When to pick your chillies

when to pick chillies

How hot your chillies will be can depend on how long you wait 
to pick them.  A 'not quite ready' Scorpion Butch-T chilli pod.

When is a good time to pick the fruit from your chilli plants?

There is no one particular answer.  It will depend on what you want to do with them.

Most hobbyists and home gardeners who grow chillies plants though will grow different varieties depending on their particular heat levels and culinary uses.

For example milder varieties such as Jalapeño and Poblano chillies are commonly picked and used green for culinary purposes.  But occasionally for drying they may be allowed to ripen.

Hotter varieties of chilli such as the Trinidad Scorpion varieties are generally left to ripen on the plant to maximise the heat.

The rule of thumb when harvesting chillies is that the longer you leave the pods to ripen the more 'heat' they will have.  However if you want to maximise the crop from your plants, don't leave the fruit long enough to begin to dry and wither!