seeds Plant new seeds or keep old plant?

obeychase

obeychase

I was just wondering.
 
My peppers are in 3 gal pots and I'm building a small greenhouse on my deck in the hopes of growing over the winter. When I make my first harvest, what then? Do I kill the plant and start a new one from seed, or will they continue to produce for many years after? Thanks
 
Read the overwintering sticky at the top of the growing section.  I did that for the first time this last winter and I am hooked!  The plants are putting out way more peppers than the new plants I bought this year even though the new plants have grown taller.
 
-Alden
 
Not likely, but not entirely impossible, either. Pubescens and many wilds tend to have long lives - pubescens have been recorded as living and producing for as many as 16 years. Other types not so much. You'll typically get good production in the first couple of years, after which it will start to taper off. Of course, your grow conditions make a difference.
 
Maybe take it one year at a time?  I am going to be new to over-wintering some plants this year.  Should be interesting if I can keep em alive.  
 
AldenMiller said:
Read the overwintering sticky at the top of the growing section.  I did that for the first time this last winter and I am hooked!  The plants are putting out way more peppers than the new plants I bought this year even though the new plants have grown taller.
 
-Alden
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Fellow marylander!
 
geeme said:
Not likely, but not entirely impossible, either. Pubescens and many wilds tend to have long lives - pubescens have been recorded as living and producing for as many as 16 years. Other types not so much. You'll typically get good production in the first couple of years, after which it will start to taper off. Of course, your grow conditions make a difference.
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YUP!
 
What about plants in raised beds and in the ground? I have a nice bhut in one of my raised beds I would like to somehow keep alive, but will digging it up/pruning cause too much stress that it won't survive anyways?
 
Digging up and pruning shouldn't be too much for the plant. Its done all the time with other plants. I'm still new to peppers but I have read it can be done.

Where are you located? Would you be able to build a cold frame over your raised bed and warm it?
 
^  Yes you can dig them up.  Yes it will stress them, but if you get as much root as you can then trim back the top, then the roots should still be able to support what remains.  Use clean gloves so you aren't risking infecting the plant while you handle it.
 
As for what to do about those plants, repot them in something larger.  3 gal. is way too small for a 2nd year plant.  Try 10+ gal, but even 5 gal beats 3.
 
Is the greenhouse going to be heated?  I could be wrong about Maryland winters but would assume it will get below freezing inside at some point over an average winter if it isn't heated ( = death ).
 
jb_orchidguy said:
Digging up and pruning shouldn't be too much for the plant. Its done all the time with other plants. I'm still new to peppers but I have read it can be done.

Where are you located? Would you be able to build a cold frame over your raised bed and warm it?
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Nebraska bro - I was ice fishing on Thanksgiving last year, so I would need some serious protection to keep it alive outside. I know digging it up can be done, but was just wondering if it is worth the effort and if it would end up causing too much stress in the long run to even mess with it. I may try Dave's advice . Thanks for the response
 
gourdmaster said:
+1 to keeping plants, 2nd and 3rd year production is usually the heaviest in a plants life cycle
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amen to that gm...that is what I have found out....after the 3rd year, production reduces but the quality of pods seem to be better...or at least that is what I have found out..
 
outlaw said:
What about plants in raised beds and in the ground? I have a nice bhut in one of my raised beds I would like to somehow keep alive, but will digging it up/pruning cause too much stress that it won't survive anyways?
Click to expand...
 
as dave said, yes, you can dig it up and plant it in a pot...
 
if you want to save the plants in the 3 gallon ones...transplant them to at least a 5 and preferrable a 7 gallon pot for their second year....then the third year you would want to go to at least a 15 or so...remember the size of your root ball determines the size/productivity of your plant
 
Overwintering is a great way to keep your favorite plants alive and possibly producing all year round, I did some research last year, designed a setup, and somehow all four plants survived! As someone else suggested, take a look at the overwintering thread posted at the top of the growing forum, after that I'd recommend browsing the tech forum to get ideas for how you want to design your setup.  I highly recommend an indoor setup though, our winters are definitely to cold for peppers!  If you'd like I could even share my "blueprint" for my indoor setup.
 
Year 2 is normally a bumper crop. If you are in a place you can keep plants alive in the ground (with or without a cold frame), you eventually will experience the down side of overwintering. When your plants are depressed in winter, they can sometimes become susceptible to disease and pest infestation, and that can be a real downer. I have come to view any plant that thrives in its 2nd (or 3rd, or 4th) year as a gift. Come early spring, if my overwinters are showing signs of a problem they picked up in the cold months, I rip them up and start fresh. One weak plant can be the source of a huge amount of headache for the whole garden and I would rather cull the sick than spend my whole life trying to fight problems caused by one Typhoid Mary.
 
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