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Peppers in the north

I live in Pontiac, MI, on the border of zones 6a and 5b, and something strange is going on with my peppers... they're not dying. Well, a couple are in the process of withering, but my other 250 plants are still producing after several frosts, and a couple of 30s-40s rains. My nephew (also in MI) has this issue as well, with his tomatoes. All I'd like to know is what the heck is going on?
 
SavinaRed said:
Wow that sounds great having an extended growing season up there !!!!
 

But it's so unnatural for peppers to withstand those temps, isn't it?
 
BTW, your answers don't have to have scientific proof; just your opinions/experiences will suffice.
 
5a/4b Wisconsin. My 5ga bucket peppers are really slowing down with the diminished light...they are still trying to set pods but they're really slow and the newest pods will never ripen. Thankfully i have gotten a handful of the bigger peppers to ripen fully.
we've had some light frosts and cold rain as well.
 
I picked what I thought was my last harvest over a month ago. I just pulled in another good sized haul. But I remember two years ago, we hit our first frost, and everything acted like it drank Jim Jones grape drank.
 
Myxlplyk said:
I picked what I thought was my last harvest over a month ago. I just pulled in another good sized haul. But I remember two years ago, we hit our first frost, and everything acted like it drank Jim Jones grape drank.
 
 
     I'm experiencing nearly exactly the same thing. I picked what I thought would be my last haul over a month ago right before our first frost. I chopped a bunch of my rattier looking plants and composted them and figured I'd let the rest go and see what happens.
     Here we are in the beginning of November, after two frosts and many nights down around 40F, and my plants are doing great. No sign of frost damage, and they've only just started to slow down vegetative growth. 
     This fall is a weird one. It got into the upper 80s for a few days a while back and I had to start watering every day again, like it was July! I wasn't expecting to have to do that in late October, but whatever. If my plants want to keep going, I have no problem picking more pods!
 
I've had a similar experience. I pulled the plants I wanted to overwinter and gave a few to some friends to see if they could do the same. I've left 3 plants in the ground and they are still chugging along. Heck my rocotos that I put in the garage are still setting pods now that it's cooler!
I've got a Texas Tepin plant that is still in the ground and my plan is to transplant it this weekend. I can't expect it to last the crazy cold winters here in Michigan!!!
 
Off topic, but seeing you're from pontiac, I gotta ask. Ever check out the dream cruise or roadkill nights events? On topic, I'm in North East ohio. I left one plant in the ground and it is still trying to produce. I wonder if it's because the season changes have been less dramatic in the past couple years. I can remember times where we had snow in the later weeks of September and temps dropping into the 30's during the day in early November. Hell, last year we were at 70 on November 15th. Maybe the plants just have time to acclimate.

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Mike5265 said:
Off topic, but seeing you're from pontiac, I gotta ask. Ever check out the dream cruise or roadkill nights events? On topic, I'm in North East ohio. I left one plant in the ground and it is still trying to produce. I wonder if it's because the season changes have been less dramatic in the past couple years. I can remember times where we had snow in the later weeks of September and temps dropping into the 30's during the day in early November. Hell, last year we were at 70 on November 15th. Maybe the plants just have time to acclimate.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
 

I saw the dream cruise when I lived downriver. There's no way I want to be tangled in that mess again, in downtown Pontiac. LOL
 
As far as the peppers, I wonder if it has to do with having a very hot and consistent summer. It sucks, but I'm going to have to pull a bunch of mine up today. I've waited long enough to plant garlic.
 
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