May not be the correct place to put this...but I've got a pepper Q?

[Wannabefree]

Has anyone grown cayenne successfully? Why is it they aren't hot until later in the season? Is it because the seeds aren't well developed? I am getting some bell pepper tasting hot peppers. :/ How long does it take for them to get the heat? I have had jalapenos do the same thing here, and it took FOREVER for them to be HOT! Just wondered if anyone could offer some insight

 

[hillfarm]

Needs lots of summer heat and sun to grow successfuly. In Texas, its the god awful constant heat that makes our peppers so firey.

 

[Wannabefree]

We've been in the upper nineties for weeks now. I can't remember the last time it was below 94 degrees here I think we have heat Maybe I am just anxious for hot peppers and they know it, so they're holding out on me

 

[hillfarm]

hmmm. Have you kept them on minimal water too? Just barely enuf to keep em alive. Seems to be the way ours do. I dont even pay them attention and they are fire dragons.

My uncle used to spit tobacco on his and there was talk he watered them with diluted whiskey aka he peed on them. LOL

 

[FarmerJamie]

don't you want them to dry out?

 

[sunsaver]

Cayenne peppers don't get hot until the seeds mature. A small, green tobasco pepper is very mild. A red tobasco pepper will take the skin off your fingers! All peppers can be grown successfully in well drained soil with consistent moisture and warm, sunny weather. Add oyster shell or bone meal to prevent blossom end rot and encourage more fruit to set. I like to slice them open and place them on a screen to dry out in the sun.

 

[freemotion]

I've grown some fire-breathing cayenne here in New England!

 

[Wannabefree]

We have had a looooong dry spell here and they get minimal water. I guess i am just being impatient and need to let them mature a bit more.

 

[freemotion]

One wet year my most of my cayenne peppers didn't get red by the time we had a frost. I pulled up the plants and hung them in the garage and harvested the peppers as they matured. It was kinda neat!

 

[Neko-chan]

I've heard, but don't know if it's entirely true, that peppers vary in heat intensity depending on where they're growing on the plant. I think the hottest ones are usually the ones growing the lowest. I also second (third?) the minimal watering thing, and chilis do love their warm/hot weather. (In fact, I know someone who's had his chili plants for a few years now; granted, he does live in a tropical area). If you have a greenhouse, they probably love it in there.

Though I do have an uncle who said you don't want to try and dry uber hot peppers though. I think he was trying to dry habaneros, and he said they just rotted.



Other than that, all I can say is be patient. My peppers took forever to develop, and I finally had to harvest them (red or not) when the frosts came. They're hanging to dry now, and turning red all the same.