Last year the critters got all my peppers, but the year before we had a bumper crop (I won't say too many...)
Just to try it, we put a couple dozen fresh habaneros (yeah, I know, wimpy compared to MOB's crop) stem and all, in freezer bags and flash froze them. Months later when we used them, the flavour was still almost fresh, but the thaw process mode them only suitable for cooking in chilis and stews - they were no longer... and I'm trying to think of a descriptive term that wont need an "Easy boys" here... they were no longer firm, kinda floppy - but in a chili, they still tasted awesome.
Got some ghost peppers growing in the sun-room now. A few dozen immature fruit. Plus my Habs. I'm sure they'd be better off outside, but we still have many critters around, and I WONT go without this year.
Jamie
we had issues with critters eating the young plants 2 years ago, and found that nothing commercially available would deterr the deer from them... so we decided to fight fire with fire... and found the miricle solution....
picked up a dozen Habenero peppers from the grocery store, and a sprayer bottle from dollar general....
tossed the peppers into the food processor, and added a head of garlic, and about 4-6 cups of hot water, and let it run for 5 minutes creating a deadly liquid slurry....strainedthe liquid thru a coffe filter to remove the solids, and was left with a miscible liquid. add the liquid to the spray bottle, and add about a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid....
sprayed this on the greenery of all the plats, and magic.... no more munched plants.... we also place all our containers above the ground, on plastic pallets and plastic wire spools, this keeps the bug issue to a minimum, and combined with the spray, we be ry happy....
oh, that spray also works awsomely to prevent wire harness munching mice from nesting and munching wires on the bike, simply go into the tiny crevecis, on the bike, and spray the wire harnes and area where they nest, and no more mice problems....