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overwintering Teeny, tiny winter pods

Love2Troll

Love2Troll

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I'm curious if anyone else has experienced this. I'm overwintering I think a little over 30 containers (I grow exclusively in containers indoors & out) in my basement under an array of 40 watt fluorescent tubes, a metal halide and an HPS fixture(s) again this winter. Plants are 1, 2 and 3 yo mostly planted two to an 8 gal container. Done this for years and pretty much have down pat. Plants in the basement this year are closely packed together. No air movement to speak of & I didn't jostle the blossoms to promote selfing. 1st year ever that haven't had aphids. Almost all the plants went through 2 or 3 light freezes before being put inside last Oct. Many lost the majority of their leaves so a lot of new growth. There were no blossoms left.

So why would I let them sit outside under freeze conditions? Down to 23° for a few hours. Because that's the way I am. LOL I don't panic when bugs attack or when plants just don't look 'just right'. No pesticides, no spraying fungicides etc, although not an organic gardener any more. Miracle Gro 15-30-15 is my fert of choice these days.

My goal these years is to just keep my basement plants alive until I can set them out when winter weather is over. Didn't fertilize and only watered when plants started to wilt a little. Basement is kept about 60°F.

These were the 1st pods that I discovered:

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None of the little pods in both pics had seeds. My guess is that poor pollination is the cause. Any other ideas? And yes, there were normal sized pods on my plants last summer.
 
I'm no help here, I just wanted to comment on how cool those pods look. Have you tasted them yet? Are they any more or less pungent?
 
Paul,

Very little heat, but did have some flavor. Since there were no seeds I expect why no observed placenta and certainly none of the little 'oil drops' we sometimes see when cutting open habs etc.
 
it would be sweet if someone made a variety of superhots that only grew peppers that hot but just as potent....man **evil thought** :hell:
 
Love2Troll said:
Paul,

Very little heat, but did have some flavor. Since there were no seeds I expect why no observed placenta and certainly none of the little 'oil drops' we sometimes see when cutting open habs etc.
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I new at growing peppers, but as an 'educated guess' I would venture to say that the small pods are probably a result of the light conditions not pollination. I don't think that you would have gotten any pods at all if there wasn't some pollination happening. It sounds like you have good light, but for fruit production, I think it would be really hard to imitate the natural effects of the sun.

Again this is just an educated guess from a beginner...
 
I get them here across winter. I just pluck them off & throw them in the compost. The plants start putting out real size pods again when it gets warmer.
 
Hi love2troll,

I have experienced what you are showing here. I grow mainly in containers also...im in aus so most of the time the plants are out doors other times they are either under minimal lighting to sustain them until spring or they are in a dogey green house. I have found that new growth combined with poor lighting can cause small fruit although I have had small fruit from well lit plants. I believe that if all the ingredients arent there in the first flowering stage the chillis chuck a whoopy and produce small fruit. When you pick the small fruit and they get going things should be fine...not sure about he exact answer though.
 
Last year my Orange Habs grew minis at the start of the season, called them "practice peppers" & at the end, just before 1st frost.
 
is there any heat to those orange habs RB?
 
Yes but not as hot as fully grown ones, well you don't get as much of it. Also they have no seeds and very little placenta. They're perfect for snacking on though.
 
so they have good flavor?...
 
kewl...my late season habs last year were small but still had heat...thats right before I pulled one up and cut the other one back to almost nothing...
 
rainbowberry said:
All the flavour is there AJ, I have to eat them, I couldn't chuck them on the compost heap (Bent) they belong in my belly.
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lol fair enough, I have other pods who are more belly-worthy. There just seems to be sooo many little ones & they're soaking up the plants resources for no good reason.

My take on it all is that it's down to air temperature. The plants do a mild hibernation, put out small pods, but they get over it.
 
Maybe my Orange Habs are so small because the plant is from last March, I never cut it back over winter, I just left it where it was on the window sill, could that be why? Also it's only just coming into Spring weather at the moment *she says with snow forecast for tomorrow*
 
bentalphanerd said:
lol fair enough, I have other pods who are more belly-worthy. There just seems to be sooo many little ones & they're soaking up the plants resources for no good reason.

My take on it all is that it's down to air temperature. The plants do a mild hibernation, put out small pods, but they get over it.
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Don't forget that the light has changed, too. Days are getting shorter, and the sun is at more of an angle. I have one place in my yard where it's full sun in mid summer; but by the end of September, the angle of the sun puts it behind a large oak tree by 3:00, and it only gets sun about 5 or 6 hours of the day.
 
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