tutorial The Comprehensive Guide to Over-Wintering

hot stuff · Aug 6, 2015

Looking for some thoughts.

This fall I was thinking of cutting down the plants to the main fork. Then uproot the plant (I have them in pea gravel [hyroponic] and buckets) and take much of the extraneous roots leaving a good rootball. Then put them in bins with the roots covered with moist peat moss and place a cover over them with a light bulb to give them some light. And finally put it in the garage which will be kept well above freezing but nowhere near growing temps.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

chocolatescotchbonnet · Sep 30, 2015

After reading this thread, I've decided to give it a try....thanks guru!

Anybody interested in following....

http://thehotpepper.com/topic/57229-csbs-fall-winter-project/

TheSteepFallsMauler · Nov 15, 2015

I have 7 plants that are already in pots (5 gallon hardware store buckets) and have been living and producing in my basement for a couple of months (it's been cold here for a while). I'm wondering what I'd need to do for this process. It seems like I ought to just prune them back when they're done producing and leave them as they are over winter, is that correct? The basement gets pretty cold in the winter months, but perennials withstand that and grow again in the spring anyways. Any suggestions?

coachspencerxc · Nov 17, 2015

I planted 280 plants this year & had a lot of success (if I may toot my own horn) by following tips I found on THP. It was my first year planting more than a few pepper plants & from seed. Zero experience overwintering & to be honest, I haven't done much research. I've read some here from time to time. I dug up 4 plants & put in 5 gallon pots. Will prune tomorrow. What next though? Seen people talking about putting them in the basement, in window with some sun, and under lights. What gives? To me, it's probably not worth it to take up room under the lights. Sorry for such a noob question but I've seen conflicting info. Thanks!

bpiela · Nov 17, 2015

From what I understand, they still need light to live. Do you have a place indoors that the plants can get light? The dormancy occurs due to the temp. I put mine under grow lights and I prune them back some. It seems like I do more of a "continued grow" instead of letting the plant go dormant. I don't really have another place in the house or basement to put them.

AyeCasperJack · Apr 10, 2016

Hey Guys,

I am looking for some advice/thoughts on my plant that I decided to overwinter last season (Not sure if this is the best place to post). It has been in a 7L pot since last season and has been in front of a somewhat sunny window. It started growing new branches and leaves very nicely. I did cut all the flowers that were forming. This was the plant about 1 1/2 months ago:

Everything seemed to be great until last week. It seems to be so unhappy right now, but I still have at least a month to go before I can transplant it outside. I tried to get some detailed pictures of the signs, would love to know your opinion on how to go forward.

The tips of the new branches are starting to turn brownish. Also leaves are turning yellow and drying out.

Another look at the brown tips of the branches/leaves.

Another look at the brown tips of the branches/leaves.

Hybrid Mode 01 · Apr 15, 2016

AyeCasperJack said:
Everything seemed to be great until last week. It seems to be so unhappy right now, but I still have at least a month to go before I can transplant it outside. I tried to get some detailed pictures of the signs, would love to know your opinion on how to go forward.

Have you fed it anything yet?

AyeCasperJack · Apr 15, 2016

Hybrid Mode 01 said:
Have you fed it anything yet?

Yes, I did feed it a water soluble fertilizer (general fertilizer for vegetables twice), I also gave it some basic hydrophonics neutrients about a month ago. I am thinking about transplanting to a pot that is just a little bigger (till last frost) and giving it some fresh soil. What do you think?

Hybrid Mode 01 · Apr 15, 2016

AyeCasperJack said:
Yes, I did feed it a water soluble fertilizer (general fertilizer for vegetables twice), I also gave it some basic hydrophonics neutrients about a month ago. I am thinking about transplanting to a pot that is just a little bigger (till last frost) and giving it some fresh soil. What do you think?

I'm kind of thinking you might be looking at fertilizer burn. How much did you add? Until my OWs come out of dormancy, I usually go really light on feeding them (if at all) until I pot them up or put them in beds.
Potting up to an intermediate size probably isn't necessary at this point. I'd probably just wait a bit and then put it in its final home when it comes time to put it outside. I usually just harden my OWs in the containers their in. Then when they're ready and the weather is cooperating I pot them up.

