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overwintering Overwintering

menotume

menotume

I've been reading up what I can on overwintering. My basement should be a good location, as it's a fairly consistent 60 degrees during the winter.

But, how much light will the plants really need? Especially of most or all of the leaves are gone. From what I've read, the leaves will fall off and/or should be pruned. Do you think that a single 100watt equivalent CFL on a 8-hour timer might do the job for a few plants?
 
question is...do you want to grow them thru the winter or just overwinter them for next year?

if you want to grow them thru the winter and keep them producing, you will need at least 3K lumens/sq ft...my grow box has 18 42 watt CFLs in it, half 6500K color temp and the others are 2700K I think...this will keep plants producing but it slows down...I don't know about metal halide or HPS because I have not used them...

if you want to just overwinter them...water them deep, cut all limbs back to look like this...by the way, this is an example of the cutback, this plant was dead already when I cut it back...

7PotExtremecutback01January2009002-1.jpg


then don't water them and keep them in the dark for at least a month...let them go dormant...then when the weather starts turning, break their dormancy by pouring the light to them and giving them something to eat and drink..
 
Great info, thanks.

I just want to overwinter them for next year, so can they just be kept in the dark all winter after pruning the heck out of dormant plants?

It gets VERY dry in the basement during winter, so should give them a very small drink every couple of weeks or so?
 
menotume said:
Great info, thanks.

I just want to overwinter them for next year, so can they just be kept in the dark all winter after pruning the heck out of dormant plants?

It gets VERY dry in the basement during winter, so should give them a very small drink every couple of weeks or so?
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when your first frost comes and/or you are finished with the plants for the year, cut them back...if you wait until they look like the one in the photo, it is too late...that plant was already dead...I just posted the pic for you to see how drastically I cut my plants back...

ask yourself a question...where does the water go...out through the leaves...thus, if the plant has no leaves, it won't lose near as much water...I keep mine in my garage and don't water until mid-last of January...
 
I'm looking forward to hearing more about this, should become a hot topic around September (in this hemisphere anyway).

Like AJ advised, I learned the hard way this winter not to provide water and not very much light-- or you'll get some foliage--then aphids and fungus gnats have a base of operation. Actually the fungkus gnats were a problem from the beginning as I did not sterilize the soil. DOH!

IF I do it again, it will be in the garage with some minimal temps and lighting. The cut back "stumps" will have to get through about 5 or 6 months like that. Idaho and PA are tougher to pull off overwintering than Texas, I'm thinking .... :cool:
 
i think if i had a choice, i don't think i would overwinter(inside) if i lived in an area that had idea growing conditions or unless i had a love interest in 1 particular plant.

some of my overwintered plants have produced a few pods so far(habanero, caribbean red, hot lemon) and now fatalii, gold bullets are starting to bloom. but it has been a long winter of caring for potted plants. but as i sit here watching some of the southern state boys cutting into ripe pods it makes me wonder if it is all worth the effort. definitely on pod varieties that would normally be impossible to find like locally, like bhuts,scorpian,fatalii etc. but orange habs are now available almost year round and scotch bonnets are available in the summer at select supermarkets. i am finding more powders available like aji amarillo, peri-peri.

add in garden centres now carrying more hot varieties, why bother even growing some varieties - just go out and buy a few plants. today on a nursery visit i found caribbean red, red habanero, orange habs, hotties(habanero) and of course several annuum types(ceyenne,serrano, various jalapeno etc) and all with flowers.

the plants that i allow to grow, sit in a south basement with window and have a constant temperature of approximately 70F. the hibernated plants are in another room and only get early morning sunlight(assuming it is a sunny day) but light is available, that room temperature would be about 65F
 
SuperHot said:
What are the ideal temps for overwintering?
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The only reference I found mentioned 55F. BUT, they also recommended light and watering. I am curious about this also. My garage will go below 25F at times during the winter, I assume that's way too cold.

For me, the real question is at what point will the plants go from dormant to dead/unrevivable.
 
In my experience, the plants can survive a light freeze with the new growth dying, however, an extended hard freeze will kill them...my garage ranges from 40F-55F in December, but when I start germinating seeds for the new year, it will stay consistantly above 55F...when I have all my germination/grow areas lit up in Jan/Feb, the temp will stay above 60F...but then again I am running over 3 kilowatts 24/7 for about 6 weeks to two months...

when I put my plants in the garage for this coming winter, I am going to cover them with a tarp to make sure no light gets to them and also to serve as a "moisture barrier" to keep evaporation down as much as I can...I don't want any new growth until the first of March...middle to late February at the earliest...
 
My question is this. If you live far enough south where you can avoid an extended freeze, will the plant continue to grow year round?
What is the oldest pepper anybody has kept? 5 years? Longer?
 
I've been thinking about where I'll keep my overwintered plants... the only place that comes to mind is the crawlspace/attic, but I know it can get pretty damn cold up there in the winter. It has very little light and plenty of space, so other than that it would be ideal.
 
I recommend just having a few plants you keep indoors always. Don't put them outside at all to get infested with bugs and stuff. This is of course if you have a window that gets some light. That way you can take cuttings from them and start a super strong outdoor crop next year for the real production.
 
Via the advice of someone here, I cut mine back, yanked them out of their pots, and then trimmed the root ball back to be commensurate with the top. I then shook off all dirt I could and rinsed most of the rest off. I re-planted them in smaller pots and left them in a window that was east-facing for the entire winter. I did water them about every 10-14 days (less at first, more when foliage re-appeared). All but one of my plants made it, and that loss was due to a plant out that was about a week too early. The rest have been gangbusters this year except for the rocoto, which I only tolerate because the peppers are SOOO good.
 
armac said:
My question is this. If you live far enough south where you can avoid an extended freeze, will the plant continue to grow year round?
What is the oldest pepper anybody has kept? 5 years? Longer?
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Chiles are perennial and I have seen 20-yr old tepins growing under mesquite trees.
 
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