2013-14 Winter Indoor Peppers (and eggplants)

[applestar]

Subject: Why Bring Pepper Plants Indoors for Winter?

so do you think your plant you uprooted and brought in is dead because the leaves are drying out and dying? every single pepper I brought to my GH looks to what most would call "dead". the top growth and growth stems are actually dead though, you can tell by the color( dark greenish, soft looking) next years new growth will all come from dormant buds under the stem lower on the plant, the thicker woody stems.

I'm starting to bring my hot peppers inside to overwinter. This year, I'm also going to try overwintering 2 or 3 eggplants.

Smaller Peppa Dew

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Scotch Bonnet

Small eggplant (unlabeled)

I also have a Small Etkezi Paprika, Peru White Hab and the larger Peppa Dew in the garage. Also planning to bring in the Trinidad Perfum, larger Etkezi and de Arbol, at least one each of the Corno di Toros, Jalapeños, Fish and Hot Lemons -- will add photos tomorrow.

...anyone else overwintering their peppers?

[DoubleDogFarm]

...anyone else overwintering their peppers?

Yeah, as Salsa Verde

Eric

[Northernfox]

I took mine down to the ground to start again. I was not sure how to deal with the insects that come in from outside. I also want to try making pepper bushes

Your plants are looking good!

[applestar]

Thanks!
Here are some of the others I want to save:
Peppa Dew (large fruiting) -- I'll probably cut that exta long leader after harvesting the fruits.

Peppa Dew (large fruiting)

Peru White Hab

Peru White Hab

Trinidad Perfum
Just learned that my Trinidad Perfum was NOT true to type so please keep that in mind as you look at the rest of the photos and descriptions in this thread

Trinidad Perfum

De Arbol and this year's new jalapeño to possibly replace the aging other two below.

De Arbol and this year's new Jalapeño

Largest of four Fish peppers -- also has best variegation and currently is sporting a dark cream/lt. cream striped fruit as well as cream/green striped and green/lt. green striped.

Biggest of 4 Fish peppers

Here are two Jalapeños in their 4th year. They look really tired so I might try letting them go dormant and see if they would recover, but from what imafan and lorax posted, they may be near their lifespan? Its also possible they are pot bound and just need all fruits picked, lightly pruned and uppotted in fresh soil mix and given a little R&R after pumping out fruits all summer. They did the same thing last fall and lost most of their łeaves, but after R&R, recovered around mid-Jan, burst out in new growths, and were fruiting by late winter.

4th year jalapeños

These have corky woody trunks now -- I may try to style one or both into bonsai (bronchi?)

[digitS']

I will try a Super Chili in the house this winter. I grow them every year - they do about the best for me - but have never brought a plant indoors. Right now, they are in my greenhouse but can't be there for long. The heat won't be turned on out there until March.

The house plants have nearly all migrated back indoors. What I find for bugs is that they bring in fungus gnats. I've tried spraying but, really, the yellow sticky traps work best.

In the greenhouse, the rosemary plants spend the winter (covered & uncovered) on the floor. I am sure that there are not only fungus gnats in their potting soil but some aphids. The aphids will show up in the spring. Maybe I should spray those plants . . ? Would the aphids be up where I could hit them with soap or pyrethrum? I don't know - maybe just keep next year's seedlings away from them and put the sticky traps out there, too.

Steve

[applestar]

At first thaw, ants find their way into the house. Once the scouts discover my peppers and other succulent plants, they always bring their flock of aphids with them. I've seen them carrying and depositing an aphid on each leaf with my own eyes. Eventually they decide to reduce their commuting distance by moving INTO the house plant pots.

[imafan26]

Can you use boric acid as a barrier around the border of the area? I use it around the perimeter of my lanai to keep ants and roaches from coming into the house. It works as long as the barrier is intact.

[applestar]

I use DE and borax, but sometimes the ants find ways to get in that are difficult to access....

I up potted/repotted de Arbol and Trinidad Perfum:

De Arbol (L) and Trinidad Perfum (R)

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Another Fish with less variegation but loaded with fruits:

Fish Pepper

[jbest123]

Its nice when you don't have to quit gardening just because of jack frost.

