Quote:
Originally Posted by SacFly
Are you talking about overwintering in the ground? or bringing it inside? I don't know what a Georgia winter is like, but it's pretty easy to bring them in.
Cut off 90% of the foliage, cut the rootball to about 2 gallon pot size. Throw them in a pot in the corner somewhere and water lightly every 2 weeks or so. Mine don't go completely dormant, but growth slows way down until the days begin to get longer in the spring.
I would say that 80% make it. I'm talking about chilies here, never tried with bells.
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I plant mostly in containers so my initial thought was to bring inside but now I am starting to re-think that because of space and gnat control.
My question is if they are brought indoors do they need to be in a well-lit area?
Our past few winters have been pretty mild so I am starting to wonder if I can just leave them outside but be prepared to bring them if there is a severe cold snap. I don't want to keep them in my main growing area, I am hoping I can move them to a more discreet area.
I guess I am trying to figure out what the needs in terms of light, warmth and water. I would like to put them in a dormant state, which you indicated you did and is what I did last year with my one jalapeno plant..
Another thought if I go the outdoor route is I wonder if I can put them in a giant crate with leaves and a tarp but I am not sure if it's worth the trouble to do all that given that we only get a handful of very cold days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by b54red
Since you are in Georgia I wouldn't bother. For one thing aphids are a real problem with overwintering and with our warm winters it is easy to start seed in early to mid December and have them ready to go out as soon as the weather permits. I like to wait til the nights are in the 50s to set them out because they just do better once the cold snaps are over. If you can keep some pepper plants alive outside they will do okay but every time I compare production on an overwintered variety as opposed to a new plant they don't usually perform as well over the course of the whole season. The overwintered plant will however give you some very early spring peppers that are much earlier than the new ones. I may try starting a few bell pepper seed as early as November and hope they don't get too leggy and tall before spring gets here.
Bill
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I need to look more into the aphid issue.
I guess it is a "to each his own thing," for me (a newbie gardener) it was a challenge for me to manage seed starting in February and March let alone trying it earlier. I just don't have the resources and skill to keep tons of seedlings warm, lit, pest and disease-free. I plan on doing seed-starting with tomatoes and I will likely plant some peppers and eggplants, but given their slow germination and growth rate during the cooler months, it may be easier for me to over-winter peppers starting in November and December and the overwintered peppers be the bulk of my pepper crop the following season than for me to do seed-starting in November and December.
I have to also look into the productivity angle, I am fine if the productivity is the same, but I have read some claims that the productivity improves in the second year.
ETA:
One particular challenge is that after all the waiting for germination and getting the second set of leaves, some critter comes along and munches the plant down to a nub.