Chilli plant query

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Be very careful grinding cayenne peppers, especially if you have get a lot - like I did last year. Use a sealed device such as a blender, small blade type coffee grinder, or Nutribullet type. Don't use a food processor!!! They are not sealed and will fill you kitchen with airborne cayenne pepper - trust me! You pepper plant look great. They are typically slow starters. I grow all kinds from sweet peppers to scotch bonnets and Carolina reapers.
 
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One if my pepper plants- I lost the label so not sure if sweet or romital-the flowers And stalks keep falling off so no peppers, any ideas?
 

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One if my pepper plants- I lost the label so not sure if sweet or romital-the flowers And stalks keep falling off so no peppers, any ideas?
There are 5 main reasons peppers drop their blooms. The most common is over watering. The second is poor pollination. Peppers are self pollinating but if pollen drop is not correct the pollen does not get into the blooms pistil. You can pretty much fix this by shaking the plant a few times per day and/or installing a fan close by. A less likely reason is temperatures. A pepper plant can survive and grow in temps of high 90'sF - 100+F, but being in the UK I doubt this is applicable. Also, a big change in temps can cause bloom drop as well as big changes in humidity. Another reason is too much nitrogen fertilizer but your plant doesn't look like it has nitrogen toxicity. A lessor reason are mites and thrips but your plant doesn't show any signs of them either. So, IMO you are keeping the soil to wet or the plant isn't pollinating correctly.

Humidity is many times a factor when one is growing different varieties of peppers. Some varieties are just more sensitive to humidity changes than others.
 
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I grow chilis and bell peppers of various types every year (no cayennes this year, still over loaded from last year!). A couple of things I have found to work well, sometimes dramatically, are an occasional dose of epsom salts for the nitrogen absorption problem (like tomatoes), and garden lime/calcium. We have a very low humidity climate here, they are irrigated with automatic sprinklers twice a day (growing in raised beds) and our temperatures often go well over 100F. They are slow starters but once they get going they are pretty hardy. My lone scotch bonnet this year had been less than 1" tall for weeks - in fact a couple of 2 months, being started from seed in doors. It finally took off after the first lime and epsom salts treatment. I noticed the callaloo liked it too - first time I have grown it.
 
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Thanks everyone.

Ive shaken them regularly now so fingers crossed.

Loads and loads of green chilli's, nothing going red, I will keep waiting, hoping it just suddenly happens at some point!
 

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Thanks everyone.

Ive shaken them regularly now so fingers crossed.

Loads and loads of green chilli's, nothing going red, I will keep waiting, hoping it just suddenly happens at some point!
They will not suddenly turn from green to red. They will gradually turn to red over a period of time.
 
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I guess I'm just not that comfortable with the process of chilli's yet, it's my first year. It's like my brain is trained to pick as soon as I see something full size, like you do with beans or courgettes!
 
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I guess I'm just not that comfortable with the process of chilli's yet, it's my first year. It's like my brain is trained to pick as soon as I see something full size, like you do with beans or courgettes
Patience
 
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Some chillis. (Chenzo & Hungarian black to name two) tomatoes & capsicums go from green to black to red, so don't worry if your chillis do go black; if they look otherwise good, there's a fair chance it's just a ripening phase.
 
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Patience, my friend. They don't just pop out and turn red overnight. Some of them can take a relatively long time to ripen. Chilis can be several different colors when they mature, though most varieties are red. In fact they all turn color at some point - pale yellow (actually those may start off very pale), bright yellow, orange, red, purple, even a brownish color and black. "Green" chilis are just technically picked under ripe because we like to eat them that way. Even Green Bell Peppers will turn color in the end. Some varieties are used both ways - Jalapeno, Hatch, and Thai for example. Looks like you are on your way to some mighty fine chilis there.

BTW: In case you get overwhelmed with them, they dry and freeze excellently and keep well. You probably would not want to dry Bell Peppers because you would use them up. But other types are just dried whole. If you want them ground, (Cayenne for example), see my previous reply, especially if you have pets in the house! Freezing is easy. Do Not blanch them! You just lay them whole on trays in a single layer and freeze them, then bag them. It's kinda fun, being hollow, most of them sound like china clinking. They are not quite as crisp after thawing, but they don't go mushy like many things. I use finely chopped frozen Jalapenos in my Guacamole all the time. You can also make your own Chipotle Peppers by smoking Jalapenos under 200F until they are dry, then storing them in airtight bags or jars. You can also smoke them for 3 - 4 hours, then sun dry them or in a cool oven. Again, stay under 200F at all times or they will cook, which is not what we are looking for! Sometimes I remove the stems or split one side to speed up the drying if they are big, but it doesn't make any difference to the final product.
 
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Finally going red but to me also looking a bit ropey???
 

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Finally going red but to me also looking a bit ropey???
Your plant has Blossom End Rot. In my soil I would sprinkle a big handful of Epsom Salts around the base of the plant and water it in. It will not change the peppers already affected but no more will get it. Your pepper is still edible, just cut out the affected part.
 
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Oh no. I've just ordered some epsom salts and they will arrive tomorrow.

Would bone meal help?

I will cut off the affected chilli. All the others look fine so hopefully caught it in time
 
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Oh no. I've just ordered some epsom salts and they will arrive tomorrow.

Would bone meal help?

I will cut off the affected chilli. All the others look fine so hopefully caught it in time
BER is a strange thing. My soil has an over abundance of calcium, way too much. In some soils calcium is there but unavailable for plant uptake such as in my soil. Bone meal is what many gardeners use but it doesn't do anything for my plants, but it may work in yours. What I would do is use both.
 
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Thanks Chuck.

The temperature has soared in the UK, the past 2 days its been 28 degrees so the conservatory gets really hot. I've been watering the chilli's once a day, maybe they don't like that either, or they dry out quick.
 

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