In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:
"Gareth" wrote ...

Following germination in early April on a windowsill the seedlings were
transplanted to pots in a greenhouse. The relatively mild summer didn't
cause any problems in terms of too much heat and the only snag was an
aphid and ant attack (which didn't affect the taste sampled plants).

Ignore the ants, as usual. Get rid of the aphids and the ants will
stop milking them for honeydew.

Can growing conditions dramatically alter the heat of successfully grown
chillis? My suspicion is that the seed firm incorrectly packaged a mild
variety of chilli shaped green pepper as a hot chilli.

Yes. Low sunlight (and, I believe, heat) levels seem to reduce
the fire, as well as crop size, flavour and everything else.

Would I have more joy if I allowed the chillis to turn red (instead of
reaping them when green)?

With some varieties, yes. With others, no.

To get hot Chillies you need to provide plenty of water to the plants, if
they don't get enough water the fruit will be mild flavoured no matter what
variety you grow. I suspect this may be your problem especially as you are
growing them in pots in a greenhouse. Make sure they always have water
available, use water trays underneath the pots and fill them daily or more
often in hot weather.

This is not my experience. It may be true for some varieties, but I am
pretty sure that it is not true for all. Hot chillis are grown in
arid conditions, and many of the supermarket hot varieties (which I
am SURE are grown with plenty of water) are lukewarm.

Our Thai Dragon are always hot.

And mine.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.