I would say Habanero mid July could be possible, any pepper milder than habanero should be ready by July. Ghost and 7 pot Aug/Sept.

Mark

Pick them when they are ripe.....there is no code book for ripeness and there many, many, many variables.

the habanero was actually the first one to start blooming. it of course was not started with the others, I bought it at lowes, same as the serrano.

I understand there are many variables. I was merely looking for a range, so I could know ROUGHLY what to expect.

if the answer is "hey it just takes a few weeks, depending on other variables" that answer would be entirely acceptable.

out of curiosity, what are some examples of those variables? what makes peppers develop faster or slower?

Since all but the Serrano are harvested after they turn to final color, it'll be "a while." There's quite a bit of wait between seeing a full-sized green pod and final color.

It's nice that you're in Florida -- you'll still have to wait like the rest of us but once they start ripening, you'll be making weekly harvests for quite a while.

WARMTH is pretty much THE variable. You have plenty.

Kevin

Since all but the Serrano are harvested after they turn to final color, it'll be "a while." There's quite a bit of wait between seeing a full-sized green pod and final color.

It's nice that you're in Florida -- you'll still have to wait like the rest of us but once they start ripening, you'll be making weekly harvests for quite a while.

WARMTH is pretty much THE variable. You have plenty. Too much isn't a good thing, though. Mulch and/or shade cloth come in handy when temps go over 90 for prolonged periods.

Kevin

Tabascos are long season plants. I think it's 90 days from bloom to red pod, but the plants are huge and produce tons of peppers. I was picking flowers off one I was overwintering and picked over a hundred buds a week most weeks.

In my opinion, peppers can be picked at any stage, although most will turn red/orange red when ripe.

some hot pepper are sweet before their seeds are formed and hardened. I love those small tender peppers with some mild heat. But some hot peppers are HOT from the day one. One example: Birds eye and another started as blue. So , if you like'm Hot , you can pick them any time and eat/use them fresh. But then they are not meant for drying and keeping at that stage.

Seysonn:

There are many varieties of peppers that don't gain their true heat(if any) until they are at final color.

Just a few examples --
Thai hot -- virtually no heat when green
Chile de Arbol - same thing
Habanero -- some heat, but very little
Some superhots - heat, but not really -- especially when compared to final color heat

The general rule is-- as a pepper ripens more, the pepper gets sweeter and HOTTER. This rule even applied to something as mild as an Anaheim.

JMHO

Kevin

This post was edited by woohooman on Sat, Jun 1, 13 at 13:38

so my scorpions and ghosts might actually be edible if I pick them right as they begin to turn color? this sounds like a wonderful idea.

habanero is about the upper limit of what I can eat straight. the ghosts and scorpions in my garden terrify me. not just eating them but even handling them. if picking them early makes them a bit safer, I'm all for it.

in case it isn't abundantly clear yet this is my first year growing. total noob. I'd like to believe I learn fast though.

Judo: If you can eat a fully ripened habanero, you'll want to let those superhots ripen fully. The flavor is great and one doesn't eat superhots just to eat. it's what you can do with them -- dry and then grind, make sauces, add them in small amounts to dishes, etc.

I, myself, make it a point to try at least one fully ripened, raw pepper that's a new pepper to me so I can see what the flavor is like and make judgement on what I will do with those peppers. But, I'm not one to eat one just to see if I can stand the pain for 5 mins -- that's just dumb.

Let 'em ripen! No sense in growing them if you can't reap the benefits.

Kevin

my plan was actually to dry them and grind them up. I figure if cayenne powder is good, ghost powder would be amazing. my wife brings up the point that if that powder were to get into any orifices... ouch.

I'll probably never just bite into one. when I say I can handle a hab, I don't mean that it's pleasant and mellow. it wrecks my day. something literally 10x hotter is just scary. which brings up the question of why I'd grow them to begin with. the answer is I'm an idiot, and I like pain. plain and simple.

I also am an idiot. I am growing Bhut, Butch T, Moruga Scorpion, etc.

Hey, I am also in Florida. East Coast (Brevard County)

really? I'm in brevard too. indialantic to be specific. seen any whiteflies lately?

Have not, but I also am growing indoors on my back screened porch, so I am not really dealing with any pest issues.

Good for you having Bizzarro's "the original" not too far from you. I am close to Brevard Zoo (Wickham Road, Suntree)

ahh I see. from what I hear brevard is having a whitefly epidemic this year. my plants are proof of this. despite this the plants still seem healthy, so I see no reason to take drastic action yet.

I grew up with some of the younger bizzarros (I'm 26). I get free pizza from time to time. it's great to know people.

Don't be fooled by whiteflies. They don't seem like they're causing damage until later in the summer and you're wondering why all your plants look diseased and you have several months of good growing weather left. Next thing you know, they're not producing and slowly dying and the seeds for next year can't be saved because now they're diseased.

Not only all that... but once you have them, it's very difficult to stop the life cycle in warm climates. If I were you, I'd be going at them in all directions.

JMO.

Kevin

well, now that you've scared the *&%^*$# outta me, what's your favorite way to combat them? I've heard a lot of different ideas, and heard some pretty negative criticisms on many of them, so I don't know what I should do (part of why I haven't done anything yet. indecision is a killer)

so far I only see them on my ghosts and 7 pots. I've moved those two away from the rest to prevent it from spreading (or at least minimize the spread).

If the infestation isn't too severe, you may still be able to get them down to acceptable levels.

Sorry for the scare btw, but i don't think people realize how hard it is to get rid of them once they're dug in.

!) Yellow sticky cards for detection and to get some of the adults.
2) Diligent spraying of damn near any plant with insecticidal soaps and neem oil. If you prefer, 'inorganic" sprays I'm sure are also available, but I don't know if they do any better.

3) This is probably the most effective and I'm still working on it myself(damn gophers) is to go with integrated pest management. Create an insectary for beneficial bugs to feed and breed year round so when the pests show up, you have the good guys to take care of them. Once you do this, you'll be able to decrease the pesticide use and you'll want to. Because you don't want to kill the good guys also.

Read up on IPM(Integrated Pest management) -- also a forum on GW

4) in the meantime(since you probably don't have an insectary yet) you may want to order some beneficial bugs/larvae that you can release.

I'm going to order some green lacewing eggs shortly. If you have an ant problem, try to take care of it-- they'll scare off ladybugs and eat the lacewing eggs

Here's a couple of links that may be useful.

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7401.html

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/quickref/pest management/plants_attract_beneficial.html

http://tanishapuchalski.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/nature-gardens-ten-flowering-plants-that-attract-lacewings/

Kevin

This post was edited by woohooman on Mon, Jun 3, 13 at 17:48

Wrong thread.

This post was edited by woohooman on Sat, Jun 8, 13 at 0:38