Black Chillies

[Jodi]

Hi

My jalapeno chillies are still producing an amazing amount of chillies, and we are nearing our winter here in Oz. I've picked bags and bags of lovely green chillies over the summer but have been a bit slack lately and have plenty more to pick.

My Q is, why are my chillies are turning black. The skins are still shiny and the chillie is edible, but they are mean't to be green or perhaps red if you leave them on the bush too long.

I don't know anything about growing chillies (or much else for that matter, but we are having a go and reaping the rewards!), does this sound familiar to anyone???

I'd love to think that for some reason we have a new strain of chillie ($$$$$) but I've never seen a black chillie before, and they are really quite "pretty" and look great hanging from the bush.

jodi

[Emma]

Have they perphaps been dried by the sun?
Our chillies suffer more from the lack of sun than anything else.

Could it be something in the water?

Sounds like a great looking "problem", maybe there's a niche market for black chillies?
Is there a trendy resturant you could sell to?

[Jodi]

Hi Emma
I did a bit of searching and found a forum totally devoted to chillies and found a post that asked the same question.
Apparently, according to the answer - if you leave jalapeno's on the bush long enough, they do go black and then eventually go red. I've only ever seen green ones, even the picture on the tag shows green chillies.

You're right - there could be a niche market for black chillies, and they would probably get a decent price because they have to sit on the bush for ages and need to be picked before turning red.

I'm going to preserve some black ones - I think they would look great in a nice jar!

I might even "dot" a few bushes around in garden beds because they do look great as an ornamentle plant.

cheers
Jodi