New peppers growing, close to winter
So all summer long my peppers produce a grand total of 4... my own fault I think, I had them too crowded amongst tomatoes plants, anyways, I cut down the tomatoes and left the peppers like 2 weeks ago and now suddenly I have 5 incoming peppers all at once. Problem is, every night it is around 45°F or lower. So, my question is, how do I nurse these to produce the fruits fully before winter sets its claws in?
It would help to know your location. It sounds like the growing season for your garden is about over. Peppers are notorious warm season plants. If by now there has not been a crop, what you see is a last gasp growth. Daytime temps of 70 to 90 is best with nighttime temps at least 60ish or peppers will just show no growth. Your area and the length of your growing season is a big factor for growing peppers successfully.
In my area long season, 75 days and more peppers will not have enough time for a good harvest. What comes on about now on a 75 to 90 days to ripe will be killed by cold temperatures. I can grow 85-90 day tomatoes and get a good crop, but in order to get results from peppers they need to be 50-70 days to maturity. Look for short or medium season peppers and you should be better off.
If you still have a month two in your area of warm temperatures they may do OK. Peppers need direct sunlight just the same as tomatoes, so give them their own space.
In my area long season, 75 days and more peppers will not have enough time for a good harvest. What comes on about now on a 75 to 90 days to ripe will be killed by cold temperatures. I can grow 85-90 day tomatoes and get a good crop, but in order to get results from peppers they need to be 50-70 days to maturity. Look for short or medium season peppers and you should be better off.
If you still have a month two in your area of warm temperatures they may do OK. Peppers need direct sunlight just the same as tomatoes, so give them their own space.
-
applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30551
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
I agree with everything @PaulF said.
What you can do now depends or whether you can expect 50°F or warmer for another month once the cold snap is past, or temps are just going to continue to go down.
(1) If just a cold snap, you might be able to put floating cover and vented poly double layer over a low tunnel or hoops or other supporting structure to protect the peppers to push on past.
(2) If like me you are expecting a mid-30’s over night, then maybe another week of warmer weather (70’s/50’s even 78°F high on Fri) … then likely full on frost and wintry weather, you can agonize WITH ME about what to do.
(3) If 40’s is what you are going to get from here on, the fruits wonendevelop any more, so you have two choices — well three really —
(a) Dig up the plants with as much root ball as possible, pot them up and put them in protected, at least 70’s/mid-50’s spot with sun and or supplemental light to get the plant to ripen the fruits.
(b) Harvest the fruits at whatever stage they are in and make use of them as best you can — tiniest green ones could be used in a mixed pickle. Even walnut sized green peppers are flavorful and can add accent to omelet, for example. Enjoy the harvest and know you got the best you could out of this season.
(c) Harvest the fruits and then save the plants to overwinter so you will have a head start next year and will get to harvest size peppers earlier.
…I’m leaning towards (3c) myself (For WIW, I ALWAYS overwinter some of my pepper plants and have been for a good number of years)…. Let us know what you want to do and we can help with the details. If interested, there are archived threads about what I’ve done in the past — wins and losses, etc…. We can discuss what changes I might make for this year.
What you can do now depends or whether you can expect 50°F or warmer for another month once the cold snap is past, or temps are just going to continue to go down.
(1) If just a cold snap, you might be able to put floating cover and vented poly double layer over a low tunnel or hoops or other supporting structure to protect the peppers to push on past.
(2) If like me you are expecting a mid-30’s over night, then maybe another week of warmer weather (70’s/50’s even 78°F high on Fri) … then likely full on frost and wintry weather, you can agonize WITH ME about what to do.
(3) If 40’s is what you are going to get from here on, the fruits wonendevelop any more, so you have two choices — well three really —
(a) Dig up the plants with as much root ball as possible, pot them up and put them in protected, at least 70’s/mid-50’s spot with sun and or supplemental light to get the plant to ripen the fruits.
(b) Harvest the fruits at whatever stage they are in and make use of them as best you can — tiniest green ones could be used in a mixed pickle. Even walnut sized green peppers are flavorful and can add accent to omelet, for example. Enjoy the harvest and know you got the best you could out of this season.
(c) Harvest the fruits and then save the plants to overwinter so you will have a head start next year and will get to harvest size peppers earlier.
…I’m leaning towards (3c) myself (For WIW, I ALWAYS overwinter some of my pepper plants and have been for a good number of years)…. Let us know what you want to do and we can help with the details. If interested, there are archived threads about what I’ve done in the past — wins and losses, etc…. We can discuss what changes I might make for this year.
-
pepperhead212
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2889
- Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:52 pm
- Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b
I'm not sure what varieties of peppers you are growing, or exactly when you planted them, but I would think you should have gotten more than you could use (if I recall, you planted far more plants than I do!). I plant in mid-May, which means that by mid-October, I have gotten a little over 150 growing days! Even for someone planting in mid-June, that would be a little over 120 days, so it is not the growing season time off the varieties that is the problem! I posted that photo of the Thai Vesuvius, with all those flowers on it, as well as tiny peppers started, which is the 4th flush of peppers I've had on that plant this season.
That said, peppers do like heat, and my peppers usually start fading out by even early October, since it is getting cooler, but I still get a good number of green peppers on many of them. Some I harvest at full sized green, by the first frost; if too small, I just leave them on the plants, when I pull them (many hot peppers are bitter, when small, and underdeveloped). I have been getting low temperatures in the mid to high 40s for a while - 44° lowest, so no frost, but I have countless peppers out there - I don't know how! Temps on average, have been lower than average, yet later this week, it's back to the high 70s! I have so many from earlier in the season, I just told friends, neighbors, and my mailman, to take any peppers they would like! Too bad you don't live nearby!
As for extending the season, try some of the things applestar suggested, or cover them, over the really cold nights. And good luck next season, for getting those things producing much earlier!
That said, peppers do like heat, and my peppers usually start fading out by even early October, since it is getting cooler, but I still get a good number of green peppers on many of them. Some I harvest at full sized green, by the first frost; if too small, I just leave them on the plants, when I pull them (many hot peppers are bitter, when small, and underdeveloped). I have been getting low temperatures in the mid to high 40s for a while - 44° lowest, so no frost, but I have countless peppers out there - I don't know how! Temps on average, have been lower than average, yet later this week, it's back to the high 70s! I have so many from earlier in the season, I just told friends, neighbors, and my mailman, to take any peppers they would like! Too bad you don't live nearby!
As for extending the season, try some of the things applestar suggested, or cover them, over the really cold nights. And good luck next season, for getting those things producing much earlier!