Author Topic: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse  (Read 10384 times)

gazza1960

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Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« on: October 02, 2014, 14:06:15 »
Up till now when we had the.plot we used to start afresh every season by growing our bell type peppers (or other varieties) from seed as it is always fun to see what you can achieve from scratch.

Anyway,this year as were now  in Dorset and have a greenhouse in the garden I wanted to try and salvage the pepper plants that are generally tween 2 to 3 feet tall and see if after going int winter dormancy if  they would re emerge in the spring ready to pop back into life.

We won't be heating  the GH  so I hoped that we could just de clutter the plants,trim them back and
Wrap them well in bubble wrap and apart from a light seaweed feed and water hope that they would survive in what would be a blooming cold greenhouse.

If you have any advice let us know or of it's just best to start over were quite happy also.

GazNjude

galina

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2014, 14:53:27 »
Gazza,

I try and overwinter peppers every year in the frost free conservatory.  Chillis survive better than sweet peppers, but only about half survive.  The best survival was (very mild winter last year) my Rocoto peppers which survived in the greenhouse.  Now this type of pepper can tolerate cold best of all.  The tops of the plant were frosted but it resprouted well enough and is now loaded and poised to take the greenhouse over.

I think you would need to make sure that temperatures do not drop below freezing.  The other struggle is aphids, which seem to colonise overwintering pepper plants and need constant attention.

alkanet

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2014, 15:20:37 »
yes, annuum types like bell peppers and chillis like cayenne are difficult to over-winter for me. It works best with small fruited types, and also for the best chance, don't leave the fruit on to fully ripen at the end of the season. Chinense and other chillis are dead easy to over-winter

gazza1960

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #3 on: October 03, 2014, 08:13:15 »
Thankyou,we appreciate the replies.

Gazza

Tee Gee

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #4 on: October 03, 2014, 12:39:24 »
Not that I have ever tried to over- winter them ( apart from chillies) but I do not see the point of doing it as I consider them to be annual plants as their proper name suggests; Capsicum Annum!

Plus the fact they are so easy to grow in this manner I wouldn't consider doing it as I need my frost  free space for what I consider to be more important stuff!

What makes you want to over- winter them?

alkanet

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2014, 12:47:14 »
the annuum chillis I get the overwinter generally last say 18 months, so how that would work out with a bell pepper I don't know

Tee Gee

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2014, 12:55:16 »
Sorry Gaz I have re-read your post and you mentioned why one my aged moments I guess.

(Getting too many of them these days)

So I would assume you know my view and that is....start afresh!

sparrow

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #7 on: October 03, 2014, 13:00:05 »
Wouldn't leaving them in the greenhouse mean wildly fluctuating temperatures so less chance of survival? A sunny day will mean the temperature will get up quite high, and then plummet at night. I bring mine in, but I don't bother with annums either, though I know others have got them through.

squeezyjohn

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #8 on: October 03, 2014, 14:22:17 »
I normally insulate my unheated greenhouse with bubble wrap in the late autumn ... I've never had a pepper or chilli plant survive to date although I leave them in just in case!  Last year my physalis plants survived and have continued cropping all year (even had ripe ones coming in January) but I expect physalis is hardier than peppers.

BarriedaleNick

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #9 on: October 03, 2014, 17:01:29 »
They are also quite susceptible to pests as well - mine got covered in aphids but that was in a back bedroom so it may be better in a greenhouse.  However I can't see them really surviving esp if it is unheated and the temp drops too low.

I'm with Tee Gee on this one!
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Deb P

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #10 on: October 03, 2014, 20:32:04 »
I tried keeping a Dorset Naga chilli plant overwinter last year, I cut it back and kept it in the kitchen. It got covered in aphids a few times, and a few branches shrivelled up but it flowered early once put back in the greenhouse. It has done ok, got some fully ripe fruits but new plants grown from seed this year did better so I don't think I'll do it again!
If it's not pouring with rain, I'm either in the garden or at the lottie! Probably still there in the rain as well TBH....🥴

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gazza1960

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #11 on: October 03, 2014, 20:43:30 »
Just to try something different Tee Gee,as we have no experience of overwintering anything to be honest and as we are big pepper
eaters I guess I was trying to get a head start ...but ....as has been mentioned they are not too hard to grow and yes, they do flourish
when the sun gets going ...like all things you only learn by experimenting but bow to experience when others have tried and found
things are not worth the effort.

