Jalapenos turning black?

Thu Aug 04, 2011 4:18 am

Went out to the garden and noticed my jalapenos while still small and small are almost all starting to turn black! Not like going bad or anything but like the skin is going from a nice vibrant green to black...
Anyone know what would cause this and if they are going to be edible? Never had it happen before. I can go out tomorrow and take pics to post if need be.
Thanks in advance!!

Thu Aug 04, 2011 9:27 am

My jalapeno's do this all the time. They will get pretty dark, some will have striations along the length and then they turn red. I'll pick them at all stages from bright green to red. By the time mine get red, they are a bit softer in texture and not as crisp as the bright green ones but tend to be a bit sweeter and hotter in flavor.

Thu Aug 04, 2011 12:10 pm

I agree with Gumbo- they're just getting riper and turning color! You can pick them at any time to munch

Thu Aug 04, 2011 1:29 pm

+3. Yes, I see that too on jalapenos. Not a problem.

Thu Aug 04, 2011 3:54 pm

Ok phew! I was worried because my plants are FULL!!!! And I was worried that maybe something was wrong with all of them.
I will keep any eye on them and wait for them to get a little bigger not sure they are ripe yet too small (either I managed to get a small variety or mine are just little!) But I may check for flavor/heat this weekend.

Thanks again!

Thu Aug 04, 2011 5:40 pm

cherishedtiger wrote:Ok phew! I was worried because my plants are FULL!!!! And I was worried that maybe something was wrong with all of them.
I will keep any eye on them and wait for them to get a little bigger not sure they are ripe yet too small (either I managed to get a small variety or mine are just little!) But I may check for flavor/heat this weekend.

Thanks again!

If the plants are that full, that may be contributing to the smaller size. It takes a lot of energy from the plant to grow all that fruit.

Last year I had larger peppers but with less heat. This year, the fruit tends to be smaller in general but the heat is ramped way up.

There are different varieties that grow larger than the ones I now have and I see them in the local markets but they are not near as hot as the ones I am growing.