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| The longer you let your chilli fruit ripen on the plant the hotter they will be. Trinidad Scorpion Butch-T Chillies. |
Depending on the species of chilli and environmental conditions most chilli plants are reasonably quick to flower then fruit. After you see flowers developing on your chilli plant it should only be a few more weeks till the flowers begin to brown, drop off and the fruits begin to form. As the plants begin to fruit it is good practice to water in small amounts of organic fertiliser to keep them producing longer.
Without making the process too complicated there are a couple of simple tips you should follow to maximise both the heat and the abundance of your chilli crop.
- Do try to leave the chillies on the plant for as long as possible to increase the 'hotness' of the fruit.
- Don't leave the chilli pods on the plant till they shrivel up and dry, your plants will actually respond better to regular picking by producing more pods. If you leave the fruit till it dries and shrivels the plants purpose of setting seed is accomplished and the plant will not last much longer or will produce lower yields the next season.
If you are keen to keep growing chillies each season you should save some of your ripest fruit to dry and use as seed stock.