I will line  the GH in polly wrap and have a go at a couple of the better looking Pepper plants we have just for the "fun element" though as here in Dorset last winter was wet wet wet so maybe if the temp stays tween 0 to 5 degrees and we don't get too many frosty/wintery periods ....who knows....but yes,we will be growing from seed as usual anyway.

cheers for the input all,as usual we get a great cross section of replies.

Gazza






squeezyjohn

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #12 on: October 03, 2014, 21:54:51 »
I definitely think it's worth it Gazza ... if they do survive  they'll have such a massive head start ... and I've heard that successfully overwintered chillis and peppers are far more productive ... that was certainly the case with our physalis plants!  Never seen anything like the amount of fruit it gave us!

gazza1960

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #13 on: October 03, 2014, 22:57:43 »
yer,I luv em too Squeezyjohn,do you grow the pot variety or the BIG MUTHERS,we had the bigguns on our plot year after year
but since our move south in feb I didn't grow any this summer.

Thanks for the heads up on this fruit though as I would look forward to growing the bigguns in our GH and then wrap it come
winter time.

Gazza

squeezyjohn

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #14 on: October 29, 2014, 21:32:37 »
Definitely the big ones Gazza!  They were trying to get out of the top greenhouse window at one point!

I'm on the case to wrap up the greenhouse again in November and top dress them with chicken poo to see if I can get them to 3 years old!

jimc

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #15 on: January 24, 2015, 11:08:00 »
I have been over wintering Bell capsicums, banana capsicums and several chilli types, tomatoes and eggplants for several years in a hot house. It is not heated. Our day temperatures can be 12 to 18C but overnights go to -6 to -9C.
My 2 hothouses are unheated however a couple of years ago I added two 400 litre steel tanks in them and painted them black and filled with water. This move has tempered the temperature by about 3C. I have found most of the things mentioned above will survive a -6C frost but does considerable damage below that. I haven't had lower temperatures since adding the tanks.
One capsicum died this spring after producing for 9 years. My other chilli type plants range from 3 to 7 years. I can get tomatoes to survive 30 months living full time in the hothouse.
At the end of last autumn I dug up 9 eggplants and 2 capsicums. Both capsicums survived well while I lost 1 eggplant during winter (probably from transplant shock) and another didn't thrive after the spring break and finally died.
For these plants I cut them back to 1/3 their height (about 30cm high and also had to remove some excessive growth to keep them compact) to some active growing points and potted them up with homemade potting mix and sat them next to the tank.
6-8 weeks after transplanting back outside I was picking again because they had started to flower before the winter was finished.
In fact that is the reason I over winter them because they seem to take off early. For example with my banana capsicum which is about 5-6 years old, and has lived its whole life in the hothouse, I picked fruit off it every week right through winter (they had set before the real cold started), then it had a break for 3 weeks in late spring in between the previous crop and the start of the new seasons crop. Since then I have harvest 10-15 per week with a harvest in mid summer of 120 on one day.

BarriedaleNick

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #16 on: January 24, 2015, 11:23:22 »
Very interesting post jimc.  I have tried and failed but as my polytunnel cover blew away I was not totally surprised!  I have seen chilli bushes in Turkey that the restaurant owner claimed were over ten years old - 4 ft high and covered with hundreds of small hot peppers.  I guess I really need a better place to overwinter them.  I have tried bringing them indoors and then they got covered in aphids!
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jimc

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #17 on: January 25, 2015, 02:05:53 »
Thanks Nick. One of my chilli plants is a descendant of my mother's plant which she had in the late 50's and produces hundreds per year.
My hothouses are basically poly tunnels but do the job for me.


galina

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #18 on: January 25, 2015, 13:56:00 »
Thanks Nick. One of my chilli plants is a descendant of my mother's plant which she had in the late 50's and produces hundreds per year.
My hothouses are basically poly tunnels but do the job for me.

Oh for your climate and winter light levels.   :wave: Half the problem in the UK is not that it is too cold, but that it is too dark and too cold/damp in combination.

goodlife

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Re: Over wintering peppers in greenhouse
« Reply #19 on: January 25, 2015, 15:28:03 »
Thanks Nick. One of my chilli plants is a descendant of my mother's plant which she had in the late 50's and produces hundreds per year.
My hothouses are basically poly tunnels but do the job for me.

Oh for your climate and winter light levels.   :wave: Half the problem in the UK is not that it is too cold, but that it is too dark and too cold/damp in combination.

Ah....yes, I wondering how that is going to be possible....jimc is in Australia!
I've been able to over winter chillies in house, but like Nick mentioned, often they get 'hit' by bugs once the new growth starts :BangHead: And it is job and half to get rid of them..or one has to rely for some chemicals. :confused3:

 

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