Pinch them for a couple weeks

Up to you. I usually pinch mine if it is under a foot and still in the small container. Out of containers, they grow fast so i would leave them.

I used to buy into the theory that you should pinch them until the plant gets bigger. It may or may not help with total, overall production, but I am too anxious and since I grow in Wisconsin, I figure that I better get them while I can. I should experiment with a couple like plants and find out for sure. Have one where I pinch the early buds and one where I don't.

Hmmmm.

Leave them alone, they're doing what you want: making fruit.

FYI: I just went out an pinched the buds on one of my 9 Hot Hungarian Wax Peppers. I will try to keep up with it for a while before letting it go and when I get down near harvest time, I will try to remember to report back the results compared to the plants that I let go.

If I had a habanero plant, I would want LESS peppers spread out over time as opposed to MORE peppers all at once. I'd leave them :)

If you have a long growing season, unlike some of us in the N. USA, then I would probably pinch some of the pods as they appear. Probably easiest to wait for the buds/blooms to actually form pods to start before culling some out. How many to snip are up to you. But, I wouldn't consider doing this if you have a short growing season.

I gave up pinching buds, for every one I pinched two more took its place, it seemed like I was fighting with the plant. Next time I will only pinch any actual fruit.

I gave up pinching buds, for every one I pinched two more took its place, it seemed like I was fighting with the plant. Next time I will only pinch any actual fruit.

Hint, see any correlation to pinching buds to increasing productivity? So if OP pinched buds until plant 18" tall they should get hundreds of fruit from plant?

Hi Chili Heads
NO PINCHing here.
I transplanted my peppers 3 weeks ago. Most of them with buds, flowers and pods. And ever since then they have been growing, flowering and putting out more pods. I have already munched on several HHW, Red Squash, Nemex Twilight, Golden Cayenne... The lemon drop had several pods when I planted out and now it is loaded with more and some of the older ones are turning color. And Greek Peppeoncini is loaded too. Amazing !
The bottom line, I do no pinching. I let them to figure it out what they can do and grow.
BTW: all this is in cool PNW where our night lows are around 53F(average). And my peppers get no more than 5 hours of direct sun. YMMV

Sey

The two plants on the right are Fresnos, put in this earthbox on the same day, the same size. I think you can see the one on the right is at least a third taller.

I pulled all the blossoms from the one on the right, but let four fruit develop on the left, because I wanted to make sure it was really a Fresno. I got "duped" last year, and it was too late to replace it. There were four peppers of the right size, but they were not ripening, and the plant was not growing, so I removed two of the four. They were good.