More spots on peppers and frost question

[oxygene]

It's me again

Three or four of my gypsy peppers (all on the same plant) are turning black on the ends, but one of them is black near the cap. The spots aren't sunken at all and they don't look like blossom end rot; it just looks like the skin is "ripening" black. Still haven't seen any bugs on the leaves. I'm watering every second day. What could it be?

Another question:

I live in zone 3 and I believe our first frost date is September 18. It's been getting kind of chilly at night, around 6-8*C (42 - 46 F), and in the mid 20s (68 - 77 F) during the day.

What should I do to protect them from the cold? I'm scared they won't ripen before it gets too cold. The jalapenos are less than an inch to two inches long. Most of my cayennes have nice, long peppers, but they're still green.

Fortunately Environment Canada is predicting warmer temperatures soon:

SundaySunny. Low 9. High 29. MondaySunny. Low 10. High 33. TuesdaySunny. Low 14. High 28. WednesdaySunny. Low 11. High 29. ThursdaySunny. Low 12. High 30.

[soil]

we have a variety of jalapeno from mexico, it ripens from green to green with dark black stripes eventually covering the whole thing, and then turns red. also have a few other peppers that get black areas. as long as the pepper isnt getting soft and mushy, or and dead spots like blossom end rot. your peppers are doing what they should do.

[stella1751]

Peppers hate the cold, but you can generally protect them down to the upper 20's, maybe less. If the plants are short enough, I put 5-gallon pails over each plant and then cover the entire bed with a quilt. If I think the temps will drop below 28, I fill big detergent bottles (2 gallon?) with hot water and place them in the area between four over-turned pails right before I lie down for the night.

Oh. Because it's windy down here, I place a brick or rock on top of each quilt-covered pail, and I weight down the sides with whatever I can find. A 4x4 post works beautifully if you can find one for each side. Otherwise, rocks will work, as will whatever heavy thing you have just sitting around nearby.

Don't remove the covers in the morning until you are absolutely certain the temps have risen to, say, 40. I made a mistake one morning of removing the covers when the temp hit 33, and I lost a bunch of them. Temps vary by proximity to the recording site and by level.

More and more, I have found myself eyeing those red road cones the road construction guys use. They would be perfect for covering peppers, especially Habaneros. If you set one in the middle of each square of four plants (3 per 8 x 4 bed), the road cones would support the quilt or tarp when you throw it over the entire bed. It would be perfect!

I asked my neighbor, who used to be in construction (cement), where I could get some, but he didn't know. I went online, and, boy howdy, are they ever expensive when purchased brand new.

If anyone knows how I can get some of these, please let me know. I've actually considered larceny, but I'm one of those people who get caught whenever they violate the slightest social code. (I suppose a better excuse would be that I don't want to steal, huh?)

[CharlieBear]

You can also cover them with row covers (spun light weight polyester) that will help some. Another possiblity is to make a poly tunnel over them right now, that will keep temperatures up longer and higher during the day which may help them ripen faster. You don't say where you are from so I can't tell you anything except the the plastic needs to be at least 3.5 mil. If you have them you can put large tomatoe cages over the peppers, if you can fit them on, do so carefully. You could also use sturdy garden stake, a bit more risky. Put milk jugs full of water on each side of the pepper plants. It will absorb some heat during the day and release it back at night slowly. Hold the plastic in place with clothes pins (cages) and rocks or bricks to keep it anchored to the ground every couple of feet. You are no longer interested in pollination, as anything set now will not ripen so make the polytunnel much longer than you need.
What you are doing is putting up a kind of portable, minny greenhouse with plently of air circulation. This will also help some as the temps, drop, but at some point the peppers will die due to way to low night temps. Note, as the days shorten in the fall it takes longer for things to ripen, there just isn't enough heat and sunlight.
good luck

[oxygene]

These are the black peppers.

[img]https://i52.tinypic.com/2hf895i.jpg[/img]

[garden5]

That's normal (well, kind of...it's not bad). I have jalapenos that get the same thing. In fact, I saw a small one today that was more "black" than it was green! It doesn't seem to affect the taste any.

[oxygene]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. My peppers are in pots so I'm not sure if I'll be able to do the water jug trick. Even though the blackening isn't really bad, I'll still look out for it. I wonder why it happens!

[cherishedtiger]

Oh wow... your talking about frost and we are sitting here at 96+ degrees today... of course I guess that is par for the course being in California...

My peppers turned black this year too, didnt effect the flavor at all! Actually they are quite hot this year!