Digging up and bagging peppers to overwinter

[applestar]

This was last week. They have been sitting in their bags under the patio table, and I've been potting up and bringing inside the ones that I want to have continue to produce in the house.

The larger plants that I don't have room for will be moved to the garage to go dormant once overnight temps consistently fall below mid-40's°F. We seem to be getting a break with only one (rather severe) frost so far, so I will probably pot these up this week rather than leaving them in the bags, which makes it more difficult to keep while they are still awake. I HAVE in the past, dug them up on the day before threatened frost/freeze and then left them in their bags all winter in the garage.

[valley]

Greetings applestar, What kind of cold do you get there? You mentioned keeping some plants in the garage. Just wondering what your winter lows are.

I planned to bring a few plants ,10, into the house to overwinter, but wifey and the girls said: " Oh,, you can't lose all those!" so we have 50 plants it the house, in the kitchen, on the drain board on the sewing table and up stairs in the window. They're convinced they will make it through winter, I don't know, with the amount of light they be getting in the kitchen. It will be great if they do, but.......

Richard

[imafan26]

I'm glad my plants can stay outside, I don't have any room in the house.

[applestar]

In my area, winter lows will regularly get down to 20's and teens °F. Around end of December through January, overnight lows will reach single digits for several consecutive days to a week and sometimes fall below 0°F to negative single digits. Very rarely negative double digits like -10 or -11°F.

We generally don't get a lot of snowfall so not much insulation for the ground unless I provide heavy mulch -- dry-freeze can be serious hazard for the garden.

In my unheated not solidly insulated garage, lowest temps will hover around mid-20's but can get down to low 20's. If no snow combined with howling winter wind storm, the wind robs all insulating thermal layers from the house and garage and it can get very very cold.

Check out the sticky about overwintering peppers. You can let them become dormant after harvesting the fruits and keep them barely watered where temps stay above mid-20's. I leave a set of shoplights on them 24/7 in the garage but the light level isn't what I would call adequate if they were growing. The plants are pushed close up against each other, too. I do have to cover them with extra protection during the coldest winter days and nights.

In the house, they will go dormant if allowed to get down to mid-50's which can happen near the windows etc. But I've found peppers to be more tolerant of lower temps and lower light levels than tomatoes for blooming and setting fruits, so they can manage to fruit well clustered in just SE exposure limited sun plus only CFL daylight bulbs as supplemental light two plants away, whereas tomatoes need to be the closest to the CFL bulbs or directly under center (not ends) of fluorescent tubes (peppers can be at the ends).

[valley]

Hi, Wow! Single digits for several consecutive days, sometimes negitive single digits~ and you can overwinter tomatoes and peppers in the garage? How do you perpare the plants and do you water them through winter? Do you slowly get the plants colder?

Richard

[applestar]

Hi, Wow! Single digits for several consecutive days, sometimes negitive single digits~ and you can overwinter tomatoes and peppers in the garage? How do you perpare the plants and do you water them through winter? Do you slowly get the plants colder?

Richard

Peppers can, but not tomatoes (or at least I haven't tried). The garage usually "only" goes down to mid-20's, and peppers have survived as long as it didn't get down below 24°F as long as they were in fully dormant state (after I bring them into the garage lightly pruned (thin non productive and/or excessively long branches) they drop their leaves and eventually any ripened or greened fruits as the temps go down and I stop watering except occasionally so as not to let them dry out completely. I think they prefer to be "nearly dry" while dormant)

When temps get down to nearly too cold, I put them on cardboard and surround them with additional collapsed cardboard boxes and floating covers. Put bubble wrap around the pots to protect the roots, etc. but I don't do that unless necessary, because all the protection interferes with checking on their condition and soil moisture levels.

[applestar]

When dug up, potted, and brought inside where they stay at 60's or above and get sufficient supplemental lights before the cold autumn temps shut them down, the pepper plants will continue to develop and mature existing blossoms that have set fruit and ripen green fruits. I have one Jalapeño plant that is actually blooming, and I have been e-toothbrushing to encourage pollination along with the Winter Indoor Tomato blossoms.

[applestar]

This year's overwintered peppers have been a disaster. Due to extreme low temperatures, the ones that were put in the unheated 1/2 insulated garage Out Post (group of plants located near far garage door, shoplight 24/7, tented•covered with spun bonded fabric) are mostly a bust, though I will continue to give them a little water and see if there is any sign of life.

I think I lost one or two of the ones that were kept in the house over the winter, but most are doing well and have been leafing out and starting to bloom... Even this Donkey Ear that was put in Cool Gang location (farthest from the thermostat, blocked heat vent, on the floor in the corner of the room by the wall) to go dormant for the winter (darkest, coldest corner in the group) has started to stir since it has been moved up to the Winter Wonderland where it is warmer:

I'll post pictures of some of the others soon.

[n8young]

This year's overwintered peppers have been a disaster. Due to extreme low temperatures, the ones that were put in the unheated 1/2 insulated garage Out Post (group of plants located near far garage door, shoplight 24/7, tented•covered with spun bonded fabric) are mostly a bust, though I will continue to give them a little water and see if there is any sign of life.

I think I lost one or two of the ones that were kept in the house over the winter, but most are doing well and have been leafing out and starting to bloom... Even this Donkey Ear that was put in Cool Gang location (farthest from the thermostat, blocked heat vent, on the floor in the corner of the room by the wall) to go dormant for the winter (darkest, coldest corner in the group) has started to stir since it has been moved up to the Winter Wonderland where it is warmer:

image.jpg

I'll post pictures of some of the others soon.

Have you had any issues when you bring peppers into the house to overwinter, in regards to insect pest problems? I did one plant last year, tented it up in my basement, heat mat, shop lights with plant bulbs 24/7. Everything was going great, and then I think I had a white fly hatching from the soil. the flies more or less decimated the plant. Organic insecticides did nothing to deter them. Have you had any experience with this, and if so, were you able to successfully eradicate the pests, and how?

Thanks!

[applestar]

I have more problems from aphids. I do get whiteflies, too but they were more interested in tomatoes than peppers. I think most of the ants tend to bring aphids.

I posted about things I have tried, and my ultimate solution in this thread
Subject: Embrace Your INNER APE –dealing with APHIDS >> got ladybugs