Questions About Moving Plants to Cooler Weather

[hottoddy]

I am quickly becomming inundated with peppers, which isn't a bad thing, but I'm running out of room in my garage. I started with about 60 containers but most of them had two seeds germinate into heathly plants (appx 100 total). I'm starting to separate the biggest plants (generally 3 week old, non-chinense varieties). To make space in the heated/lighted garage, I would like to start moving some out to my cheapo greenhouse (tent pole style) in about a week. The temps at that point should not go lower than the high 30s, and most likely stay 40+. The greenhouse has some heat (lights) for the nighttime, and sits on my deck. So, it should raise the low temps about 5 degrees or so.

Do you think the cooler weather varieties would be ok at this point or should I wait longer? I'm thinking about the early & cracked jalapenos to start next weekend. And then move in some of the other non-chinense (lemon aji, tabasco, cayenne, beni highland, manzano, jimmy nardello) a week later. Thanks!

 

[geeme]

Fully mature pepper plants can take dips in the 30's and 40's (F), but little ones can't really. Good chance you'll lose some, if not all. I'd wait until the temps don't get below 50, or at least barely dip below, but definitely not 30's or low 40's.

 

[stickman]

I was able to keep some 5-7 inch seedlings going outside under similar circumstances last year, but not until mid April when we were past the equinox and the hours of daylight were marginally greater than nighttime. I also put down black plastic mulch to convert sunlight to warmth and heat the soil, and put up a low hoophouse to trap the heat the soil radiated at night. http://thehotpepper.com/topic/28300-stickmans-2012-gochu-pepper-glog/page__st__80#entry604650. Evening out the temperatures took a little monitoring and work... I kept track with a min/max thermometer, and on sunny days I had to open up the ends of the hoophouse to vent excess heat. Even so, the temps were in the 80s and 90s then. I'd button up the ends of the hoophouse around 330 or 4pm so as to store more heat in the ground, and at night it would drop to the 30s and 40s inside the hoophouse. Outside it got as low as the upper 20s.

 

[hottoddy]

Thanks guys. I'll try to hold off a bit longer, or maybe invest in another space heater for the greenhouse.