I have not been able to find any good info on over wintering pepper plants. I have seen a few videos that show what to do to prepare for the winter. I'm looking for some info on how to care for them during the winter. Stuff like how much light, do I fertilize, how much leaf drop should I expect and much much more. Thanks.
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overwintering Over Wintering
- Thread starter President Trump
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you passed right over one when you made this thread... search option is your friend
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/25596-the-comprehensive-guide-to-over-wintering/
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/25596-the-comprehensive-guide-to-over-wintering/
It depends on what you want by overwintering. Overwintering could mean bringing plants indoors and expecting them to produce all winter. If you have the space and a good enough light source, awesome! For me (in Minnesota), overwintering means chopping down plants (roots and all), cramming them into small containers, and just trying to keep them alive until I can get them back in the ground in the spring where they take off again. I will tell you it's worth it (at least for me). My overwinters are not my biggest plants, but they put out at least twice as many pods as my first year plants, and are the first to set pods.
That's exactly what I'm looking for muskymojo.
Here's a link to another site that has a good article on overwintering. It's at the bottom of the page I linked you go.
I live in OH, and like musky, my goal is not production during the winter, but simply to keep them alive. I pull them out of their pots and prune both the branches and the roots so that they are significantly denuded of small branches/roots/leaves and so that the distance from the soil line in both directions is equal. I then repot with fresh soil. At this point, ideally you will keep them cool and not well-lit, as the goal is for them to go dormant. Also, don't water or fertilize as frequently as you do during the grow season. (Note some people actually put their OW's in a closet or shed so they get no light. I don't do that as I'd likely forget to water them at all.) Some time in the early spring, though, start upping the light/watering/fertilizer so they come out of dormancy. But watch out - this is also the time "hidden nasties" may start to appear. "Hidden nasties" include aphids! Yes, I buy ladybugs and let them loose in my house - they just love eating aphids and aphid eggs.
Unlike musky, I grow exclusively in pots, which makes it easier to overwinter the plants. But of course, you can always dig them out of the ground - your choice.
If your goal is to keep them like houseplants during the winter, I'd still suggest giving them fresh potting soil, then just bring them inside and reduce your fertilizing. Key to watering is still either the weight of the pot (much lighter than when you first water) or let the leaves droop just a tad. Let the plants tell you when they want to be watered.
If your goal is to keep production up, then you've got to buy lighting and such, and I've chosen not to do that so won't comment on it. Let us know if this is an option though, and someone with experience doing this can weigh in.
I live in OH, and like musky, my goal is not production during the winter, but simply to keep them alive. I pull them out of their pots and prune both the branches and the roots so that they are significantly denuded of small branches/roots/leaves and so that the distance from the soil line in both directions is equal. I then repot with fresh soil. At this point, ideally you will keep them cool and not well-lit, as the goal is for them to go dormant. Also, don't water or fertilize as frequently as you do during the grow season. (Note some people actually put their OW's in a closet or shed so they get no light. I don't do that as I'd likely forget to water them at all.) Some time in the early spring, though, start upping the light/watering/fertilizer so they come out of dormancy. But watch out - this is also the time "hidden nasties" may start to appear. "Hidden nasties" include aphids! Yes, I buy ladybugs and let them loose in my house - they just love eating aphids and aphid eggs.
Unlike musky, I grow exclusively in pots, which makes it easier to overwinter the plants. But of course, you can always dig them out of the ground - your choice.
If your goal is to keep them like houseplants during the winter, I'd still suggest giving them fresh potting soil, then just bring them inside and reduce your fertilizing. Key to watering is still either the weight of the pot (much lighter than when you first water) or let the leaves droop just a tad. Let the plants tell you when they want to be watered.
If your goal is to keep production up, then you've got to buy lighting and such, and I've chosen not to do that so won't comment on it. Let us know if this is an option though, and someone with experience doing this can weigh in.
This will be my first year overwintering (so by no means am I an expert, but I did a hell of a lot of research on the matter) I'm actually doing two methods this winter, letting two go dormant and the other two are coming inside. I think the thing that took the most amount of research was what type of lighting to use, basically what I gathered is your lights should have a color temp of at least 4000k (6500k is preferred) and your grow area should have a coverage of 3000-5000 lumens per sq.ft. Flourescents seem to be the cheapest option, but you need more of them to generate the kind of power a HPS or MH setup can produce. Then you have LEDs, which I didn't research too much because of the cost, but cost aside they're supposedly pretty effective and run at a cooler temp than the HPS/MH. From what I've gathered, when moving them inside the roots should be trimmed up a bit before being put into containers with fresh potting soil. Other than that water as usual and keep temps in the 70s-low 80s and you should be alright. Like I said I have no personal experience with overwintering, this is just what I've gathered from various posts on THP, what I'd reccomend is going through the grow tech section and some glogs, and definitely check out PepperGuru's guide at the top of this forum, and get a feel for how you want your setup to be as there are certainly plenty of options to choose from. Good luck!
if their in pots just leave them...
Bring them in doors and give them plenty of light and protect from frost. They don't need to be kept that warm I leave my in the conservatory, during the winter day temps range between 4C -15C for maximum indoor temps and minimums between 2C - 8C indoors.
Pruning should be kept to a minimum - prune off small newer branches whilst leaving the larger branches. Also don't prune them all off at once. Water them infrequently but don't allow the soil to dry.
I have found that when I cut them back heavily and re-pot I loose more plants. The best way for plants in pots is to leave them to do it their own way, after all they are perennials.
I can't help though for plant in the ground being over wintered.
Bring them in doors and give them plenty of light and protect from frost. They don't need to be kept that warm I leave my in the conservatory, during the winter day temps range between 4C -15C for maximum indoor temps and minimums between 2C - 8C indoors.
Pruning should be kept to a minimum - prune off small newer branches whilst leaving the larger branches. Also don't prune them all off at once. Water them infrequently but don't allow the soil to dry.
I have found that when I cut them back heavily and re-pot I loose more plants. The best way for plants in pots is to leave them to do it their own way, after all they are perennials.
I can't help though for plant in the ground being over wintered.