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tutorial The Comprehensive Guide to Over-Wintering
- Thread starter Pepper-Guru
- Start date
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
Well I mean, you're not planning on putting them into a dark closet all winter right? lol Indirect sunlight from nearby window is usually what people go for. Even a cfl will do.
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
Anything above 40 and you'll be "alive". Above 55 and you'll be growing.
looks like i'll be growing then!
ok so my room stays around 75 80 degrees in the winter and i never over wintered plants.. if i want them to produce peppers do i need a hps light or can i use regular cfl lights because i have a whole lot of those because thats what i use to start my seeds in the spring if i can use reg cfl what should the wattage be in order to have peppers in the winter thanks Tyler
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
If you have enough cfls, sure. I would at least go mh or south facing, sun kissed window if you want podage.
When they go into a dormant state they do not need light to survive, but of course the leaves will drop and for all purposes they will look dead - but actual dead tissue turns deeper brown so later some trimming away of that is needed at least. However, you can't let the soil completely dry out and damp soil plus darkness tends to invite fungal growth.
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
wrong. No light = death.
LESS light and colder temps is what makes them go dormant. But you're right about the watering part. They won't need much, just enough to keep the roots working.
LESS light and colder temps is what makes them go dormant. But you're right about the watering part. They won't need much, just enough to keep the roots working.
I have not overwintered before, but I have a couple of great plants this year that I want to keep for next year. I plan on using this guide quite a bit when the time comes, and I'm thankful that Pepper Guru takes the time to post the guide and answer questions from people like me.
I'm not sure if I just missed this part, but when it comes time to put the plants outside again I'm assuming they have to be hardened off all over again. Would the process be the same as hardening off seedlings (start small and in shade, and build time and sun exposure slowly day by day) or is it a bit different?
I'm not sure if I just missed this part, but when it comes time to put the plants outside again I'm assuming they have to be hardened off all over again. Would the process be the same as hardening off seedlings (start small and in shade, and build time and sun exposure slowly day by day) or is it a bit different?
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
Yep. Pretty much the same... If you're going easy peasy, just stick em under a diffuse, sunlit, spot. Like under the canopy of a young spring tree, the deck, west side of the house, etc. If you want it a litte quicker, you can do what I do sometimes, but its more envolved. I stick em in the full sun until they wilt, then take back to safety. When they recover fully, do it again. Repeat until they don't wilt
After reading this thread last year I decided to give it a shot myself using Pepper-Guru methods................
Thanks Pepper Guru! I plan to overwinter 5-10 plants this year!
Thanks Pepper Guru! I plan to overwinter 5-10 plants this year!
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
Boom
I think you have me convinced to give it a try this year. I have a tabasco that is taking forever, and we have a short growing season in Ottawa, so I think giving him a head start is a good idea. I'll probably do another couple of plants besides that as well.
My big concern is that I would end up sticking them in a corner on the main floor of the house. The light would be pretty much perfect for overwintering, but the temp would be room temperature. I am worried about activating them with the higher temp, and I have a bunch of questions about how it plays out. Would I continue to cut them back if they start to leaf up and grow? If I let them pod up (I can never resist sexing them up with q-tips to get a few early pods to snack on) do I still stick with very light watering? I'm just glad to have a resource that can answer these types of questions, because such concerns always stopped me from attempting overwintering in the past.
My big concern is that I would end up sticking them in a corner on the main floor of the house. The light would be pretty much perfect for overwintering, but the temp would be room temperature. I am worried about activating them with the higher temp, and I have a bunch of questions about how it plays out. Would I continue to cut them back if they start to leaf up and grow? If I let them pod up (I can never resist sexing them up with q-tips to get a few early pods to snack on) do I still stick with very light watering? I'm just glad to have a resource that can answer these types of questions, because such concerns always stopped me from attempting overwintering in the past.
Stefan,
If the conditions are right a pepper plant will produce all year around. Last year I over wintered my container plants and did not make them go dormant since I did not need to dig them up or put them in smaller pots. I put it by a window and added a few CFL lights on timers hoping they would grow peppers. They did not produce peppers but they kept their foliage and I had a huge head start this season. I watered as they needed (leaves go softer and limp).
Good Luck!
And Again - Thanks PepperGuru for all your help and encouragement! You might be interested to know about my latest project -- a gravity drip irrigation system.
I hope the picture link works as I am having a hard time getting the forum to take images.
http://postimage.org/image/ve2w44y5p/
http://postimage.org/image/q2c8bgtk7/
http://postimage.org/image/qlg7pyx63/
I gave it its first test yesterday and it went great. I will make some adjustments as I only have two drip emitters on each plant and I think three or four will be better. Also I will install a pulley system to lower and raise the buckets so I am not climbing ladders with full buckets etc. I plan on adding lines and stop valves for different zones so I can get to other plants and just switch the zones on or off. I am really happy about this project as now I do not spend hours watering every single night in the heat getting bit by mosquitoes. I can just fill a bucket and walk away. I could have made this much easier if I hooked it up to the water faucet but I like to de-chlorinate my water first and this system will also allow me to use my compost teas if I strain them first.