[applestar]

Nice! What kind is that?

[jbest123]

Nice! What kind is that?

habanero here is a close up.

[applestar]

Moved all the peppers from the garage as well as outside since it's starting to get chilly even in the garage and I have green fruiting and blooming plants --

Trinidad Perfum fruits are rapidly coloring up. I guess these ripen yellow:

Trinidad Perfum

Fish and Jalapeño peppers:

Fish and Jalapeño peppers

Peppa Dew, Trinidad Perfum, Scotch Bonnet, Fish and Hot Lemon. :

Peppa Dew at left - Trinidad Perfum in back - Scotch Bonnet - Fish - Hot Lemon in front right

Not pictured are De Arbol fruits -- will post photo when they have turned red for better photo op

Now I have three bell and Corno di toro plants in the ground producing fruits, and eggplants in the window box and a couple of pots tht are looking really ragged. Still trying to decide/wanting to bring them in.

ANYONE HAVE EXPERIENCE OVERWINTERING EGGPLANTS
-- what kind of weather conditions? What kind of stages do they go through?

[jbest123]

I didn't plant anything in the GH this year. Now I'm sorry I didn't.

[applestar]

I seriously could use a greenhouse.
...I tell myself -and family- that all the plants improve air quality during the cold months when the house is necessarily shut up tight.

Update photo of the Trinidad Perfum. I picked and ate (part of ) one today
It was spicier than I expected -- there is some heat but not unbearable -- just a nice zing. It's supposed to be about 500 SU and milder than jalapeño. The fruits on my plant is mostly smoothly elongated with no squashed hab shape. Hopefully still true to variety. It was excellent as salad garnish.

[Northernfox]

I planted a few new peppers an tomatoes for winter growing. I want to make pepper bushes with the peppers and some winter tomatoes would be nice. I don't have a greenhouse so I put them in the basement under grow lights

Yours all look better then mine lol

[applestar]

I've been harvesting the Trinidad Perfum -- this is the second bowlful:

Last of the tomato harvest and Trinidad Perfum

Etkezi Paprika is starting to bloom again:

Etkezi Paprika

Another pepper in bloom (this is actually Golden Summer Hybrid bell pepper) and an eggplant:

Eggplant is looking ragged but surviving so far, though it seems more prone to problems:

Eggplant and Peru White Hab

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Dug up, grocery bagged peppers and eggplants stored in the uninsulated garage for overwintering in dormant state:

Garage eggplants and peppers

[applestar]

De Arbol is starting to change color and turn red

De Arbol

Here is a nice view of some variegated Fish peppers, shiny dark green Scotch Bonnet and remaining Trinidad Perfums that have fully ripened into the golden yellow mature color:

Fish, Scotch Bonnet, and Trinidad Perfum

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[applestar]

These Fish peppers started turning red, too.

Fish pepper

Also, as I mentioned in the Winter tomatoes thread, I went and bought a pair of electric toothbrushes yesterday and have started to buzz the pepper blossoms along with tomato blossoms to stimulate pollination and fruit set.

The Fish pepper plant to the right that has the heavily variegated green striped ivory fruit is currently full of blossoms.

[applestar]

Another picture of de Arbol before I harvested the red ones

De Arbol

Same for Fish peppers

Ripe and "green" variegated Fish peppers with Jalapeño in the back

Another Fish pepper starting to ripen:

Ripening Fish pepper among green Kootenai tomatoes

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Most of the peppers including Etkezi Paprika, Peru White Hab, Golden Summer hybrid bell, and Corno do Toro are all blooming and I'm buzzing them with the E. toothbrush every chance I get. . Trinidad Perfum was just harvested so I think it's resting.

[rainbowgardener]

It's awesome, Applestar! The one time I brought a bell pepper in for the winter, it was all I could do to keep it (barely) alive. It never did bloom indoors.

