella]

I agree.  As for sunflowers, it depends if you want cut flowers or are trying to beat the world record.  Don't pinch out if you want lots of flowers.

[Trikidiki]

Leave the pepper plants alone, they are bushes not vines.

I agree if it is a small fruited chilli but not all peppers. Sweet pepprs will usually divide after each flower which would create a bush like you'd expect with chillis but a large fruited pepper could not support that many fruits.

Some advice is when it produces its first flower and divides to remove one of the shoots. To my mind it would be better to leave the shoot but remove the flowers on one shoot so the leaf growth is there to support the fruits on the other stem.

[dig4victory]

Thank you very much, all!

[gardener247]

on the topic of sideshoots i've got mini sweetcorn sideshoots coming up from the soil level, should i pinch them out or not?

[mumofstig]

 these are called tillers and you leave them on...ina good year you may get a cob forming on them, so increasing your yield.
Earth the corn up a bit around the base if it gets windy though