FYI to anyone who might attempt something similar: The piece attached directly to the bucket is called a "bulkhead fitting". The only place you will find them is at an aquarium. Don't bother searching hardware stores (grr) as it's a complete and utter waste of time. Make sure you get one that uses standard sizing as the first one I got was not standard and nothing standard would connect to it (incredible!). I made sure this fitting connected to the gray ½” pipe before I purchased. I drilled a 1/2" hole in the bucket then sanded it to allow the treads of the bulkhead fitting to screw in easily with no worry about cracking the bucket. There is a ridge ring of plastic supporting in the center on a home depot bucket so I shaved it off with a chisel and sanded it smooth. The bulkhead fitting attaches to the 1/2" gray piping with is connected to a fitting that connects the 3/4 drip piping. Finally the piping is capped with the white cap ending. All connections have teflon taping at the treads for a good seal. The drip line has a stop/start piece attached near the top, then the line trails off to the plants and splits, placing two emitters in each basket. The drip emitters are adjustable and are easy to clean – just unscrew the cap and flush. Since I am relying on gravity for PSI the pressure is lower than a faucet and the emitters need to be either adjustable or ones that do not have flow compensation.
The lid has about eight tiny holes screwed into it so it can let air in but keep the mosquitoes out and water clean from debris.
If the conditions are right a pepper plant will produce all year around. Last year I over wintered my container plants and did not make them go dormant since I did not need to dig them up or put them in smaller pots. I put it by a window and added a few CFL lights on timers hoping they would grow peppers. They did not produce peppers but they kept their foliage and I had a huge head start this season. I watered as they needed (leaves go softer and limp).
Good Luck!
And Again - Thanks PepperGuru for all your help and encouragement! You might be interested to know about my latest project -- a gravity drip irrigation system.
I hope the picture link works as I am having a hard time getting the forum to take images.
http://postimage.org/image/ve2w44y5p/
HTML:
[url=http://postimage.org/image/ve2w44y5p/][img]http://s14.postimage.org/ve2w44y5p/2012_07_05_20_30_14_742.jpg[/img][/url]http://postimage.org/image/q2c8bgtk7/
HTML:
[url=http://postimage.org/image/q2c8bgtk7/][img]http://s7.postimage.org/q2c8bgtk7/2012_07_05_20_31_15_780.jpg[/img][/url]http://postimage.org/image/qlg7pyx63/
HTML:
[url=http://postimage.org/image/qlg7pyx63/][img]http://s17.postimage.org/qlg7pyx63/2012_07_05_20_31_25_819.jpg[/img][/url]I gave it its first test yesterday and it went great. I will make some adjustments as I only have two drip emitters on each plant and I think three or four will be better. Also I will install a pulley system to lower and raise the buckets so I am not climbing ladders with full buckets etc. I plan on adding lines and stop valves for different zones so I can get to other plants and just switch the zones on or off. I am really happy about this project as now I do not spend hours watering every single night in the heat getting bit by mosquitoes. I can just fill a bucket and walk away. I could have made this much easier if I hooked it up to the water faucet but I like to de-chlorinate my water first and this system will also allow me to use my compost teas if I strain them first.
FYI to anyone who might attempt something similar: The piece attached directly to the bucket is called a "bulkhead fitting". The only place you will find them is at an aquarium. Don't bother searching hardware stores (grr) as it's a complete and utter waste of time. Make sure you get one that uses standard sizing as the first one I got was not standard and nothing standard would connect to it (incredible!). I made sure this fitting connected to the gray ½” pipe before I purchased. I drilled a 1/2" hole in the bucket then sanded it to allow the treads of the bulkhead fitting to screw in easily with no worry about cracking the bucket. There is a ridge ring of plastic supporting in the center on a home depot bucket so I shaved it off with a chisel and sanded it smooth. The bulkhead fitting attaches to the 1/2" gray piping with is connected to a fitting that connects the 3/4 drip piping. Finally the piping is capped with the white cap ending. All connections have teflon taping at the treads for a good seal. The drip line has a stop/start piece attached near the top, then the line trails off to the plants and splits, placing two emitters in each basket. The drip emitters are adjustable and are easy to clean – just unscrew the cap and flush. Since I am relying on gravity for PSI the pressure is lower than a faucet and the emitters need to be either adjustable or ones that do not have flow compensation.
The lid has about eight tiny holes screwed into it so it can let air in but keep the mosquitoes out and water clean from debris.
so 4 cfls and a window wont produce pods
Not for me but to be honest, space was seriously crowded competing with my mother in laws plants at the window. Shes moving out so this winter I will have much more space to work with. If I had better placement for the window and focused all the lights with wide aluminium reflectors it would probably have worked. I only had one decent reflector and three cfls with tiny household reflectors.
I'm not worried about lighting for my plants at all because I have a pretty good grow light setup that I use for seedlings that can be adapted for this. I was just struggling with the temperature, and whether they would be able to go dormant. If they could go dormant I would set them in a corner near a window so they get a couple of hours of light per day, but if not (and I am guessing they will not) I can use the grow lights and just let them grow through the winter. The seedlings all pod up like crazy under the grow lights so I am expecting the plants to produce at least a few pods. I do worry about them growing too big over the course of winter though, because they would be able to outgrow my space quite easily.