overwintering Overwintering/Starting Next Season

H

Hedgie

Hi all! This is my first year growing chiles, and my first post on this forum. (: So, I live in the Pacific Northwest, and I've had a pretty cool growing season. As October rolls in, it's only going to get cooler and cloudier, and my plants are by no means mature. (I'm growing Bulgarian Carrot and Gusto Purple.) I'm using Topsy Turvy planters, which I'm beginning to regret, and I'm wondering what I should do with my plants this winter? I'm trying to rig something up inside, but the type of planters makes it tricky. Google it and you'll see what I mean. I only have a few small unripe pods on my chiles as of now...

But, looking optimistically ahead, I'm going to try and get ahead on next season! This year, I used a heating mat on top of my fridge for germination. Next time, I'd like to treat myself to a good heated propagator, but I don't know which ones are really worth it. Any suggestions? How have propagators worked for you guys? I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say! (:

Thanks!

Hedgie
 
Welcome to THP from another WA resident. I am using a 72 cell Jiffy Greenhouse kit with a heating mat underneath. It is working pretty well for me so far.
 
Welcome to THP Hedgie!

I am also a Warshitonian...... :D

This is my first year as well, and I am calling it a success even with the cold gloomy June we just had. For next year I will be starting my own seeds indoors, with a jiffy/heat mat setup. Stay away from anything called miracle grow, and remember less is more. All that plants really need is a balanced soil, light, and a appropriate amount of moisture. I have a couple peppers I started in July as a experiment, and they have been exclusively indoors. They are doing way better than expected, and all I have done is kept them from getting too dry, and kept them sitting by a window. They are nearly a foot tall now, and the longest node length is about a inch. If they keep going like they have been, I will be putting them outside next May/June when they are nearly 3 feet tall!

If you need seeds for next year, do your research and figure out what you want to grow early. Start any C. Chinense varieties (Habaneros etc.) no later than late February, and C. Annum (Jalapeño, Serrano, Bell etc) no later than mid April. We have a very short growing season in the PNW, and peppers can be a challenge to get good crops from, especially the C Chinese peppers.

Keep us posted on how you do!
 
I'd forget about trying to overwinter in a topsey turvey unit, theres's just no room for roots to grow once they're rootbound. You may want to try taking cuttings or starting some early seeds instead of overwintering
I skip the propagator and usually start seeds using the paper towel tecnique which serves as a its own mini greenhouse/propagator and takes up very little space. I also do not reccommend jiffy pellets for chiles so stay away from the jiffy greenhouses unless you have plastic cells and good "soil"to replace the jiffies
 
:D 2 Washington residents already! Haha battling the climate much?

RS67Man, I know what you mean about the growing season... I'll definitely start earlier next year; this year, growing peppers was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I think I'll stick to Annums until I really know what I'm doing. I've heard that they're the easiest to grow?

POTAWIE said:
I'd forget about trying to overwinter in a topsey turvey unit, theres's just no room for roots to grow once they're rootbound. You may want to try taking cuttings or starting some early seeds instead of overwintering
I skip the propagator and usually start seeds using the paper towel tecnique which serves as a its own mini greenhouse/propagator and takes up very little space. I also do not reccommend jiffy pellets for chiles so stay away from the jiffy greenhouses unless you have plastic cells and good "soil"to replace the jiffies
Click to expand...

Like I said, I'm regretting the Topsy Turvy idea. Puny plants and little to work with! I used an old heating mat last year on top of the fridge, and it worked fantastically, so I'm thinking I'll stick with that again. Equipment's interesting, I have to say. ^.^ As for Jiffy, I agree! I'd rather not use something that's peat-based, either, for environmental reasons. Taking cuttings sounds good, but I really don't know what I'm doing there. Any tips on where to start?

Thanks for sharing your info, guys!

--Hedgie
 
at the end of my last season i repotted my chilli plants - choped the plant back to a simple twig, cut the root ball back ALOT and repotted them into small containers and left them in the garage (had a small window with a tiny bit of light). 3 months later all but one survived the winter.

i even started seeds again just in case and now ive got too many chilli plants... wait... you can never have too many ;)

Note: (im in a small appartment with a small balcony, and all my plants will be in 300mm pots outside)
 
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