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Pod maturity to produce viable seeds

13 years ago

How mature must a pepper pod be to produce viable seeds? My jalapenos had not turned red before the first frost. I picked all the fruit and saved a few that appeared older than the rest. After a few days, these pods turned red and I saved the seeds. I have started a germination test, so I will have my answer pretty soon, but I wondered if there is a rule of thumb on this. Tom

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Comments (3)

muskymojo
13 years ago
I would think if jalapeno pods are red the seeds should be good.
noinwi
13 years ago
I didn't think that seeds from green Jals would be viable, but last year I saved seed from some very large ones I bought at the local grocer. The first batch of seeds wouldn't germinate, so the next time I bought some, I looked for pods that were just starting to blush, and those had a little better germination. If yours were just a few days away from ripening, I would think you'd get pretty good germination.
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My thanks for your replies. In reply to sarahbarah27, my question evolved from seed's I've saved from some native plants, Liatris (meadow blazing star). The seeds look good but I've not gotten one of them to germinate. I've put them through a 2 month cold treatment in the fridge before placing them in the warmth and still not one to germinate. This is what prompted my question. I've got some more in the fridge where I will leave them for three months, then try again. I'm also going to winter sow the remaining seeds to see if that will help. It may just be that I'm not handling them properly. My thanks again for taking the time to read and reply to my question. Mary
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You should be fine if you have another month before frost. If you have a basement you could put the plant inside and wait for the seedpod to ripen. I have done this with a potted plant before and got perfectly viable seed. I have lots of Datura seed as well in case you don't get any this year.
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kentishman
Original Author
13 years ago
As a follow up to my original question on seed viability, let me point out that I'm forced to try saving seeds from an unripe pod because pods never turned red through the growing season. This is my first year growing this strain, which I like because it's not too hot. In previous years, with a different strain, I've had plenty of red jalapenos, which I like to smoke for chipotles. So my follow up question is to ask if there is a lot of variability between different strains as far as ripening is concerned. The plants grew well and early and I had a large crop, but the pods I left on the plants never turned red. I'm trying to overwinter one plant because I read on the Forum that this will give me a plant that produces early. Does anyone have any suggestions for how I can produce ripe pods? Thanks for all the help, Tom

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