AyeCasperJack · Apr 15, 2016

Hybrid Mode 01 said:
I'm kind of thinking you might be looking at fertilizer burn. How much did you add? Until my OWs come out of dormancy, I usually go really light on feeding them (if at all) until I pot them up or put them in beds.
Potting up to an intermediate size probably isn't necessary at this point. I'd probably just wait a bit and then put it in its final home when it comes time to put it outside. I usually just harden my OWs in the containers their in. Then when they're ready and the weather is cooperating I pot them up.

When I did feed the plant, it was with the same fertilizer I used for my seedlings (which usually was 1/3 to 1/2 of the actual recommended strength). I will just give it some normal water for now and see how things go, let's hope it wil survive until it can go outside. Thank you for thinking along.

Thegreenchilemonster · Apr 29, 2016

AyeCasperJack said:
Hey Guys,

I am looking for some advice/thoughts on my plant that I decided to overwinter last season (Not sure if this is the best place to post). It has been in a 7L pot since last season and has been in front of a somewhat sunny window. It started growing new branches and leaves very nicely. I did cut all the flowers that were forming. This was the plant about 1 1/2 months ago:

Everything seemed to be great until last week. It seems to be so unhappy right now, but I still have at least a month to go before I can transplant it outside. I tried to get some detailed pictures of the signs, would love to know your opinion on how to go forward.

The tips of the new branches are starting to turn brownish. Also leaves are turning yellow and drying out.

Another look at the brown tips of the branches/leaves.

Another look at the brown tips of the branches/leaves.

All of my OW rocoto plants got exactly what you have pictured there this past year. I don't know what causes it, but I definitely had the exact same issue. It's weird, because at the nodes, instead of putting off new growth, there were small brown bumps of vegetation. I also had the issue of the ends of the the trimmed branches getting a little brown. I was wondering if it was due to being excessively root bound, because when I transplanted them they were all very root bound. I wouldn't worry about it too much though, because all of my OW rocoto plants are now putting out a ton of new growth since I transplanted them outside. Maybe, since you can't put it outside for another month, you should repot it into a larger pot with good soil, and break up the root ball a bit.

AyeCasperJack · Apr 30, 2016

Thegreenchilemonster said:
All of my OW rocoto plants got exactly what you have pictured there this past year. I don't know what causes it, but I definitely had the exact same issue. It's weird, because at the nodes, instead of putting off new growth, there were small brown bumps of vegetation. I also had the issue of the ends of the the trimmed branches getting a little brown. I was wondering if it was due to being excessively root bound, because when I transplanted them they were all very root bound. I wouldn't worry about it too much though, because all of my OW rocoto plants are now putting out a ton of new growth since I transplanted them outside. Maybe, since you can't put it outside for another month, you should repot it into a larger pot with good soil, and break up the root ball a bit.

Thank you for your reply. Great to hear your plants are doing good since they were transplanted. The plant is still a live, but hasn't been showing any signs of growth. I will be able to plant out in about 2 weeks. I guess I will just wait and see.

Canes1 · Jul 10, 2016

Guru,
I was wondering if I can get away with leaving my plants in the 13qt pots that I have them in for my OW just trim them back some and put them in 5 gal + next season. Should I put in new soil or just not disturb them OW , I want to save 1 each (reaper, ghost and scorpion ).I'm not sure if they are getting root bound yet or not,but they are doing good and my growing season is short up here.

Thanks for the great sticky and taking the time

Pepper-Guru · Jul 10, 2016

Canes1 said:
Guru,
I was wondering if I can get away with leaving my plants in the 13qt pots that I have them in for my OW just trim them back some and put them in 5 gal + next season. Should I put in new soil or just not disturb them OW , I want to save 1 each (reaper, ghost and scorpion ).I'm not sure if they are getting root bound yet or not,but they are doing good and my growing season is short up here.
Thanks for the great sticky and taking the time

if they are already in containers, and you will have enough light inside, you don't even have to cut them back. Know this; whatever aphid or pests are in the soil, will no longer have natural predators once indoors. So be on the lookout for any outbreaks. If your lighting situation isn't that great indoors, just do a conservative pruning and you'll be fine. Keep us updated with pics!

