Can I transplant garden peppers into pots for winter?

[wykvlvr]

I have 5 pepper plants with some nice sized peppers on them but winter will be here any day now and I would really like to find a way to save my pepper plants. They are Orange Lesya grown from seed from Forgotten Heirlooms. The peppers on the plants are nearly full size but still green... hoping bringing them inside before our snow starts can work as I really want to taste this one... And yes next year we will get them started earlier.

[AKgardener]

I haven’t done it yet but I have seen videos and read things on over wintering peppers it can be done if you have the space for it not sure how to but I Definitely have wanted to myself.I just grow them from seed in winter not bring them inside from the summer so I dont bring in bugs.

[rxkeith]

its possible. you have to prune the plants way back. i don't know how it will work with
full size peppers on board. aphids could be a nemesis. they were for me last year. the only
pepper i have managed to winter over is indian jwahl. that is one tough pepper. plenty hot if
you like heat. i had full size peppers turn color picked and in doors in the past. if they are at breaker
stage like tomatoes, you could probably save seeds from them.


keith

[worth1]

I've known people to grow peppers inside in Alaska.
Your leaves might fall off but they will still survive many times.
Just don't over water.

[JRinPA]

Certainly I think it is possible. My brother tried it with eggplant one year....got bugs in the house, pretty bad I heard, and they got thrown out. I always want to try it, but never do, no good window for it, here.

But are you looking for the whole winter or just to get those green peppers to eating stage?

[Kurt]

Just follow those cannabis indoor grow regimen.You will need some extra illumination some fresh air/airflow maybe.Basement or large windowed room?We used to do it back in the day!

[wykvlvr]

Certainly I think it is possible. My brother tried it with eggplant one year....got bugs in the house, pretty bad I heard, and they got thrown out. I always want to try it, but never do, no good window for it, here.

But are you looking for the whole winter or just to get those green peppers to eating stage?

Originally my goal was to just get those peppers to eating stage. These are actually the first peppers I have had much luck growing. They got planted out late, we had a mostly cool wet spring with some hot days. I got excited at how many peppers were on the bigger plants and at how large the peppers were getting then sorta went CRAP this is the end of September and we can't count on many more really nice days...

Wry didn't realize there were two different versions of bringing in for winter. One where you cut off leaves and put into "hibernation" and one where you actually grow peppers under lights. I have never thought of overwintering a pepper plant... now wondering if I should try it with one or two of these plants.
AND I am so new to peppers that I am not even sure when or how to properly save seeds but that is for another post right?

[ddsack]

It's possible to overwinter them, but the peppers produced with only window light conditions will be small and stunted. A bigger problem is bringing aphids into your house. I have thoroughly soaped and cleaned each leaf and the pots before bringing pepper inside, but every time the aphids appear in a few weeks, even if the plant did not appear to have a problem with them when outside. After four tries, I don't bother anymore. Too much chance of the aphids spreading to my houseplants and sticking around to infect seedling peppers in the spring.

[worth1]

You can put the plants in the deep freeze for a couple of days.
This should kill the aphids.

[AKgardener]

I just wanted to touch of the comment up above people growing peppers indoors in alaska.. I do it every year but I also just start my plants from seeds and not over winter them because of the bugs, I have done it for 2 years now and have new pepper plants started. I did bring in my lemon and lime tree indoor cleaned all the dirt all with nothing but the roots and repotted it they both have 1 fruit on it and have all new flowers as well.so I must be doing something right..

[worth1]

I just wanted to touch of the comment up above people growing peppers indoors in alaska.. I do it every year but I also just start my plants from seeds and not over winter them because of the bugs, I have done it for 2 years now and have new pepper plants started. I did bring in my lemon and lime tree indoor cleaned all the dirt all with nothing but the roots and repotted it they both have 1 fruit on it and have all new flowers as well.so I must be doing something right..

This was a guy I knew in Prudhoe Bay he grew the thing in his lab.
No outside summer pepper gardening there.

[GoDawgs]

I overwintered a Gypsy pepper one year as an experiment, just something done for grins and giggles. It had been growing outside in a pot so I didn't have to mess with transplanting but I did treat it for several weeks with insecticidal soap to make sure no critters came in with it. It was November 16, 2017 when it came inside and Mr. Killer Frost was coming that night and it wasn't going to get very warm afterward so I brought it in for the duration. It had a lot of peppers on it.



It lived by a window and under fluorescent lights all winter and the object was to just keep it alive so that it could get a jump on the season the next year. It had peppers indoors by Jan 23, 2018. I can't remember if it took all winter to ripen the ones it came indoors with or if it made new ones.



On Feb 17, Miss Gypsy got a good haircut prior to moving out to the front porch during the day. She'd come back inside at night.



March 15, flushing:



March 23, starting to set flowers:



By April 22, it had set new peppers.



By June 26 it was loaded, way ahead of the plants I grew from seed and set out.



I don't see why you can't transplant your pepper into a pot and overwinter it inside. Personally I wouldn't wash off all the soil from the roots but knock off some all around which might be where critters would be if there were any and then pot it up. I learned how tough these plants can be! It might drop the peppers on it now but maybe not. It would be fun to see! What have you got to lose? Old Man Winter's gonna take it anyway if you don't.

[zeuspaul]

I overwinter peppers because I rarely have a freeze. The quality isn't there so I just do one plant. The new starts do much better than the overwintered plants.

[AKgardener]

@worth1 prudoe bay is brutal my husband travel to all these sites for his job so there are a couple of guys that grow tomatoes and peppers at there station I’m the gal they call when they want new mater seeds haha if fact my husband just got home 2 nights ago and he made sure when he left he handed off the seeds .he always comes home and says the guy want more seeds got anything new,, pffftt of course I do haha

[wykvlvr]

Today is the day I bite the bullet and decide what to do with my pepper plants. Tonight and tomorrow night we have Freeze Warnings for our town. Then of course in typical fall fashion we warm back up for at least a few days. I am thinking I will dig up and pot the two with the most/largest peppers on them. Maybe cover the remaining plants to see how that works but tomorrow is supposed to drop to 28F/-2.22C so I think hot water jugs would be a good idea under the covers. Will let yall know how it works.

[AKgardener]

Good luck hope it works out

[MissS]

@wykvlvr I hope that all went well and that you have a quick recovery!

[bower]

I just saw this thread, hope your peppers are doing fine.
Wanted to tell you, I did bring in pepper plants one year with peppers on them, and they slowly ripened those peppers in a window, right into January. It was awesome to have the occasional ripe home pepper!
I didn't have a problem with aphids that year, and I think it's because the ants had not yet discovered that peppers might be found inside the house. Once I developed a indoor pepper habit, they found out and it's never been the same, they will find the peppers every time.
So if you haven't done it before, I say good chance it will be worthwhile.

[slugworth]

the transplant peppers are puny and seedless because of no pollination.
The only gain is a fresh pepper with that just picked flavor.

[wykvlvr]

the transplant peppers are puny and seedless because of no pollination.
The only gain is a fresh pepper with that just picked flavor.

I mostly needed the plants to survive long enough for the peppers to produce mature seed. That worked and I am currently raising at least 3 seedlings (others may still sprout) that were grown from those peppers. I have also included those seeds in my package to the MMMM swap So my goal was reached and I will start over with those seedlings in spring.