The Hinkelhatz hot pepper isn’t one I’ve every grown, so it really depends on how hot you want the peppers — if you let them get ripe (turn to red) they will be the hottest.

It sounds like an interesting pepper! I see that traditionally it’s used to make pepper vinegar and pickling. If that is how you want to use them, I’d suggest picking them before they turn red.

Hope this helps!

Gail

Thanks for the question! I do know about Peter Peppers (and they are rather interesting), and have grown them myself.

In answer to your question, yes – you can save seeds from ripe peppers and then plant them. Just make sure that the seeds are clean and dry before you plant them (no membranes sticking on them, etc.)

If you grow your Peter Pepper close to another variety of pepper, you might get a cross between the two varieties, although that could make things very interesting.

Best wishes with your peppers!

Gail

You’re almost there! Once the flowers start falling off, you should start seeing tiny peppers where the flowers were. Not all of the flowers will have peppers, but most probably will.

As to when you will actually have peppers that you can pick and eat, that depends entirely on the kind of pepper you planted — some take a long time, and others are fairly quick.

Best wishes with your peppers!

Gail

You can do either — wait til they ripen on the plant, or pick them green and let them ripen to the chocolate color on the kitchen counter (like you would a tomato).

Best wishes!

You might not be doing anything wrong, and here are some thoughts.

First, you might have some peppers that naturally are smaller than the peppers you see in the grocery stores — there are lots of varieties, and they have a wide range of sizes.

Two, your climate is a bit cooler than is usual for peppers, who like lots of warmth. That may contribute somewhat to a smaller fruit size than someone growing in a warmer climate or in a greenhouse.

If your plants have a lot of fruit, that could be an issue when it comes to fruit size. The more fruits on the plants, the smaller each fruit will grow; it’s just a matter of how much the plant can handle, as far as nutriational resources.

Finally, are your plants getting enough phosphorus? It’s the middle number when you look at fertilizer. If the phosphorus number is smaller than the first number (nitrogen), then that is also contributing to a smaller fruit size. Peppers, along with their relatives tomatoes and eggplants, need extra phosphorus for good fruits.

So, you may as well bring in the fruits to ripen indoors, since they seem to be only 1/2 a tennis ball in size. That will also help prevent the bottom rotting.

Best wishes, and hope this helps!