Overwintering peppers

Autumn-sown peppers

Peppers and chillies are perennial plants that, in theory, can be overwintered. They are tender, so they need to be protected from frost, and they will rot if over watered (like many plants over winter). But the biggest problem with overwintering peppers seems to be their need for lots of light. They drop their leaves and become very sad looking specimens for several months.

I know of people who have had success overwintering peppers in greenhouses, and I will try that next year – this year I don’t have any pepper plants I particularly want to keep.

But I thought it would be worth trying to germinate pepper seeds in autumn – and keep the seedlings alive until spring. With their reduced light requirements, and their tendency to grow slowly in low light levels, they should be fine over winter and ready for a rapid growth spurt when the days start to get longer.

That’s the theory. I sowed my trial plants on 21st September, and they’ve just germinated. Dedo de Mocha is a sweet aji – basically a chilli with no heat. And Sweet Lipstick is an early, red bell pepper variety. Both sets of seeds came from Real Seeds.

Posted 10 October 2007, 20:33.   Posted in .

4 Comments for Overwintering peppers

  1. Would be very interested to know if this works… I grew both peppers and chillis this year for the first time in the greenhouse, but with the miserable summer we’ve had, the pepper production wasn’t great and i’ve no pepper plants i want to overwinter. I’ve brought in one chilli plant, the best one, to try to overwinter (the greenhouse is a plastic jobbie and i can’t put naked flames or any heat forms in there) but altogether i’ve been quite disappointed with them both. It seemed to me that the summer ran out before they could really get going, so sowing in Autumn may well be a way forward. (I wonder if this would work with tomatoes as well?)

    Anyway, could you keep us informed with progress on this one please?

    thanks!!

    kethry · Oct 11, 09:27 PM

  2. Absolutely!

    Emma · Oct 11, 10:15 PM

  3. kethry left a comment on my blog about your pepper/ chilli experiment, so i’ve come across to find out more. i wonder if i’m too late to sow some chilli seeds? i think i’ll give it a go- nothing ventured nothing gained! good luck!

    donna · Oct 12, 04:59 PM

  4. Hi Donna!

    I think it would certainly be worth a try if you have a sunny windowsill.

    Emma · Oct 12, 06:31 PM

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