Q: Hi Dave,
Because of the early frost here in Portland, Oregon, I have picked all (about 8 brown paper grocery bags full) of my guajillo, pasilla, poblano and other peppers. They are quite mature but still green. Is there a preferred way to get these to ripen? Fluorescent lights, darkness, paper bags?
Thank you in advance,
Fred
A: Hello Fred:
Generally speaking, peppers picked green will not ripen. But if they’ve just started to turn color, sometimes they will. Here’s a trick that works with tomatoes and may work, depending on how far along your peppers are: Take the green ones and place them in a paper bag with a ripening pepper of any variety. Sometimes the gasses emitted by the ripening pepper will trigger the green pods to ripen. Worth a shot, anyway. You may have to use more bags and fewer pods for bags. Fold over the top of the bags and staple them. Check them weekly.
–Dave