Sammiches
Full Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:17 pm

Jalapenos turning black - when to harvest?

Bought a nasty looking jalapeno plant from walmart lol... it had two little peppers on it and then right after transplanting it and putting it out in full sun the peppers turned from green to black.

I looked it up and it may be normal, however I wanted to double check and also find out when to harvest them. More are coming in in the upper leaves but these two have kind of stayed the same size.

crobi13
Senior Member
Posts: 208
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2009 6:18 pm
Location: Boston Zone 6

They could be getting scalded from the sun :o
IMHO, I'd pick them before they are a lost cause.
I had the same thing happen to my first Sarrano peppers. I had no idea how big they were supposed to get so I left them on the bush. The side that faced the sun started turning black so I picked them to save them from the sun.

Sybil_Vimes(4a)
Full Member
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 1:28 am
Location: Saint Paul, MN (Zone 4a)

I am glad to hear that somebody else's jalapenos are turning black, I thought it was just me!

Whoops.

My thought was to just leave it on the plant, because it was, in theory, going to turn red, but I saw no redness. A lot of black, though. I picked it when it was almost all black.

Well, now I know for the rest of them. The one that turned black was only the 2nd jalapeno, so at least I learned about this early!

I never figured that particular plant would get sunburned, the zucchini leaves shade it pretty well . . .but apparently I was wrong.

Can you still eat the black ones?


Sybil V.

User avatar
razzz8606
Full Member
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2009 4:32 pm
Location: cobourg

yes when you transplant any kind of peper plant when it has pepers on it they turn black I think its caused by shock ... one it starts flowering more the other pepers will be nice and green so don't worrie and the black ones should still taste normal its just colour :) I had friend that had a bunch go black on him 2 ... if ur able to buy ur self a growing kit with the pucks and tray with the dome and start ur next yrs plants by seeds in that ... but if u do it that way make sure u climatetize ur plants by putting them out side for 2 hrs one day then doubling them the next and so on till they get a full days light on them :) .... well I hope this helped

User avatar
jal_ut
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7447
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

I grow jalapenos every year. It seems that it is quite common to have them turn black. Still good to eat. You can eat them anytime they have a little size to them.

crobi13
Senior Member
Posts: 208
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2009 6:18 pm
Location: Boston Zone 6

My son & his friends ate one of my scalded Sarrano peppers last night (or at least they tried to :lol: ) and it was so hot that the second it hit thier mouths, they RAN for water. So mine are still edible & have not lost thier fire :twisted:

mfedukovich
Full Member
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:14 pm
Location: Southern WV

Ours turned black too. I always thought it was pretty normal. We (well my husband) make a chow chow type sauce stuff. I don't know what you'd really call it, not a salsa or dip but a chunky sauce I guess. Our friends have used it in their chili or some eat it in their eggs or straight out of the jar. Anyway I guess what I'm trying to say is that using black or green hot peppers doesn't seem to make a difference on the taste.

MFedukovich :)



Return to “Vegetable Gardening Forum”