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Transplanting from garden to pots

Hi all....

I have a question, I'm a newbie and have 2 plants in the garden that are producing excellent peppers so far this summer. I live in the Northeast (PA.) to be exact and was wondering if will hurt the plants, that still have 20-30 peppers each and many new blossoms, if they were removed from my garden and transplanted into pots to be brought indoors at night. We have been getting some cooler nights here already (38-42 degrees) and I want these to continue to produce for me. As a percaution I have been covering them at night to keep moisture from them and to retain some heat.
Any help would be great!

By the way....The two plants are a Ghost and Trinidad Scorpion. I would post pics, but have been able to post any that I have taken so far....

Thanks again!
Bill
 
Others will chime in, but I'm sure you want to do a complete harvest removing ALL pods before digging them up and potting them.You will also want to do a foliage/branch reduction of at least 30% if not 50%.

You won't be able to keep harvesting, but you can overwinter the plants and get an early start next year.

Next year if you want to extend your grow, keep them in pots full time.
 
I would agree with harvesting the peppers, but only a mild trimming is needed unless your plant is very large. Make sure you take up a large root ball but knock as much top soil off as you can and replace it with potting soil in a 5 gal bucket or other comparable sized pot. Top soil doesn't drain well and you can drown the roots if there is too much.

The plants will do fine indoors over the winter or just during the night if you only want to keep them for a while, but don't expect them to grow fruit inside unless you have a grow light.
 
And if you do overwinter the plant and place it in a big container 15 - 20 gal it might be 3 times the size next year... my 2 yr old grew from a regular plant to a big bush you could hardly see through..
 
Check out the 2nd post at the top of the page. It's the Pepper-Guru's guide to overwintering.
I've seen people put up cold frames, tents, "Christmas Lights" around their plants to keep them warm. Its a fine line what your goal is. Do you want to carry the plants through the cold weather until it warms up a bit to get some extra pods, or would you rather prepare the plants for the indoor hibernation through the winter (overwintering). The other possibility is to bring the plant indoors, new soil and pot and place the plants under some moderate grow lights. Continuing to grow and flower through the winter (winterover). This process is a bit sketchy for the novice and a little more detailed.
Your plants will surivive evening temps outdoors into the mid 40's without harm. The 1st hard frost will take them down though if they're exposed to it. Watch your weather.
The other issue is the daylight hrs and intensity of the sun. I like to strip the lower leaves and any that are blocking light from reaching the pods. Theres very little chance of sunscald in your planting Zone or mine this time of year.Also the growing tips get pinched off. Anything to aid the ripening the pods on the plant...
I hope I answered one of your (?).Good luck and keep us informed...

Greg
 
It will stress the plants. They may lose some leaves so go ahead and trim back the ends of the branches with new growth and pluck off as many blooms as you can as they won't make it to ripe peppers unless you set up a grow area inside for longer term plant maintenance.

Given some fertilizer it is possible to keep the majority of the plant intact and avoid excessive leaf loss while the existing peppers finish up, but the plant will need a fair amount of light so you will have to put grow lights inside or take it back outside practically every day. Once (IF) the leaves drop there's not much use in leaving the peppers on the plant, you then have a couple weeks at most to let them ripen as much as they will before rotting.
 
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