I'm bringing all my plants in this year to begin the mother/overwintering process over again. For the last few years I've only grown from seed and I've missed the head start overwintering gives. Jonesin' for overwinterin'

Malarky · Aug 11, 2016

I'm planning my overwinter now...what is a good size container to keep things manageable for WI winter. I'm planning on using an inorganic gritty mix with foliage pro, sticking the plants in a south window.

Probably 2-3 BahaGoats, 1-2 red savina, and a choc hab all cut down to sticks and root pruned hard.
1ga? 2 ga? my goal is to keep them alive and tidy, not fruit production. Putting them to sleep in my dark 60 degree basement seems riskier than meager growth in the window.

what do you guys think?

Pepper-Guru · Aug 12, 2016

Malarky said:
I'm planning my overwinter now...what is a good size container to keep things manageable for WI winter. I'm planning on using an inorganic gritty mix with foliage pro, sticking the plants in a south window.

Probably 2-3 BahaGoats, 1-2 red savina, and a choc hab all cut down to sticks and root pruned hard.
1ga? 2 ga? my goal is to keep them alive and tidy, not fruit production. Putting them to sleep in my dark 60 degree basement seems riskier than meager growth in the window.

what do you guys think?

1 gallon is plenty if you went to sticks and root pruned hard.

Malarky · Aug 12, 2016

Pepper-Guru said:
1 gallon is plenty if you went to sticks and root pruned hard.

I'll probably ferry them in and out of garage on sunny days until outdoor temps get too cold. should i make the hard prune a couple weeks before full time indoor to let them recover a little?

edit: nevermind...i'll pick a date and cut them to sticks and root prune and bring them in for the winter....
I don't want to give any bugs a chance to hitch a ride. Thanks for the insight.

ScottsBonnet · Sep 7, 2016

Pepper-Guru said:
...
Knowing your plants at the fundamental level is something that is often times over looked as prerequisite for growing a crop each year.
...
Since I have started overwintering, I can attest to the garden mojo that occurs each year. The energy is better, the plants become huge and pump out hordes of pods, the experience is much more rewarding. The plants thank me for it, the bugs thank me for it, reptiles, birds...so on and so forth. Everyone's happier

What's not to love about that?

I realize this thread is old, but thanks so much for creating it - your above words correspond closely to some advice I was recently given. For the last two years (my 1st two of gardening) I have been discussing peppers and sauce with a Caribbean woman who makes her own habanero sauces and sells them in our local market. I told her a few weeks ago of my pepper plans for next year, which involved starting from seeds. She was aghast: "Why would you throw away these plants after all the nurturing you have given them?" She lectured me for a while, most of which made me feel like I was planning to kill my children. She told me that I should bring them into my garage for the winter, which I did not even know was possible. Thanks to your thread and follow-ups, now I know the details, so thank you very much.

I have several plants that quit producing weeks ago, probably due to some lack of peppering skills on my part. I spent today readying the garage for them, with the 4 Scotch Bonnets to follow after they quit producing. I think I have a good situation, but wanted some feedback prior to implementing: My garage is kind of hidden away from things, with the wide one-car opening facing south (way back where no prying eyes will see it). I'm thinking of rigging a plastic 'curtain' across the entire opening, with the plants lined up a few feet back. It will be getting Pacific Northwest sunlight, so just wondering if I need to supplement, or if they will be okay once they go dormant.

Michaelwburke77 · Sep 13, 2016

I want to overwinter my plants this year, but I don't have a cool space to keep them and allow them to go dormant. I plan to keep them under some fluorescents, should I keep them cut back through the winter?

Any special tips for a situation like this?

Malarky · Sep 22, 2016

my plants are in 5ga buckets...anything I should do to get them ready for the big CHOP?
like lay off the ferts, or prune a little in advance?