It's been three weeks now since I brought those potted-up peppers inside for the winter. Took WileyR's advice and soaked them thoroughly in soapy water first. Well, the plants for the most part look fine.

And...

Knocking wood as I type...

No fungus gnats!

Thanks, Wiley!

YW--I overwintered a couple of peppers one year that had ants in them--and even got a couple of peppers along--and early peppers the next year so I knew you would probably have no probs with it. Keep us posted.

Liz, I'm SO glad you brought this up (on your last post, not this one necessarily)... I'd never thought of digging them back up and bringing them in. Did it with 5 peppers and two young tomatoes. All are doing well.

One of the guys in the community garden wanted his hot peppers to produce throughout the winter, so I potted up 5 of them right before the first freeze, not knowing if they'd even survive. After they were dug up and soaked with water and very weak liquid kelp, I kept them in the garage with the light on(!) for about 2 weeks before he came and got them. There were green peppers on the plants when they were dug up, and a few were already red when he picked them up.

So next year, how would it be if we potted them in larger containers, planted them into the ground in their containers, and then it would be much easier to transport them back to his house. Is this feasible?

I potted up one pepper plant last week and it's doing fine. It got a dose of Safer Soap prior to coming in.

quote:

So next year, how would it be if we potted them in larger containers, planted them into the ground in their containers, and then it would be much easier to transport them back to his house. Is this feasible?

Peppers are perennials, so yes!

I kept peppers through the winter a couple years ago. They flowered and produced new peppers in January. It was so cool!!! But oh the bugs... I was soooo happy to transplant them back outside again in the spring.

Looking forward to everyone's winter pepper adventures!

Add me to the list of folks giving it a try. I planted in pots and they are doing well. The ones I brought in the house about a month ago are doing well and blooming.

How did you folks keep them going through the winter? Did you keep grow lights on them?
or did you try to have them go dormant?

Any information for success would be appreciated.

What kind of peppers over wintered? I'm trying Cayennes, Jalepenos, Carmen, and a Thai dragon.

I've had excellent luck with hot pepper varieties indoors - Thai, Jalapeno, Cayenne etc. My biggest indoor problem has never been insect pests, but my very own FELINE pests!!

I've got a nice bell pepper plant in a pot that is putting out flowers like crazy right now. (So too the ones in the garden beds, but I'm not going to try potting those).

Anyone have luck with overwintering bells indoors? It seems my peppers and eggplants really start taking off this time of year and then get taken out by the first freezes.

Matt (and wasrabbity), the bells I overwintered basically thrived as plants indoors, but I didn't add artificial light and they stopped flowering except for an occasional bloom. I did have some small peppers when I brought them in, but once they were picked, only a pepper now and then. They flourished after I put them back outside and had peppers soon and often once the light and warmth hit them. My hot peppers were small enough to put them in a window (bells were on the floor near a glass door) and they flowered and fruited more often than the bells, but without the heat of summer peppers. I think the addition of light and a location away from windows and doors would give a better environment for pepper production. In colder weather the cooler nights around windows would probably have kept mine from flowering, since as perennials in their native tropical lands they go dormant in cool weather.
Several years ago I saw and article and pics of peppers 5 to 10 yrs old that were patio plants in the summer and greenhouse kept in the winter that were in huge planters and about 8 to 10 ft. high, which gave me the idea of overwintering them--and it worked!

Last time I tried this experiment, I put them under fluorescent lights AND in front of a window. Right now, my 8 pepper plants are just in front of a window. I'm about to leave them unattended for 10 days. Got 4 of those automatic water glass thingies, so we'll see what is left when I get back, at which point I'll decide about the grow lights. (I will soak them well, of course.) They're kind of tall for the set-up I usually use for new starts. Right now, my count is 2 bell plants, 2 Thai red chili plants (one is LOADED!), and 4 cayenne plants. Several of the cayennes have turned red, but the bell and Thai red are still holding out green.

Anybody got anything else wintering over? I've also got some herbs. This is the 3rd year for one rosemary plant, second year for three more, and a couple first-years. I've also got some thyme and oregano. THEY all have the best spot by the south window. I also have some outdoor-planted thyme and oregano, as they should survive the winter here. Hoping to have some for fresh use from the pot-planted ones.

This will be fun! Please keep updating everyone!

just for clarity... are you all saying, that you get a few peppers over the winter, and then when you put them back out the following summer, the plant begins to produce more quickly than the plants that you start from seed in February?
Due to the maturity of the plant?

Thanks, not for this year, but there is always next year! Mrs,K

I don't mind if it goes dormant - wasn't really expecting a harvest through the winter, I mostly want a nice head start with a big healthy plant next spring so I don't have to wait until end of August to start harvesting peppers. Did it work for you to transplant outdoors after overwintering Wiley? How soon before they were setting new fruit after that?

quote:

Originally posted by Mrs. K-og:
just for clarity... are you all saying, that you get a few peppers over the winter, and then when you put them back out the following summer, the plant begins to produce more quickly than the plants that you start from seed in February?
Due to the maturity of the plant?

Thanks, not for this year, but there is always next year! Mrs,K

Yes, that was my experience ... though I think there is a bit of danger of spring transplant shock up in our climate which could make the adjustment a little slower than it might be somewhere else.