2025 Peppers Started

[karstopography]

I haven’t overwintered peppers myself. I do have the 2 jalapeño plants currently in the garden that have some fruit on them, but we are supposed to get some near certain extended sub freezing weather next week so they will be surely done and dead after that. I like starting new peppers each year.

Maybe someone that has experience overwintering peppers will pipe up.

[Whwoz]

@bower I know you get a lot colder than I do, but I would leave pruning until the spring, letting the existing leaves serve as protection for the stem further in. Ugly to look at, but it works.

[rdback]

I have a question about overwintering peppers.
My two biggest plants of Tres Long des Landes came into the greenhouse with many peppers still. Although it was cool they still ripened some of those, but eventually they wilted and stayed droopy, and I took the other peppers off.
The plants though are still in the greenhouse.
I know the air there will drop below freezing at some point but the soil will not freeze. My rosemary plant survives it, in the same size of container. So the plan is to prune back (and I'm not sure how much) and see if they make it.
Any thoughts about that?
How hard do you prune overwintering peppers?

In my experience with peppers, you can (and should) prune them back pretty aggressively, and they'll survive it, BUT if the temps go below freezing, they won't. Peppers are not known for generating new growth from below the soil. Rather, new growth forms at nodes along the mature trunk/branches of the plant. If these older branches/trunk freeze, the plant won't regenerate. Here's a video of how to prune a pepper plant for overwintering. Just focus on the pruning itself. He does a pretty good job. Look at the plant before pruning, then after pruning. Hopefully this will help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNuXNwW ... dGarden%29

[karstopography]

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I moved these inside to warm up a little for a couple of days to let more get a true leaf or two before going back out into the cooler garage. I still intend to cold treat the seedlings in 50-55° temps, but they need to have a little warmth now to get growing a bit.

I don’t think I want much more than 18 pepper plants so I will likely pick the strongest seedlings and thin out and discard the rest. There’s five eggplant pictured there too and that’s enough eggplant.

[karstopography]

IMG_5517.jpeg

The peppers are doing well. Even the tray I dumped on the ground has peppers in it, I don’t know which ones, though.

[GVGardens]

Fun! I don't have any overlap with you this year. I did Big Jim in 2023 but it got incredibly hot by August (drought stress?).

Here’s my list:
Abiquiu
Ajvarsky
Corbaci (7th year repeat)
Fooled You Jalapeno (trying instead of nadapeno or coolapeno; hate TAM)
Pointy Kaiby #7
Urfa Biber (repeat from last year; less hot and more productive than Aleppo)
Gernika
Paprika Vince Hernandez (repeat from last year)
Aji Chinchi Amarillo
Aji Fantasy
Aji Escabeche
Aji Mirasol Colorado
Aji Guyana (repeat from last year - great pepper flakes)
Habanada (3rd year repeat)
And I just started some aji dulce to experiment with a new heat mat set up. No idea if I have room for them ha!

[karstopography]

I planted 14 of the peppers shown in the photo two posts above, plus one store bought Keystone Giant Bell pepper transplant. Spacing between them is ~18”. I have room for three more peppers (or one eggplant) in that bed once I pull the remaining carrots and lettuce. I might have seven or eight small pepper plants remaining and not ready for transplanting just yet. Not sure I will plant them all. I might pick up another pepper or two at the garden center. Wouldn’t mind having another red bell pepper or two.

Each planting hole got a handful or two of worm castings. The beds were prepared and fertilized about the same as my tomato beds. Everything is watered in. Good thing as I’m wore out.

[zeuspaul]

@bower I haven't had good luck with overwintering peppers. I only grow California Wonder Bells. I rarely get a freeze so the peppers survive the winter. My plan this year was to severely cut one back but I have changed my mind. The overwintered peppers have never done as well as the new starts so this year I am sticking with just the new starts.

[bower]

Yea, I followed the advice on pruning, and the video iirc was clear that green stems are alive, brown stems are toast. So I had two plants with green stems, neatly pruned and surrounded with water bottles in a good sized tub of dirt they were in...
It did get too cold though, and the stems have turned brown.
It's good to know I may as well cut them out and plant some fresh seedlings.
New moon tonight! Maybe that'll put me in the seeding mood.

