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applestar
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Re: Applestar’s 2018-19 Winter Indoor Peppers, etc. Garden

Released 2nd team of ladybugs a couple of days ago. They scatter quickly and I have trouble spotting them afterwards. Often, they are endlessly circling the rim of a container, some inevitably head towards the window frame, and others cluster around the lights. Some are just plain dumb and I find them floating in the drip tray or find they have immediately wandered into spider webs. I might rescue a few of those, but I don’t want to short the spiders and deprive them of what to them are unexpected treats either.

After all that, by following days, it feels like I can only find one ladybug actually patrolling the plants in each area, and I get anxious, but I really shouldn’t release too many at once since their food source is limited. I can spray some ladybug nectar but I want them to forage for food first.

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applestar
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A new kind of mite infestation I’m dealing with this winter is Red Citrus Mites. I may have had them before and didn’t notice them, or it might/likely be that they are rampant because I didn’t get and release predatory mites for the first time in 3 years.

Out of all the citruses, my two seed-grown Key Limes were first to start leafing out. I’m not sure if they are first because they are early or because they are adapted to sub-tropical Florida and can take the 50’s night time indoor temperature vs. other citruses? Or maybe they are more resistant to Red Citrus Mites, or maybe they are hosting some predatory mites that are Patrolling and protecting the tender new growths.

Often the leafnode buds of the citruses are blasted by sucking pests like scale insects or aphids as well as mites. But hopefully the Indoor Garden Patrol ladybeetles are starting to make a difference....

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— did I mention that the key lime leaves smell like key lime fruit/juice? I added few fresh leaves to a bottle of store bought not from concentrate organic lime juice to hopefully impart some key lime fragrance. I’m thinking maybe I could make key lime scented simple syrup when it’s time to prune them.

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Here are my winter greens — they of course survived the dip down to 28°F in the unheated garage, but with daytime temp mostly in the 30’s, not much higher than mid-40’s, growth is slow.
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In contrast...I peeked at the mini cabbages I started in the fall under the insect screen tunnel outside in the garden BEFORE we had the single digit drop in temperature. At the time they looked like they were hanging on, but I’m not sure how they are doing now.

...SPINACH is a nightmarish puzzler. I keep trying but only a handful manage to sprout and grow indoors or out. I’m not fond of raw spinach, so 2-3 leaves harvested at a time doesn’t work very well, even for my “innovative” creations, unlike lettuce or kale — at most, maybe an omelette for one.

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applestar
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I started 5 varieties of lettuces to try:

Anuenue
Blushed Butter Oaks
Jack Ice
Olga Romaine
Optima

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applestar
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Expected overnight low a couple of hours before dawn is 3°F with windchill between -15 to -20°F. It’s already dropped to 28°F in the unheated garage.

- I’ve loosely draped the V8 nursery with plastic sheeting and the figs near the garage door have been wearing fleece blankets since the last depth of winter freeze.

- Just like last time, I put the stand-by hibernating ladybeetle Indoor Garden Patrol —in their net bag inside ventilated padded envelope — in DH’s bait fridge in the garage so they will not be exposed to the extreme freezing temps.

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applestar
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The lettuce seeds had sprouted when I checked on them yesterday. I had placed them in the Cool Gang corner of the warm family room between a vertically positioned 2xt12 shoplight and a foil lid, but obviously the light was insufficient, so I moved them to the garage v8 nursery. Our single digit low temperature plunge seems to be over, so it shouldn’t get below 30’s in there now, and even the new seedlings should be able to take it. I’ll leave their cover on for a little bit longer.

Here they are, along with the other greens, etc.—
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applestar
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I started a test batch of micro dwarf tomatoes — 4 seeds each of Aztek and Pinocchio Orange. I don’t have my seed starting area set up yet, and in any case, beginning of February is still too cold indoors without steady bottom heat from a heatmat, and certainly too cold in the garage V8 Nursery with most I can hope for being 40’s°F. But micro dwarfs don’t take up much space, so I’m hoping to tuck them in somewhere among the Indoor Garden plants... hopefully without suffering from mite attack.


The new lettuce seedlings and other greens are happy enough out there though —
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...also, many of the fingering potatoes I used for dinner ... oh, maybe a week ago? ... had sprouted in the pantry, so I planted some of the sprouting eyes for fun to see if they would grow. One of them grew a lot faster than others which are just starting to show some green. I transplanted them all to to this 2.5 gal container today:

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SQWIB
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Everything looks great.

