>>Can you pick them while they are still green?

Yes but they won't be as good as if they were vine ripened

>>Are green habaneros just as hot as ripe ones?
No

>>And if you can pick them while green, are the ones that ripen off the plant just as hot as if you waited to pick them ripe?

NO

Byron is correct.

Where do you live in OH?

This is my first year with habaneros too. I was wondering the same questions myself. My plants (I have six) have only yielded six peppers so far but they are loaded with blossoms. What's up with that? My cayennes have swamped me and I have had to resort to giving them away. btw I live in NCO, Ashland to be specific.

Thanks for the info Byron and opqdan.

I'm from Ohio. I have about 30 peppers that look the size to be picked (haven't turned orange yet). I have had a few orange ones. I was just wondering about whether or not to pick the green ones because the weather is starting to get colder at night. I wasn't sure if they'd die off before ripening. I think I'll wait to see what happens because I'd rather have hotter ones! :)

This is my first year also. We picked some green ones only because the wind knocked a plant out of the ground. My husband and brothers each ate a slice, (this was a large habenero, although still green) and they were in pain. Can't wait until they are orange.

Ours was loaded with flowers forever it seemed. Now we have probably 50 peppers on 3 plants and the smaller plants are flowering and peppering pretty well. I am hoping they hurry before frost! We are swimming in cayenne and jalapenos also. I can't wait for next growing season so I can fix my errors and try even more types of peppers! I am lovin having a garden.

Jen

Habs seem to take a long time to mature. I just pulled one lonely hab off my plant last week. It seems like I waited all summer for it to turn orange, even though there are tons of blossoms (and only blossoms) now. I rememeber the same thing last year. I wouldn't worry too much. Any greens you have on there will probably turn orange before frost. The worst that could happen is a frost ruining your soon-to-be bumper crop. Peppers are not cold weather plants but I swear mine was going until the end of October, and by that time I had more habs than I knew what to do with! I'm taking this as a hint to plant earlier next year. I stuck mine out pretty late...late May or early June. Finals always get in the way of the perfect planting time.

(The jalapeno that went out at the same time is acting the same way. One ripe pepper, loads of blossoms. I just hope I still have tomatoes by then. :D )

I have an abundance of ripe orange habaneros. My question is how late can I pick them and how can I tell when they are almost ready to go bad?

I have had great luck with my "scotch bonnet" peppers. Extremely hot. They won't stop growing and they are really hard to give away. My neighbors call it the "Hab Tree". People love to look at them because they are truly beautiful, but can't give them away. Does anyone know if I can preserve a whole pepper in oil or something and then use for cooking later on.

Oil will NOT preserve them, in fact it makes it easier for botulism. Your main options are:
pickling or storing in vinegar
drying
freezing
I tend to dry most of my leftover peppers as long as they are not too fleshy. Habs dry well.

Picking green seems to be a sin for most American people but you can quadruple your harvest be doing so with almost any pepper plant, including ornamentals. The plants will produce fewer new blossoms when they contain fruit. By picking green Habs along with the orange you stimulate the plant to produce more fruit and also help with size of the fruit that remain on the plant. When you have something that has heat in the 300,000+ Scovile units who is going to argue over 50,000 +/-. When I pick Habs for market I look for orange but grab a handful that includes 5-6 green peppers on the same branch. I mix the Carribean Reds in the same boxes and the mixed colors seem to appeal to everyone. I don't quite understand why but my customers from India only want green hot peppers while most Americans prefer them ripe.

This may be too late to be of help, but here's my two cents worth. Yes, you can pick the habeneros while they are green. No, they won't be as hot, but you will be able to taste the flavor of the pepper better compared to just being able to feel the burn. I tried this for the first time this year, and will be picking more of them in various color stages because I like hot, but also like peppers with taste. It convinced me that it is okay to pick them early, and for the first time, I have tasted the flavor, not just the burn!

Karuad,

If you like the habanero taste without heat, grow the mild C. chinense peppers. I grew Trinidad Seasoning, Trinidad Perfume, St. Lucia Yellow Seasoning and Aji Dulce this year and I just love their taste and mild heat. I will definitely keep them on my growing list, since I can eat them on a sandwich, compared to Red Savina, which I can use only as seasoning.

I grow the orange variety of habaneros, and I cannot tell the difference between heat levels when they are fully mature and green or when they change over to orange. Like bmoser said, who's going to argue a few SHU's here and there.

There is however a huge taste difference between green mature and ripe. The sugar content in ripe is higher and the other flavor overtones come to bear, whereas it seems a green is refreshing and crisp tasting.

I like them both ways, for a quick and easy salsa i use an onion, lime juice and a green habby. Put in the blender and let it go till its chunky and enjoy. The green seems to capture more of the crisp fresh taste for salsas, whereas the fully ripened pod seems to go better with meats, or powdered and on everything.

el yucateca makes a rockin' hot sauce from green habaneros. and its hot like any other el yucateca habanero sauce. but its green.

FWIW, at the end of the season and before the first frost I pick all of the habs left on the plants no matter what color. Now I don't eat hot peppers, I just like to grow them and give them away.

I have several people who really enjoy the green ones. As mentioned above they say they aren't as hot and have a better taste. I have one person that likes to make a green hab paste to put on crackers and stuff.

I wish I could eat hot stuff but it isn't in the stars, or my gut.

Another way that sauce gets green is with tomatillos.

I have had red ripe chiles in a green sauce w/tomatillo and I have had green chiles in green sauce w/tomatillo.

We have 2 plants this year--first time we planted habaneros. There are a ton of them on the plants, but all are still green. We picked on and tasted it. Had to spit it out because it was SUPER hot! If they get hotter when ripe then we are in trouble. I saw someone posted that they are not hot when green but ours our really hot!

Our growing season is from late May to Late October. I have historically not been loaded with habs until September - so I usually get two months of harvest. Ohio is probably pretty similar/

You can make salsa verde with any green chile.

I like the taste of green Habs and if I pick them as soon as I start to see a hint of Orange I don't notice too much heat difference

If the pods are full size, but just green, they will be nearly as hot as ripe ones. Immature pods might not be quite as hot.

That being said, I don't think Habs take all that long to ripen and once they start to ripen, it seems like they all do so at once. You can have all green ones one day and have 30 or 40 or more ripe ones a week later.

i would advise to get the plant out of the ground with care to save the roots , put the plant in a big pot and keep it inside , then You ll get your green habanero to ripe fully , then if You are carefull enough with the watering , You can keep the plant till next year and put it back in the ground or in the same pot if soil is good , then You ll get one more full harvest and repeat the process , i think this plant can live 3 years with good care ...