hi,

i have chilies growing in soil and hydroponic systems and right now there are ~30 chilies ripening on them. the problem is just that I have no idea when would be a god time to harvest them... Some of them are red already for quite a while (a couple of weeks) but the don't drop off by itself. Do I have to pick them by hand or should I wait until they drop off by itself? Oh and the sorts i have are Inca Red Drop, Hungarian Hot Cherry and Criolla Sella (the Criolla Sella ones are only yellowish orange at the moment).
Thanks for any advice!

You should pick them by hand, only wild ones will drop when ripen. I usually wait one week or so after the colour has changed, to make sure them are fully ripen to get some fertile seeds.

If you want to have more yield, especially from the baccatums, you could pick the largest and the most ripened pods off from the plant so the producing would continue, if there`s plenty of light available.

I have used this method for harvesting for many years now and it always gives me the greatest overall yield. :)

Happy harvesting!