You need one of these, lol
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applestar
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Some Dazzling Blue kale and spinach leaves in a big bowl. They were tossed into a big stock pot of chicken soup DH made.

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applestar
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DH found a snake coiled up in the front corner of our garage this morning and ushered it outside with a snow shovel — he said it was resisting by attacking and biting the shovel.

It might have wandered in in the last few days when we had the garage door open and doing something. But it might explain the occasional rustling noises I had heard while in the garage with my Winter Indoor Garden over the winter. I had always thought it was mice that inevitably get in the garage, but, this winter, we really didn’t have the mice incursion from the garage into the house we have had before. Our kitties only dispatched a mouse once as I recall.

It might also explain why, when I ushered the kitties out to the garage for mouse patrol, having heard “a rustle”, they had hurried right back into the house through their laundry room kitty door, without hanging out in the garage. Do you suppose kitties would have scented the snake and considered it dangerous? Or else they didn’t find any signs of mice to interest them.

Spring peepers are chorusing outside now, as are grey tree frogs. So I think the snake will be fine outside.

...what was interesting to me was that DH’s description of the snake matched the one I have been seeing near the pond in the last couple of years, but shorter. This might be a 2nd snake.

Vanisle_BC
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This was the first time I've kept a pepper plant alive through winter; a 'doux d'espagne' that I dug up last fall. I pruned & replanted it in a 2L milk carton and it sat on my office desk with indirect window light and minimal watering. Transplanted in spring, it has now been giving me very nice peppers since late August.

I hope to do the same this fall with more peppers and some tomatoes. Possible candidates are 3 'late blooming' peppers in large pots. I suspect their roots were too warm in the (black) pots and they have grown very slowly; only now, approaching mid September, have they begun to make flowers. How should I deal with them now, for the best chance of bringing them through winter? Remove the flowers perhaps; prune the plants? they're still green and healthy. I'd prefer to leave them in the big pots but do I need to trim the roots?

My one overwintered plant is fruiting about 3 weeks earlier than those started from seed in the spring.

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PEPPERS — Yep. I have not stopped overwintering peppers ever since I began. :()

When do you have to bring them inside?

This would be —

(1) at beginning of sustained overnight lows of 45°F or lower … or
(2) the day before predicted overnight frost

— depending on whether you want …

(1) the plants to continue to bloom and develop fruits to harvest by placing them in ideal light and temperature locations indoors … or
(2) you will allow the plants to immediately enter into hibernation mode by placing them in cool but above freezing storage maintained by relatively low light that will allow them to ripen near mature fruits left on the plants then yellowing and shedding leaves. Fruits can be stripped/harvested green or after they have colored up.

(1) For the plants you want to continue to bloom and fruit until Persephone Days* (I think of these as 2 weeks before and after Winter Solstice - YMMV - it depends on your latitude ), best practice is to root prune and trim about a month before first average frost in your area.
  • They can be re or uppotted with fresh potting mix and fertilizer/dolomitic lime (or minerals supplement like Azomite, crushed granite, seaweed) if they are already in pots, OR can be planted in pots for bringing in.
  • I have also simply root pruned (garden spade plunged straight down and up just inside dripline to cut roots without digging up) and pruned ground-planted ones to initiate new branch root growths without potting up immediately at this point
  • Upper foliage pruning should focus on building good light admitting structure — remove inward growing branches, shorten and remove total branches by about 1/3 of entire plant, cull excess fruits (don’t have to remove all but leave reasonable/sustainable number for enjoying — can also leave the fruits on if expecting to mass harvest before frost)
  • Bring into minimum 60°F indoor space before sustained 45°F overnight weather, and place in well lit daylight supplemental light location with at least 12 hrs daytime lighting (I use same setup as my seed starting with 16 hr light)
  • If kept in sufficiently bright location at temperature above 62~65°F they will continue to bloom and set fruit if flowers are pollinated with vibrating electric toothbrush until Persephone days, unless they had recently mass colored/matured a crop, then they should be allowed to rest by keeping in lower light and temperature
(2) For plants to overwinter “in storage”, what has worked for me is
  • In the day(s) before forecasted first frost, go around loosening the plants from ground with garden fork and basically yanking out with minimum soilball — only enough to fit in tripled plastic grocery bags. Keep more roots/soil if loaded with fruits.
  • I keep them in the windowless unheated garage (sometimes but not always after roughly pruning and culling fruits on extra long branches)… with a single or double 4ft fluorescent shoplight 24/7
  • Gradually reduce watering but maintain moisture levels sufficient to nurture fruits as they color up and are harvested.
  • Once remaining fruits stop blushing or start to show signs of stress, cull them and finish harvest. This usually doesn’t happen until the garage is starting to feel the freeze outside and the leaves have wilted. Prune the branches by cutting off all twiggy side branches and establish a good foundation scaffolding — leave at least Y form with joint knobs at terminus. Reduce watering to once a week — barely moist.
  • Nothing else is needed unless the storage location temp is expected to fall below approximately 28°F. Some will die/not recover at this temperature, less chance of survival below 24°F — can add protection with frost blankets, cardboard box surrounds — DEFINITELY INSULATE FLOOR UNDER PLANTS — but if you bring inside to above 50°F, they need to be potted up and given sufficient light — doesn’t need to be strong light unless you want it to grow and fruit over the winter.
Regardless of light and temperature, they will start growing massive numbers of new leaf buds and shoots after days start to lengthen — typically late January~mid February for me. Plants kept in low-light areas need to be provided with supplemental light, and “bareroot” bagged plants need to be supported — add potting mix and fertilizer or plant in real pots.