[karstopography]

I never saw the point of trying to overwinter peppers here. Annually planted peppers here, generally transplanted around now, mostly start producing in May or June and most continue to be productive on through summer and persist producing way into the late fall. Many overwintered peppers I have seen online look pretty rough and that’s being kind. I’ve not yet been able to understand what I would expect to gain by maintaining a year old pepper plant over the winter. A month of production on the front side? Seems like a decent amount of bother for not much upside.

[Whwoz]

As one who has overwintered peppers, I will say it s worth depends upon your location and season before, if the growing season before has been short, the plants can keep ripening the fruit on them for longer under a sheet of supported plastic (the first time I did it I just used an old tarp and kept taking it on/off the supporting frame). If you can remove said cover, pollinators will most likely find any flowers and yes, the main crop starts a month or so earlier than transplants. Agree that plants look ratty and start of new growing season.

[karstopography]

Transplanted today two Giant Aconcagua, one shishito, one Better Belle, and four “mystery” peppers from the tray I dropped way back in January and spilled out all over the living room floor. I might pick up one more red hybrid bell pepper at a garden center and call it quits on any more peppers for 2025.

[rxkeith]

i have over wintered peppers twice.
indian jwahl, and korean dark green have made it back outside
for a second year. my problem has been aphids. they get brought
in to the house, and become difficult to control or wipe out, and
then the seedlings in the spring have gotten infested. the time spent
examining plants for aphids, and killing them makes me think its not
worth it to try over wintering peppers in the future. it might make more
sense to keep a plant in doors in a sunny location year round instead. i
may do that with a plant or two this year.

i seeded twelve varieties of peppers on feb 28th. a full two weeks sooner
than i normally do. some medical stuff is happening, so am hedging my bets.
aji margariteno
a chinese hot pepper, name unknown
chervena chuska
franks
jimmy nardello
goat horn or more jimmy nardello from some dry peppers i did not label.
mira sol
shi shitso
ozark giant
yolo wonder
early jalapeno
early niagara giant

some varieties are 5 yr old seeds. i may plant a few more in two or three weeks depending
on what comes up, and how i am doing. a few came from az gardener in the swap,
so thanks for contributing.



keith

[karstopography]

Aphids have colonized my artichokes. There’s a war going on with the ladybugs, but by my estimation, the aphids are winning. Where did the aphids come from?

I avoided buying any peppers one year because the set plants were infested with aphids. As far as I can determine, only my artichokes currently have aphids. Hope that stays the same.

[rxkeith]

aphids were probably on the plants when outside, but kept in check
by aphid eaters. once in doors with no predators, they just start multiplying.
spraying and smashing sets them back, but they just rebound again.


keith

[greenthumbomaha]

i have over wintered peppers twice.
indian jwahl, and korean dark green have made it back outside
for a second year. my problem has been aphids. they get brought
in to the house, and become difficult to control or wipe out, and
then the seedlings in the spring have gotten infested. the time spent
examining plants for aphids, and killing them makes me think its not
worth it to try over wintering peppers in the future. it might make more
sense to keep a plant in doors in a sunny location year round instead. i
may do that with a plant or two this year.

i seeded twelve varieties of peppers on feb 28th. a full two weeks sooner
than i normally do. some medical stuff is happening, so am hedging my bets.
aji margariteno
a chinese hot pepper, name unknown
chervena chuska
franks
jimmy nardello
goat horn or more jimmy nardello from some dry peppers i did not label.
mira sol
shi shitso
ozark giant
yolo wonder
early jalapeno
early niagara giant

some varieties are 5 yr old seeds. i may plant a few more in two or three weeks depending
on what comes up, and how i am doing. a few came from az gardener in the swap,
so thanks for contributing.



keith

Keith, if your Frank's seed came from an earlier MMMM swap, it might not be what you were expecting. I got a prolific short plant shaped like an umbrella, with thumb sized peppers. Whatever it was, I thought it was very good. Please save seeds, I didn't but wish I had. - Lisa

[karstopography]

IMG_5691.jpeg

IMG_5690.jpeg

Got the peppers all mulched today. Twenty five is the final total. Six bells in the mix. Four jalapeños. Three gatherer’s gold. Two giant Aconcagua, two shishito.