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overwintering Overwintering Pepper Plants

AlabamaJack said:
moisture retention for cheap...
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What's on my mind is when I sculpt with clay. My first ceramics instructor recommended that we lay down a slab of the same kind of paper which paper bags are made out of, to keep the clay from getting embedded into the work surface. (This is important when working with different colored clays, as you don't want say a light clay to pick up dark clay from your table.) I quickly abandoned this approach and started using the Glad Press & Seal plastic wrap. Yes, it's more expensive. But it had two things going for it. First, it does actually stick to the work surface, then I can just peel it off when I'm done. It also sticks to itself, so I can wrap it around a sculpture which is in-progress to keep the clay moist when I'm not working on it, without worrying if the sculpture fits nicely into a bag. Second, it doesn't wick moisture from the clay - I was finding the bottoms of the sculptures were drying out too quickly when the paper was used, before I had a chance to finish. When clay dries unevenly, you also risk problems when you go to fire the piece in the kiln. But yes, it is more expensive than paper bag paper.

Now you're not sculpting, so you don't have color transfer to worry about, and you don't care about uneven drying out, per se. But you do care about drying out too quickly overall, and I'm thinking you might have a similar issue to the one I had with the clay. And I'm also thinking the paper might be more prone to becoming moldy if it's kept damp. Still, airflow is a question - more air = faster drying, and also less prone to mold. Hmm. Gotta ponder that a bit more....
 
"Real" clay actually turns into a form of glass under the correct amount of heat, with its properties depending upon the actual elements within the clay. It is this glassiness that creates relative permanence for ceramics (shy of dropping and shattering onto a hard surface, of course.) Paper's "permanence" can't rival it - we would likely not have (at least near as many) ancient sculptures from Greece, Rome, or Egypt available to us today if they had been paper-based, rather than stone- or ceramic-based. As an artist, I want to determine the longevity of any given piece I create, and wouldn't want to use paper-based clay for something I want to be relatively permanent. But I would, of course, consider using paper-based clay for something I intentionally wanted to have a relatively short life-span. Something that has been developed (and is still being redeveloped) is metal clay. It is most often used in jewelry making today (ie - smaller items), because of the cost and other technical issues that haven't been fully worked out.

But yeah - think about AJ using metal clay to overwinter his plants! Gold, or silver, AJ? :lol:
 
LGHT said:
geeme wouldn't it be easier to just use paper clay and not worry about those drying issues?
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.... also, this is kind of like suggesting to a chilehead that a sweet bell pepper is a good substitute for a superhot...... :crazy:
 
Good info here but being a newb, still a couple questions. Since there are already a few overwintering threads I figured I'd just chime in on this one rather than start another. I plan to overwinter in my GH that I keep above 50*F. I have a few plants that have been in containers all year that I just moved in there. I think they'll be OK. Questions are for in ground plants I want to dig up and overwinter.
1. Thinking about pruning back and putting in DWC hydro then back out in the ground in spring. Anyone tried that?
2. Will a light frost kill or can the plant still be successfully dug up and saved?
3. When I prune back, looks like I'll have tons of green pods. Don't usually care for the taste of unripe fresh chinense pods. Any ideas how to use them?

Had a bad aphid infestation last spring. Bought some ladybugs and in less than 2 weeks had no aphids and a bunch of hungry ladybugs. Probably not the best idea in your home but worked great in the GH.
Here's the GH March, 2010
DSC_0304.jpg

Ladybugs at work
DSC_0086.jpg
 
Tonly I've never grown hydro style. But several things come to mind. First you want to put your earth bound plants into a hydro system and make them grow "water" roots , then make then switch back again come next spring. It seems it would be easier on you and the plants to just dig them up , trim the roots , etc and go from there in pots with soil.

A light frost might not hurt but I know a freeze will make all the leaves mush ... are the roots still ok ? I hope someone else can help ya with that one.

I'm with you on green chinense pods. Maybe mix them with ripe pods for a sauce or use strong flavors in a sauce to cover up the green taste ... ??

Now I have a question . My garage gets cold but doesn't freeze , at least the water in buckets I use for my stone working doesn't. I do use little heaters in them so my fingers can hold the stones. I have room on one side I could sit a few plants. How far above the plants would a 4' shop fixture need to be to give the needed light and not start them growing ?

Peace,
P. Dreadie
 
P. Dreadie
I'm just starting out with hydro. What you said about the plant adapting the root system from dirt to water and then back again was what I was wondering about. Don't know how hard that is on the plant. Probably does make more sense to not switch back and forth.
The light frost hasn't happened yet but could happen while I'm away for a few days. I'm trying to let the last few pods ripen before I prune and dig.
I have no idea about your lighting question. This will be my first year to attempt overwintering anything. I have a greenhouse so my plants will be much less dormant than some in a darker cooler area.
T
 
Semi-dormant might not be a correct term but its what I use to describe an incredibly slow state of growth which seems almost like dormancy
 
I transplant back and forth between dirt and hydro with no setback either way. I've seen a lot of chile roots and they all look pretty much the same, water or dirt.
 
geeme said:
Well, you're the god of chile plants :), while I'm a newb, but I've been doing a bit of reading on the subject for quite some time now, because of where I live (it's in the low 40's this morning here.) There is a guide on overwintering on TheChiliman.org website, in which he talks about severely pruning the plants back to just a few inches tall for the winter - not sure if you've read that. Since I'm in this god-forsaken cold place, in an old house with what feels like very little insulation, that's my plan of attack. Of all the things I've read, that makes the most sense, especially for my area.

The one thing additional I'm considering is the individual pods. Severely pruning them back like that will make them bushier, and hence should get more pods (because more axils.) My cayenne pods are quite long, however (8-10"), so I'm not going to chop it back quite so much - if the axils start too close to the ground, it will be problematic. There is already growth on it low, with pods hanging low, and while I was curious to see what would happen with that this year, I won't let it repeat next year. Here's a link to my thread showing what's happening - the pics of the lower section are just over half way down.

Just saw this, which you might want to check out if you haven't already: Potawie pics

Regardless of your plan of attack, I wish you well in your overwintering, my friend!

G
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that link you provided is a good resource IMO. I am going to follow most of his guidelines.

I have a potted bird pepper plant which i will bring indoors to go dormant. I have some habaneros and am thinking i will dig up one or two to try to overwinter inside. I am thinking about leaving some outside, cut down to stumps, insulated and covered with a tarp. I have cold hardy bananas that i treat in that manner and wonder if that would work.
 
POTAWIE said:
Most cold hardy bananas can take much lower temps than chiles can. How cold does it get in nc?
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I am in the mtns and in zone 7 so it does get pretty cold. The ground typically does not freeze but you may be right, that it may too cold for the peppers to survive. I have used bags of leaves as insulation for the bananas and was thinking it might suffice for the peppers. I have the space so i figured it should give it a try.
 
Back home from vacation and the frost hasn't hit yet. Lows tonite expected to be around 24*F. Skipping the frost going right for the hard freeze!
I didn't have time (or budget) to set up a hydro system for overwintering so I just pruned the plants way back to about a foot tall and potted into 2.5 gallon pots. Some have new growth and some are just bare stalks.
Pepperlover said to prune back ahead of time so the wounds heal and new growth gets a little head start. I tried this on a couple plants and they really started putting out new sprouts quickly. I think that was some good advice. Hoping they don't get too big before time to go back out in the ground or I'll run out of room.
My outdoor season will be over by morning. Learned alot and had tons of nice pods this year.
T
 
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