The Big Freeze, now what?

E

ElCid79

So last night, the big freeze hit.   My peppers, some carolina reapers and bhut jolokia didn't make it.   Dispite my covering them.    It was wicked cold, mid 20s F.  

Today I went out, all of the leaves are droopy / falling off, the stems are bent and the plant just looks pathetic. 

​Obviously it was time for a late harvest and storage.   So I gathered them up,

​A large number of primarily bhut jolokia's are very very squishy.   Is this normal after a single freeze, or is something else going on here that I should address / Toss them.  (They almost appear translucent.)   Or do you guys think they are okay?  

​Beyond this, if I prune and move the stems into the sunroom will the plants survive until next year? 


​Thanks in advance?

 
oh also, I was going to make a vinegar puree with the ripe ones.   Now I only have a few reds, mostly green.   Will these make an okay puree, or should I just toss them?
 
     Green superhots are pretty gross, in my experience. So I'd compost those. The ripe ones ought to be fine for dehydrating, mashing or freezing or whatever. 
     Sometimes a plant will sustain frost damage on the more tender tissues like leaves, flowers and smaller twigs. If the main stems and root system were better insulated/hardy against the cold, they might pull through. Bring them in and keep an eye on them. The tissue that didn't freeze ought to perk up within a day. Just prune off all the dead tissue when it proves itself so.
     I have a big 3 year old chinense plant that I left out on the front porch two nights ago when it got down to 24F. The side that was closest to the house and the front door window appear to be fine, but the more exposed branches (about 1/4 of the plant) are deader than a doornail. Even in my raised beds, some of the plants that were in the interior of the pepper foliage jungle appear to have survived.
 
I put the unripe ones, that were still hard in a paper bag with an apple, to see if I can off vine ripen them.   I will check them daily until they rot to pick out any that have turned colors.   The plants are dead, so I am going to compost them.  
 
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