[japagow]

 I have grown chillis, Joe’s Long Cayenne, this year and the plants are healthy with great long chilli’s and I’m very pleased.

Do I pick them when they’re green and then ripen them at home?. Do I leave them on the bush…remember it’s late summer now and the torrential rain we’re having signals the end of the season. Does this effect the taste and heat?

The same with the peppers. Do I leave them to do their thing on the plant or take them home to ripen. Again, the heat from the summer is slowly dwindling and I believe autumn is upon us despite what the BBC say!!

Any answers or advice really welcome.
 

[SUTTY1]

Are they outside or in a g/house, poly tunnel?
Personally with you being down in devon i'd think they'll be ok on the plants for another month.
I think the cayanne chilli are richer and sweeter if allowed to redden on the plant.

[japagow]

They are in a small polytunnel.

I thank you for your reply and believe too they'll ripen better on the plant BUT are you saying that there are circumstances,  where I should pick them green and let them ripen at home. 

If so, where is the best place to ripen them.?

[compostqueen]

Mine are ripening on the plants and I shall leave them in the greenhouse for ages yet. I crop them as they become red but if a recipe calls for green chillies then I pick unripe ones

You're in Devon so not sure why you're in such a rush 

[daisy1990]

if you spread them out on kitchen towel and put them in an airing cupboard /dry warm p;lace they will dry out and keep over winter

[starry]

I would leave them for as long as you can on the plant they are in a poly tunnel so will be warm September is usually fairly sunny and warm it definitely was last year I was in Cornwall
 when you do harvest them I would harvest the whole plant and tip it upside and leave it to dry somewhere (that is what I have read and will do with mine but they are still growing in my conservatory at the moment  

[shokkyy]

At the end of the growing season last year (and I mean when it was almost cold enough for overnight frost) I brought a couple of plants inside on the windowsill and for the rest I picked all the fruit, green or red. Some I made into a couple of ristras to hang up and the rest I just chucked into a bowl on the windowsill. Both lots turned red and dried out nicely and I'm still using them now.

[sunshineband]

and if you want to use them green, which gives a different flavour, just freeze them in a ploybag and take out what you need at the time 

[SUTTY1]

They should be OK upto any chance of frost.
As for storing and rippening it depends how many you have and how you want to use them, etc.
 Hanging the whole plant or drying in the likes of a airing cupboard is good, as is freezing or preserving in oil or vinegar.

[Growster...]

Mrs Growster apprehended me in a serious voice on Saturday, and we spent a happy hour and a half, de-seeding (and white bits as well), her Scotch Bonnet and Jalopenos etc.

They all went into individual cling film envelopes - about a desert spoonful at a time - and into an ice cube freezer. Eventually she just bags them up and uses them as necessary during winter.

Thin rubber gloves are a necessity...

And don't touch your face either...