Topic: Not Hot Chillies

[feet of clay]

I'm growing 'Christmas Bells' chillies.  I thought they were ready and so enlisted a son to test a raw one - he proclaimed it to be as spicy as a cucumber!  I tested a bit too and it tasted more like a sweet pepper.  I know they're still green but I did expect a bit of a kick.  Do I have to wait until they turn red?

[Derekthefox]

I have found the same - chillies need time to get hot. Don't panic, you have a couple of months for them to mature - I found I was picking my hottest ones (habanero) during October. They freeze excellently, so you shouldn't end up with a glut.
Just keep trying one every couple of weeks until they seem 'hot'!

[Mrs Ava]

I think I read somewhere, altho don't ask me where, that once the plants have plenty of peppers on, let them dry out - the compost that is, then flood with water and this intensifies the heat.  Dunno if it works.  I don't think you have to wait for them to turn red, but I would think it is still really really early to be picking chillies.

[Kerry]

hello feet of clay,
i have read on the back of packets that the hotter the temperature they are grown at, the hotter the taste of the fruit. most of mine last year were 'pepper' tasting, with the odd spicy one which took you by surprise. mine are in the greenhouse. yours too? reckon still plenty of time for them to get hotter, if we have some sun!

[feet of clay]

My chillies are in the greenhouse but my conservatory is hotter - blast furnace at times - so I might move a couple of the plants and see what happens.  Ironically, I can't eat spicy food (boo hoo) even though I love it - I have a very dodgy stomach.  My middle son, however, can tolerate 'ring-burner' curries and suchlike - the chillies are for him.