Just out of curiosity, what is it that is chewing on your pepper plant leaves? The Etkezi Paprika especially, if I saw it outdoors, I would think slug damage. But your indoor garden doesn't really come complete with slugs does it?

[digitS']

I will try a Super Chili in the house this winter. I grow them every year - they do about the best for me - but have never brought a plant indoors. Right now, they are in my greenhouse but can't be there for long. The heat won't be turned on out there until March. . .

Well, the Super Chili turned out to be a Thai Dragon. I knew there were some in the garden but forgot about one in a pot.

The pods stretched right out and have now matured red! I may as well pick all that are on it . . .

Why isn't this happening with the 1 potted tomato I brought in to the greenhouse? That poor thing won't last much longer . . . It was the mother plant for my hybridizing effort this summer. The fruit is now almost 90 days from bloom. I can't hardly believe it! I knew I was pushing things too late with moving pollen but figured that it would need just a week or 2 in the greenhouse. That would have been about 50 days and somewhere in early October!

What I think happened is that the plant got too cold outdoors before I brought it in. It is now in a very slow decline - old leaves drying and new leaves shriveled. I just want the 5 tomatoes to mature! I've picked off the others and there those "special" tomatoes sit - green forever. We will get some real cold weather before too much longer and things will freeze in the greenhouse! I bet I'm gonna have to pick 'em green & hope the seed is mature.

What a difference with the pepper. It came in about the same time!

Steve

[applestar]

Steve, I think you've described the conundrum of the tomatoes vs. (hot) peppers.

Peppers need greater heat to germinate and warmth to bring the seedlings up to speed, and can't go out until at least a week later than tomatoes, yet they are perennial where tomatoes are generally not. They go dormant when temps fall and will resume growth in a month or so if brought inside in the fall, and the roots and hardened trunk/stems can survive the winter where temps remain in the upper 20's but tomatoes will decide that their time is up and go down fast.

I guess it's also dependent on variety because some of my tomato plants looked like sticks but started to grow vigorously once temps cooled down and didn't go down until hard frost. Maybe the ones that can't survive the cold have asymptomatic virus or something that have already weakened them.

If you can keep the tomato plant warm enough, it will expend the last of its energy into ripening the fruits even if it's dying. Keep it watered (maybe with less cold water). You might want to cover it with a floating cover for even just a couple of degrees difference. As long as the greenhouse is above freezing, insulating the roots -- like putting the container inside a cardboard box -- may help too.

Thai Dragon, huh? Sounds like a scorcher!

[applestar]

I would think slug damage. But your indoor garden doesn't really come complete with slugs does it?

Well, it WAS a slug and I didn't discover it for a couple of weeks until I accidentally flooded the container next to it. I came back and realized my mistake, and I was "turkey basting (actually a large pipette -- new this winter... I have three sizes to work with now)"/bailing out the excess water in its drip tray when my eyes focused on the pot not a hand span in front of my eyes -- I was leaning close to see the water in the tray -- and realized there was a LARGE slug sliming across mid way up the side.

I suspected it before then, though, because the holes the plant came in with had multiplied and I knew I wasn't imagining it.

In my defense it was a black one and I probably missed it hiding in one of the drainage holes when I inspected the container before bringing it in.

[gixxerific]

Way to go Apple now you got me wanting to grow some peppers inside, at least they will probably do better than my mators are doing right now.

[applestar]

I've moved this thread to the new pepper forum


For growing inside during the winter, (Potting them up and) moving them inside at the end of the season sometime around or before when daytime high settles in the 50's with night time low in the low 40's/upper 30's seems to be the easy way. (I was covering them at night for a while once this kind of temperature pattern started prior to moving them inside).

I've said it before, but watch out for ants and their aphids. (I found some today....)

I was thinking recently that in the future, I might collect some ladybugs during the summer and learn to keep/raise them in a screened bug box so I'll be able to bring them inside before they start thinking about hibernating. This way, I might be able to put some actively feeding ladybugs on my indoor peppers.

Unfortunately, even though I have plenty of them in the garden during the summer, overwintering ladybugs are rare in my house -- much more likely to find brown marmorated stink bugs.

