indoor Can Reapers be grown all year indoors?

[k-Razy]

Hi all!
 
I'm brand new to this forum and to growing, and I don't really know what I'm doing. I purchased some Carolina Reaper plants this year because my kids get a kick out of seeing me eat slices of really hot peppers, so I thought I'd try growing them myself. A little backstory of these plants:
 
I introduced them slowly outside (an hour extra each day) and finally transplanted them into 5gal buckets with a mix of sand, cow manure, and potting soil.
I then left them on the lawn to get watered with the lawn - turns out this was a little too much, the leaves were folded and starting to yellow and they weren't growing much at all
Then I put them out on my back driveway where there was still lots of sun; I think I was paranoid about over watering and I went to the other extreme. I watered every week or week and a half, waiting to see the leaves droop and look like they needed water. They never really got that bad, but still were hardly growing.
After all of this work blossoms were finally showing up, but by this time it was starting to get too cold in my neck of the woods, so I've brought them inside.
Which brings me to my question: Can I keep them growing inside all year long so I can get some peppers off them this year? If so, what is the best way to do this? I've got some grow lights, and a space heater that I can have on them all day. Attached are pictures of them when I first transplanted them at the end of May, then when I moved them the first week of July, and where they are now. They've exploded with the grow lights, and I would hate to stop the progress and overwinter them. I've been fertilizing them with fish emulsion occasionally, and epsom salt spray occasionally.
Any help would be appreciated!!
Thank you!
 

 

[Edmick]

Maybe a little nutrient burn too?

 

[k-Razy]

Does nutrient burn mean too much fertilizer?

 

[Edmick]

Does nutrient burn mean too much fertilizer?

Yes. Could have been the addition of cow manure plus the potting soil that maybe made it a little nutrient heavy but it's hard to say. The bottom picture looks like its maybe just the old growth. Does the new growth look healthy? If the new growth looks good, then I wouldn't worry about it. If you're wanting to grow them indoors then I say go for it. I don't have a ton of experience growing indoors but I'm sure someone will be along shortly that will be able to help you with that. And as always, make sure you rule out any pest problems. Pest damage can manifest itself in many different ways so it's always good to rule that out before pursuing any other causes.

 

[k-Razy]

Does the new growth look healthy?

Yes, it looks better than I've ever seen it. Thanks for your help!

 

[Hafners]

Welcome to the forum, I'm pretty new here too.

And, yes, you can grow them indoor under good grow lights year round. I just started indoor growing with an led grow light, hoping it'll be enough to get them to fruit, if not I'll have to buy a bigger one.

There appears to be several successful indoor growers amongst the forum members.

 

[k-Razy]

Cool! What are you growing, and are you heating them some way as well?
 
Is there a trick to get them to produce fruit? I've had flowers, but they've all fallen off. I see some new ones budding out, but some of those look like they're dying as well.

 

[Hafners]

I myself am growing habaneros and Thai hybrids. My homemade grow tent is in my basement so I have a 150 watt ceramic heat emitter that's often used for reptile habitats and brooding chickens, in addition to a humidifier from the dry winter air.

I haven't gotten to the point of flowering yet, but its possible your having problems with lack of pollination. Try shaking the plants a few times a day while the flowers are open. Some people use an electric toothbrush to vibrate the flowers, I'm sure you could find a YouTube video on how to pollinate pepper plants. It could be lack of light if you aren't using a quality light source or other issues, but I would try to rule out pollination first.

 

[MNXR250R]

   Welcome to the Forum !  There are many folks here that are experienced/expert and are willing to help    ( not me... Willing but no expert !)
 
My first comment is that the Super Hot peppers are VERY slow to mature. They can take 120 days or more (4 months) to mature from seeds under ideal conditions. So in Utah, you'd have to have these plants well into the growth stage once you got them outside after the last frost.  If the you bought the plants early in the season (like March/April) and then moved them to the outdoors, then you'd have a fairly good chance at getting a good harvest. Later than that, you run out of time.
 
So then "time"... it takes the peppers a long time to grow. Already said. When you transplant a pepper to a larger pot, it could take some "time" for the plant (roots) to adjust to the new pot. If you change the soil in any way, like adding sand or cow manure, it can take "time" for the roots of the plants to adjust. If you change any environmental conditions while the plant is growing... it could take more "time" for the plant to adjust.
 
So then add up all the "time" that the plant needs adjust, then add that to the normal amount of time (under the ideal conditions) that the plants needs to grow, and you could find yourself running out of "time" to grow outdoors. I've had this problem. several "times" (LOL)(that was funny internally).
 
So them moving the plant indoors. Absolutely !!  Just a note from experience.  Outdoor plants can have pests (like Aphids). When you move the plant indoors, you bring those (F@CK!ng)(sorry if this offends) things inside, and it can be a real pain to get rid of them.
 
For indoor lighting, you don't need much to keep the plant alive. A T5 fixture should work just fine.... or LED's too. I would personally try to keep the plant "alive" instead of trying to "grow" it indoors if it is meant to be outdoors. The reason is that indoor lighting can cost a lot, not only in the purchase of the fixture, but in the electricity needed. If you have the resources and can afford it... well then you can fully expect to harvest indoors !
 
 The pics you posted look primarily like a watering problem. The roots haven't adapted to the 5 Gal pots. Give them time (indoors) and next year they should make you happy !
 
Good luck to you !
 
Jeff