Watch out for aphid and mite attacks. Also keep eye out for hatching slugs and other pests. I don’t fumigate my plants because I believe predators are coming in along with pests, and I won’t have chemically treated plants in the house anyhow. I buy additional predators (ladybugs and predatory mites) in late fall and sometimes 2nd deployment in mid-late winter.

*PERSEPHONE DAYS*
The Persephone Period - Napa Master Gardener Column - ANR Blogs
https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postde ... tnum=28043

Vanisle_BC
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Applestar; Much thanks for the very full reply. I won't try to keep my plants fruiting indoors. My remaining question is about the need & purpose of root pruning. It would be convenient to just bring the potted plants in for branch-pruning and hibernation, undisturbed in their pots. Have you tried leaving the roots un-pruned in the past?

- And any special tips on tomatoes vis-a-vis peppers for over wintering indoors ?

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Ha. I didn’t expect a response from you until later. Reread my post because I’ve been editing and re-editing, and I don’t have to record that I edited.

Root pruning is undervalued. I realized its necessity for peppers in the course of yanking out those winter storage plants — peppers seem to grow radiating very long exploratory roots while maintaining seemingly compact rootball. So if your potted plants experienced any drying during the growing season, it’s likely to have grown those exploratory roots that have encircled the pot.

You might only have to tap / slip the rootball out, tease out the encircled thick roots and cut them even with the rest of the thin fibrous roots that are likely surprisingly compact. Then slip the rootball right back in

… or maybe trim a little as long as you have it out to reduce the diameter by 1 inch to 2 inches (shave 1/2 inch to 1 inch all around). This will become a better option especially if the plant tries to grow before you are ready to repot and put outside in spring. Alternatively you can just uppot before the growths start but that is prime seed starting time, you know.

Since as you said, the plant is currently blooming, producing, and loaded with fruits, you could hold off on this process until they have been harvested and you are keeping the plant in non-productive state for the winter.



Tomatoes have a completely different set of issues and are actually more difficult to overwinter — this is surprising considering they seem more robust during the growing season. I’ll post in detail later. Which varieties were you thinking of keeping?

Vanisle_BC
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Applestar, In my turn I'm surprised at your quick reply. In my own case it's thanks to (thanks ?!) pain getting me out of bed at odd hours of the night.

My peppers in pots have just barely begun making flowers; no fruit. They do look very healthy. You are right in assuming they went through at leat one big wilt due to drying out. From your remarks it seems I'd better take them out of the pots for root trimming; then I can hold them through winter with some soil in less bulky containers. I like 2L milk cartons - tall enough to accept lots of root yet not take up much room standing grouped on a table.

Next year I think all my peppers will be grown with irrigation 'in the ground' - no pots.

Tomatoes I grew this year:
Ailsa Craig
Camp Joy (Chadwick's Cherry)
Jaune Flamme
Longkeeper
Moneymaker
Sungold
Sweetie

I hadn't got round to deciding which ones I'd try keeping alive till spring. Any comments?



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