[Northernfox]

Your plants are looking great!! I am so glad to have access to some green in my life!

I have a small update on mine

I started pruning my peppers. it was painful but for the best!

[ReptileAddiction]

Your guys' peppers are looking great! My peppers (outisde) are almost ready to yank.

[Northernfox]

Lol I wish my outside ones were ready to yank they have Ben out for like 2 months lol.

[gixxerific]

Fine, I'll get off my butt and drop some seed now than.

[applestar]

[applestar]

Peppadew are turning red:

[ReptileAddiction]

Looking great as always!

[gixxerific]

I so wish I had a window I could use. Those peppers look good you are doing a great job Applestar as ususal.

I said I would start peppers a page or so ago which I did. I dropped a bunch of seed for some reason only one popped up and it didin't make it (mice might be the reason for it dissapearing). So nothing for me, my winter trials went to hell fast, I am worried my spring starters will have problems. If so I may just start growing grass.

[applestar]

Don't be discouraged, Gixx. This is particularly tough time of the year to grow anything inside.

Mine have deteriorated quite a bit now. It's the combination of super cold temps this winter has been dishing out, which causes the heater to run constantly and drag down the relative humidity (By lights out, the RH reads 45-48%, then I thoroughly mist in the morning and barely bring it up to 65% or so. Now at mid-day it's already down to 52%) Then there are the ants that have established my indoor garden as their winter aphid pasture. Yep, aphids and more aphids.

I will have to make a decision soon and eradicate them so MY warm weather spring starters will not be affected. I think my peppers are telling me they are getting tired anyway, so I will most likely let them hibernate -- back off on watering, put them in colder areas and give them a stumpy cut (main stem and a few sturdy side branches). This is a good time to do it since they can have their 4-6 week rest during the winter's coldest period, then be ready to leaf out with the longer, warmer days. My "Winter Wonderland" faces SE and right now the sun is rising in the horizon directly facing the window. Sunrise will migrate further and further east to ENE as the days get longer and they will get more sun exposure by late Feb.

I can't prune them down until the aphids are gone because they will suck the tender new pepper leaves dry

[gixxerific]

I may be discouraged but I am not down for the count. I removed all my plants as well, as you know I had problems so I wanted to TRY and take care of that before the spring seeding onslaught.

Sounds to me you are ready for the Praxxus pepper method. This would actually be a great time giving them time to regenerate before there spring debut, good luck with them.

[applestar]

Someone's doing an awfully good marketing job, because I think of it more as a container pepper variation of Fatalii's "Bonchi" method since that is where I first saw it....
https://www.fatalii.net/Bonsai_Chiles_Bonchi

...but who knows who had the original concept

Yeah I have been trimming down my overwintering peppers at some point -- early on in Fall as I bring them in, some time after they drop their leaves in the chilly garage, or just before they start to leaf out as the days lengthen between the winter solstice and the spring equinox ever since I started overwintering them.

Don't know if the garage ones will survive this winter since we had such plunging cold temps, and I lost a couple of the peppers inside (but that's why I try to bring in extras), but I'm starting to prune down the indoor ones as they finish producing fruits, and one of the two eggplants I brought in the house is still alive and actually trying to bloom (though I think it's too cold for it to set fruit -- first blossom dropped off last week).

[PennyG]

Looks great!!

[applestar]

One surviving eggplant in the house -- despite suffering from tomato leafminer and aphid attacks, is blooming again.

[beakhouse]

I'm going to have to show my ignorance here and ask a question - when you overwinder peppers, are they in the ground and you pot them up or have they always been in a pot and you can bring them inside? I'm thinking, if I'm going to start from seed soon and they can do well in a container, I won't have to take up in-ground garden space? Perhaps?

[applestar]

It depends on the variety and required container size.

Most of this year's over wintered hot peppers grew in containers last year and were brought in after uppotting or repotting, but most of the peppers in this post were in-ground 32"-48" pepper plants that had been dug up and severely pruned to minimize container size and growing space taken up in the limited winter indoor space.