Starting Plants Now

mlittle74

mlittle74

A friend of mine is from Peru, and when she found out that I'm growing peppers, she freaked out.  She can't find any Lemon Drops locally, and wants to cook some authentic Peruvian dishes, memories of her childhood, all that stuff.  She asked me to grow some for her, how could I refuse such a request?
 
My question to you guys....is can I start a grow now with the intent to overwinter and get a nice jump on the grow in the spring?
 
I'm not expecting or hoping for any peppers this year, but not sure if it's too late in the season to grow up a plant that will overwinter well.
 
My beginner knowledge says yeah it should work, but figured I should consult the wise pepper forum first :)
 
Thanks in advance!
 
M
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
I'd wait until Jan/Feb and just start then to be honest. My Thai plants had pods by May this year and I started a month later than last year. Over winter can be a ton of work if you get pest issues. 
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I thought that I read a while back that some people cover their plants they plan to over winter in plastic garbage bags and place a no pest strip in the bag to kill any pests and that seemed to work. Any truth to that ?
 
Oh also, would anybody be willing to share some lemon drop seeds?  I bought some online, but like the idea of the seed community, and would be happy to pay for S&H and share any seeds I have from my plants this year.
 
M
 
Implying there will be pests... in first place... and yeah overwinter if you can will head start. Anything that work in pest in season will also work during winter so yeah spraying them one or two times and thats it...
 
SavinaRed said:
I thought that I read a while back that some people cover their plants they plan to over winter in plastic garbage bags and place a no pest strip in the bag to kill any pests and that seemed to work. Any truth to that ?
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No idea but I can say for me stuff I started from seed set pods at the same time as plants I over-wintered. Outdoor temperatures play a key role and I found for at least me over-winter was a waste of my time. 
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
I'd wait until Jan/Feb and just start then to be honest. My Thai plants had pods by May this year and I started a month later than last year. Over winter can be a ton of work if you get pest issues. 
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I started the plants I have this year at the end of January and I definitely ran into the pest issues, but mostly just fungus gnats.  When indoors, I guess moisture control is the biggest issue right?  Not overwatering and I ran an oscillating fan when I realized I had the problem and it seemed to help.
 
why don't you buy some lights and just grow it indoors along with some other peppers? If you want fresh peppers, I'm fairly certain wickedmike has aji lemon drops. Though he has had a thrip problem that took out a whole bunch of plants, so i can't be 100% sure. Send him a pm and you can make your friend happy a lot sooner. And on top of that, you could harvest seeds and then start some. I have aji pineapple which honestly tastes very similar if you ask me....if you wanted some. Wet, dry, powdered I have all 3.  I just started a whole bunch of seeds to get them a good size for our season which starts in october-ish, though down here in miami there really isn't a time where hot peppers can't grow, but seedlings for me I've noticed must stay indoors but they thrive under my lights 
 
I started some Reapers about a month and a half ago - trying to see if I can get one set of pods before the season ends (first freeze date is around mid November here ) - and then will probably overwinter them as well. Figure if you have the seeds might as well start a few now and see how it goes  -- worse case they don't survive and you start again in Jan/Feb as Joyners mentioned - best case they make it and you get some pods early next year.
 
I started 8 seeds and got 4 seedlings - so far lost 1 to a bird and a second got chopped off at the cots by the same but is now recovering. Figure it's always worth experimenting and seeing how things turn out and no matter the results the experimenting always teaches you something for future use.
 
starting from seed 1-3 weeks
seedling to adolescent 2-6 weeks
adolescent/transplant to maturity 14 weeks(100days)
 
so around thanksgiving for normal big plant realistically.
 
If you want to make it grow quicker you could do dwc or use aerogarden or keep it in a 1 gallon pot to force it to fruit quicker. 
 
Either way would probably have to bring it inside and provide artificial light around mid October if you want it to keep producing.
 
I planning to plant some in a few days TBH. It gets cold in my place, so growing them overwinter takes a while. Pests are an issue, but it's nothing neem oil can't stop. I lost most of my plants to aphids this year because I didn't use neem and the pitcher plants ate the ladybugs.

JoynersHotPeppers said:
I'd wait until Jan/Feb and just start then to be honest. My Thai plants had pods by May this year and I started a month later than last year. Over winter can be a ton of work if you get pest issues. 
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Wait. Did it stay warm for you or did the overwinter room get too cold?
 
cruzzfish said:
I planning to plant some in a few days TBH. It gets cold in my place, so growing them overwinter takes a while. Pests are an issue, but it's nothing neem oil can't stop. I lost most of my plants to aphids this year because I didn't use neem and the pitcher plants ate the ladybugs.

Wait. Did it stay warm for you or did the overwinter room get too cold?
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I did not over-winter this past year, previous year I did and seedlings and OW shared same space, same amount of light and temps. OW is not for me until OW means they stay in the ground year round :)
 
Thanks for all the feedback.  I like the what the hell, see what happens approach.  I'll start a couple, keep them outside until the frost, and see what I've got when I bring them in..
 
M
 
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