A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Hot Pepper Buds

i'm trying to grow hot pepper plants inside. i have the plants in a box i built for them to grow in. they seem to be growing well, except they are 8 inches tall and are already budding. i feel this may be a waste of energy for the plants, because they are still too small to have peppers on them. should i pinch them off? is it because of light? i would be thankful for any help.

That seems normal for 8 inch tall peppers. Mine start budding also when they get about that size. I always pinch the buds off though as I would rather the energy go into leaf and stem growth than into trying to make fruits so early. I keep mine pinched till I plant them outside. Then I let the first 3 buds set fruit before pinching them off. I read once that the first few peppers will be the largest of the crop, but that the overall crop will be greater if you pinch them off, then let the later ones mature. Actually, pinching the first 3 fruits is for bell peppers. (I just realized you were asking about hot peppers) For hot peppers, I stop pruning the buds when I plant them outside.

Give me some more info on your set-up. What kind of light, and how much light could be some major factors. Is it just on your windowsill, or is it under a grow light of any kind?

Most food crops grow according to your climate. If the plant is only getting light from the window, the plant is thinking it is in the late summer stage and may be forcing itself to fruit. If you increase the amount (in hours) of light, you are making the plant think it's spring, and grow faster. This is the case with most indoor plants. If you give them 16-18 hours of light per day, they will grow in vegetative stage, when you switch them to 12 hours of light, it simulates the end of the season, and the plant tries to rush out fruit (or veggies lol)

This is not true however for crops that go by days, such as lettuce, cellerey and carrots. Mostly for vine or plant type fruit only.

i have my pepper plants in a 2x1x1.5 foot box i built with two of those 20W spiral fluorescent lamps you can get at walmart. the thing is i don't have the lights on a timer, i just them on when i'm home. sometimes, but not very often, they get 12 hours of darkness. i fertilize them with 6-6-6 fish base every few waterings. i've already pinched them off to make them bushier. the plants look healthy, i just want them to get larger before the fruit, however if i pick all the flowers off will new ones grow back?

Oh yes, you won't have a shortage of buds

thanks for your help