No cause for concern, this is a common occurrence. I often see a few "mini's" or malformed peppers, with the rest of the peppers on the plant growing normally.

Unworried.

What kind?

It looks like it could be one of the several varieties of Jalapenos.

In that case, the bottom one certainly is ready. The biggest looks ready; if it is, then the second also may be ready because it is older. What do you think?

They are all ready to eat, red or green at full size. The deformed red one is probably "over the hill" but you can try it, it won't kill you but most would just toss it. People eat Jalapeno type chilis green all of the time. Red ones are fine to eat, except Jalapenos get softer and often get those ugly brown markings.

> "They are all ready to eat, red or green at full size" __ I will not know whether any of those green ones has reached full size until it turns red.

I admit to be prejudged against the ugly runt peppers. If people want to buy those, they can.

As far as "full size", you guess on what they are, which unfortunately you are not sure which type, but they may not get much bigger than the biggest green one now. Let one stay on the plant, see when it start to turns red, then you will have an idea. You can eat the little ones, but walls will be thinner, taste may not be developed.

Just now I ate all of the red one, nothing together with it (taste unaffected by anything). One small piece at a time, going upwards. Zero spiciness, zero spiciness, and on and on, then one hot piece; I think that it contained much of the interior part. Continuing upwards, a few pieces had some spiciness, some did'nt.

May 30 __ Today I ate raw the second one. Again, the only spiciness was in white inner material. It occurred to me that perhaps there are plants that produce only bland fruits. I found that there are.

Well damn, same experience with this:

Looks like cayenne. Nothing hot, not even the seeds. I found that yes, there are sweet cayenne too.

Four, I am also 9B and I ate a Sweet Heat the other day that also had no spiciness whatsoever. We've had some very cool weather - up to NOW - and peppers need heat to develope the capsaicin. I'm going to be very disappointed if they don't!

Kate

Were they purchased as hot peppers or just as pepper that you're assuming will be a cayenne based on shape? I grow sweet peppers that shape, so it may not supposed to be hot.

I found the seed envelope that was given to me. "Burpee". ""Big Thai Hybrid". "Medium-hot".

The pictures of Big Thai Hybrid in the Burpee compendium don't look anything like the ones in your pictures. They are long, thin, and somewhat sharply pointed. Sort of chile-like. Yours look more Jalapeno-like. Certainly the pith of Jalapenos is more spicy than the rest of the fruit.

Dan, see today's photo. (different plant)

By the way, picture on envelope also shows "somewhat" pointed, not really really pointed as in my photo.

The tastes of many kinds of raw foods change somewhat in the days after harvesting. Has any of you tasted higher heat of picked peppers after the passage of time? Just now I did: the refrigerated day-old half of one these Thai peppers whose other half, eaten when freshly picked (and unrefrigerated), was unhot.

Sorry, but these don't look anything like the peppers in your original post pictures. Nothing "somewhat" pointed about these. Burpee shows that they are spooed to be very pointed.

https://www.burpee.com/pepper-hot-big-thai-hybrid-prod001146.html

As noted, chiles are long, thin and pointed. You don't have a chile.

@daninthedirt, this is not difficult to follow, unless your browser perchance were not displaying third photo in this thread; to which I already had directed your attention. Other commenters had no problem.

Read your own comment, see that "somewhat" was your word. Get someone to help you if this is difficult for you.

I see two pictures in your original post. Neither looks like Big Thai Hybrid. My comments are about those photos. You have a third picture from two days ago that you identify as a sweet cayenne. The picture on your Big Thai Hybrid Burpee envelope can't be all that different than what is posted on their website, which shows strongly pointed peppers. I'm thinking you must have gotten some rogue seeds in that envelope.

If we're still talking about Big Thai Hybrid, then yes, it is getting a little difficult to follow.

>"you identify as a sweet cayenne" ___ I did not identify anything. My words: "Looks like".

>"strongly pointed" ___ So, no longer "somewhat". That's fine, we can continue.

Back to my question : "Has any of you tasted higher heat of picked peppers after the passage of time? Just now I did: the refrigerated day-old half of one these Thai peppers whose other half, eaten when freshly picked (and unrefrigerated), was unhot."

If anything, the heat in my fresh hot peppers seems to diminish with time. That includes dry peppers, although the reduction in heat occurs much more gradually & seems to plateau at a certain heat level. The heat level of peppers grown in the garden can be affected by environment too; hot & dry increases heat, cool & well watered decreases heat. Some of my hot peppers become very mild in the cool days before frost... @four (9B near 9A), you probably don't see much of that. ;-)

Thanks.

>"hot & dry increases heat" ___ If heat also increases with each of those conditions separately, then I certainly can water less.

FWIW, many chile peppers don't have very much heat at all in their flesh - it's mainly in the membranes and seeds.

And the first photos in this post def. look like jalapenos to me. Variation in size with home grown fruits and veggies is pretty common, IMPE.

I learned to pick those early peppers rather than letting them ripen, to encourage more production. However, red peppers are more nutritious and sweeter too.

Thank you. I am learning many things from you guys.

Next day addendum : Another second half hot, after first half not; this time I noticed what explains the dichotomy, viz. the seeds and the white were in the second (upper) half only.

>"pick those early peppers... to encourage more" ___ I delayed to allow one large jalapeño fruit to redden, to compare taste with green. Plant bore many fruits concurrently.

No more flowers. Although I did not encourage, I did not expect all production to quit. Plant is well.

Now plant is very unwell :

That's not normal ... Assuming you haven't just stopped watering it, I would say it's either been damaged or developed a disease.

Thanks. The right amount of water, I think, based on two oher kinds of pepper plants that continue to yield and to be healthy.

Recently I moved this from high pedestal to concrete slab; sun exposure same. Do ground-level insects eat pepper roots?

I haven't had any difference between pepper plants on the ground vs on the stairs vs on the deck in terms of pests.

Did it's sun exposure change? Is the new spot hotter?

I have got one that I grew from seed, its borne one square bell pepper and one long pepper. Still not ready for harvest so don'

t know if any will be hot.