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harvesting How long can a ripe pod stay on the plant before harvesting ?

FayahBen

FayahBen

Hi,
I've got a little question, as said in the post title...
How long can a ripe pod stay on the plant before harvesting ? (from when it totally turns to its final color)
I've read that it may loose some heat and be more sweet, but is there a risk to let a ripe pod one or two weeks before harvesting ?
The aim is to harvest more together on the plants.
Thanks
 
Well not sure how long, but they could end up getting mushy and soft on the plant if you leave them for too long. I understand what your saying about wanting more at each harvest but, I wouldn't let them go more than a day or two.
 
I have left some for weeks and they have been fine. It's a PITA picking everyday :D

Depends on the variety though, you will find the hotter the pepper the longer it will last on or off the plant.
 
I'm with Nova :crazy: it all depends on the type of pepper and also the weather at the time.

I had a mystery super hot plant going that originated from a cutting, it only had a whole 5 small pods on it so I didn't bother picking them. They stayed on the plant the entire season lol But I've also had yellow 7 pods that were going rotten like 2-3 days after they had changed color

I just pick mine and throw them into zip lock bags that are in the freezer, when the bags full I then blend them up :)
 
your answer all depends on what you are wanting to do with the pods...and you have to remember, the more pods you pick, the more the plant will produce IMO...

the highest heat in a pepper comes when the color change to the ripe color starts...after that time, some of the capsaicin is metabolized to sugar which is why ripe pods are sweeter than green pods...can't find the reference article, but it was written by a PHD that specializes in peppers...

IMO you can let the pods stay on the plant until they start to dry if you are going to use them for seed...
 
Weather, variety of pod and sugar content are some of the variables. I try not to leave most varieties more than 4 or 5 days. The longer you leave them the more likely something else will take a bite before you. ;)

Manzanos are super sweet and spoil quickly so I try and get them as soon as they ripen fully.
 
thanks for the replies

with a harvest once a week, it seems to be fine for now, i may try some pods ripened for a week vs just ripe one, but if it's just a little loose in heat, it will be fine for me (i still pick a few on the plant when cooking)
in fact it's to make some sauce/puree. i used to freeze small quantities in bags for further use too, but putting them one by one in the bag before closing it seems a good tip ^^
i need to try to dry some too

i've noticed that my red rocotos have got more flavor when picked 3-4 days after turning red (the red is a little darker too)
i don't know about the others, but the jamaican scotch bonnet i grow seems to have more flavor too when picked fully orange (and after staying a few days ripe on the plant) than when turning from green to yellow then orange
 
If I want heat I pick right when they turn that first shade of color, if I want flavor I let it sit on the plant until it's fully ripe.
 
Peak heat should be just before peppers get fully ripe, peak flavor should happen right at full ripeness. Chiles quickly lose some of their heat and get soft after fully maturing so you want to pick just as they ripen, or shortly after, before they lose their firm texture.
I know starches get converted to sugars when ripening which adds sweetness that can mask heat but I'd like to know more about capsaicin being metabolized to sugar if anyone can find this info
 
I'll confirm one of AJ's comments. The more you pick the more the plant will produce. I'll try and track the reference down. It makes sense though.
 
patrick said:
I'll confirm one of AJ's comments. The more you pick the more the plant will produce. I'll try and track the reference down. It makes sense though.
Click to expand...

Yes it does. The purpose of the plant is to reproduce ==> produce ripe seeds which means ripe fruit. They have nothing to gain and everything to lose if they flower and set more fruit when they have fruits ripening or ripe fruits on them.

Isn't evolution wonderful?
 
i'm more after full flavor than full heat. ^^
so it seems like 2 harvests of ripe pods a week should be fine (pods would be ripen from the same day or maximum 2 days before).
 
patrick said:
I'll confirm one of AJ's comments. The more you pick the more the plant will produce. I'll try and track the reference down. It makes sense though.
Click to expand...

i think it's often described as 'fruit load' which is a kind of limit of fruits a plant can hold.
it depends mainly on genetic and on the environment of the plant (in a full way, including nutrition etc...).
it's more noticeable on sweet peppers than on chiles thought, specially some varieties like lemon drop which never stops producing pods even when it has already got hundreds on it :lol:
 
FayahBen said:
i think it's often described as 'fruit load' which is a kind of limit of fruits a plant can hold.
it depends mainly on genetic and on the environment of the plant (in a full way, including nutrition etc...).
it's more noticeable on sweet peppers than on chiles thought, specially some varieties like lemon drop which never stops producing pods even when it has already got hundreds on it :lol:
Click to expand...

My Congo Trinidads are so loaded the branches are drooping like a willow and the plant has not shown any signs of stopping. To this day they are still growing, flowering and setting with over 80 full-size green pods per plant about to ripen which is something I have never ever seen before in container growing. I attribute this to the genetics of the Congo Trinidad, it totally kicks ass in every area (heat, flavor, pod size, pod weight, pod load, plant vigor).

Regardless, I still like to pick my pods in batches and as quickly as possible so the plant can recover for another batch before the cold September hits.
 
Hmm... looks like this thread is a bit old now, but I'll add that my preference is to wait at least one, two at the most, weeks after changing completely to their final color. I have waited longer for habaneros with no real problems... they always seem to last much longer on the plant than they do off, refrigerated or not. [One exception: tabasco peppers, which quickly go mushy right after going red, if you can even get them to go red in your climate to begin with...] I noticed orange habaneros turn from green to orange, and after a little bit they get darker. I noticed the Zavory does the same thing, but from green to bright red to darker red. I just like to make sure they're "fully" ripe, because I figure that's when they're at their best. Surely with the heat of habaneros and others the theoretically lower heat of fully ripe vs. just changed color is not much. The downside, as other people have pointed out, is that the plant may not feel like producing more peppers until it has a reason to think it has to (ie. you remove one or more existing peppers), so you might get more overall by picking earlier. IMO, it's a fair tradeoff to aim for fully ripe, and I tend to pick the darkest peppers off any given plant and target the ones that I noticed ripened first and/or have been hanging there for a while.
 
Potawie...I will have to find that article I read and reference it for you...just can't remember where I read it...
 
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