Overwintering More Chili Plants.. More Help Needed 10/25

[daveomak]

I know there are some chili heads here who do not live in the south..

Bride wanted this plant in the house for the winter... I dug it up and potted it... Step Daughter said they were hot when she brought the plant over...  

I have not tasted them yet..

I think they are VERY HOT... how hot are they ?? 

Suggestions on keeping it alive for the winter would be appreciated..  What would you do ??

Should the fruit be picked or left on the plant...

Used fresh or dried for later...

maybe ground or smoked and ground..

The spots are dirt from the rain the last 3 days...

they were planted under the overhang from the roof on a south side facing wall for added heat this summer... The way the summer went, they needed the heat...

The plant is about 15" tall

Chilis are 1/4" x 1.5-2"

Dave

 

[rivet]

That is one fantabulous, beautiful looking pepper plant! Looks like a cross between a Tabasco (or Bird's Eye, or Mirasol) and a Cayenne....wow!

To answer your questions, I'll do what I can.

1- Have no idea how hot they are, you're gonna have to eat one. I guarantee a green one will be milder than a ripe red one, if that's any help.

2- Chili peppers are Perennials, which means they live year to year. Bring them indoors to avoid frost and freezing and they will live happy in your living room all winter. What they need is sun at least half the day, water of course, and a temp that doesn't freeze or regularly fall below say 50 to 55 F ambient. That's pretty much most living rooms. Put the pot near a sunny window and you will be set. I overwintered a bhut jolokia that way. Stay away from feeding the plant over the winter though.

3- If you want chiles, pick the fruit and eat it! If you don't they will fall off eventually but it is best to pick them off so they don't molder and spoil and help bacteria grow on your plant.

4- Fresh is good and they are great to jazz up a store bought salsa. Or if you want, dehydrate them for later. They also freeze well, so you can make a nice chili in late January with fresh peppers!

Last but not least, check out this site. It is from  New Mexico State University's Chili Pepper Institute. You will probably find this pepper plant on their site. They are The Premier chile pepper home for the country...no lie. They do for chile peppers what MIT does for engineering. They also have an online store that sells seeds for great prices, and often less than online retail sites.

http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/

You can also email them and their scientists will help you with chile pepper questions.

Anyway, good luck with your plant and let us know what you find out about it, and how hot it is.  

 

[DanMcG]

Nice plant Dave and great advise Rivet!

 

[daveomak]

Dan & Rivet..... Thanks for the compliments and the information... Hey, really, the plant was dumb luck... Maybe it was our cool summer...

... NMSU site is really cool too..

Are there any folks here that share/trade seeds from there ?  I'm not much on heat, the flavor is where my interests lie.. Those New Mex varieties look good along with the Jalapeno with no heat...

Whatever that chili is in the pic will probably be goin' in dill pickles or pickled green beans/asparagus type stuff.. smoked and ground maybe also...

I'm still tryin' to learn about all this stuff...

I found something that is very close in description

Thai Red

[emoji]169[/emoji] Cross Country Nurseries

A very hot Cluster type growing 2.25 to 2.5 inches long by 0.25 to 0.375 inches wide with thin flesh that matures from green to red. (Capsicum annuum)

http://www.g6csy.net/chile/database.html
 

That is one fantabulous, beautiful looking pepper plant! Looks like a cross between a Tabasco (or Bird's Eye, or Mirasol) and a Cayenne....wow!

To answer your questions, I'll do what I can.

1- Have no idea how hot they are, you're gonna have to eat one. I guarantee a green one will be milder than a ripe red one, if that's any help.

2- Chili peppers are Perennials, which means they live year to year. Bring them indoors to avoid frost and freezing and they will live happy in your living room all winter. What they need is sun at least half the day, water of course, and a temp that doesn't freeze or regularly fall below say 50 to 55 F ambient. That's pretty much most living rooms. Put the pot near a sunny window and you will be set. I overwintered a bhut jolokia that way. Stay away from feeding the plant over the winter though.

3- If you want chiles, pick the fruit and eat it! If you don't they will fall off eventually but it is best to pick them off so they don't molder and spoil and help bacteria grow on your plant.

4- Fresh is good and they are great to jazz up a store bought salsa. Or if you want, dehydrate them for later. They also freeze well, so you can make a nice chili in late January with fresh peppers!

Last but not least, check out this site. It is from  New Mexico State University's Chili Pepper Institute. You will probably find this pepper plant on their site. They are The Premier chile pepper home for the country...no lie. They do for chile peppers what MIT does for engineering. They also have an online store that sells seeds for great prices, and often less than online retail sites.

http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/

You can also email them and their scientists will help you with chile pepper questions.

Anyway, good luck with your plant and let us know what you find out about it, and how hot it is.  

Nice plant Dave and great advise Rivet!

 

[mco]

Dave I kept a Thai in the house all last winter and it did fine, the peppers just dried on the bush, follow Rivets directions and if you don't forget to water it, you can plant it again next summer.I've got a hab that I'll keeping in a pot this winter.

 

[rivet]

That sure looks like a Thai Red, Dave...great detective work! Once the seed pod dries, save the seeds and you can trade or plant them. I know that I trade seeds, don't know about any other folks. I got some red "MYSTERIOUS RED" seeds from peppers I found in the store that are absolutely delicious and sweet, not hot. They are about 8 inches long, conical, and about 3 at the shoulder. They apparently are an heirloom sweet bell pepper type. I planted seeds this year and they all sprouted but the fruits were much smaller. This plant needs to be in the ground with plenty of room, not 1 or 2 gallon pots like I planted them in. I will be glad to send you some, just shoot me a PM with your address.

I've also got some Yucatan Whites, a creamy colored habanero that is not really hot at all.....nothing like a red or orange one. They are very tasty. I making salsa with them today, and I'll save a pod or two worth of seeds for you if you want.

Yeah, glad you liked the nmsu site....it's fantastic. I'm planning on getting some hatch chiles from them this winter and planting them next year to see how they do around here. I'm, figuring they need to go in the ground too, unlike the smaller pods which do great in clay pots.

 

[Bearcarver]

Beautiful Chili plant, Dave!!!

I'm glad Rivet gave you so much info---I'm pretty much "Chili Illiterate" !!

Bear

 

[miamirick]

Dave   I think the easy solution is to ship it to me for the winter and ill take care of it,   it will be missing quite a few of those peppers when i send it back next spring though! 

 

[daveomak]

That sure looks like a Thai Red, Dave...great detective work! Once the seed pod dries, save the seeds and you can trade or plant them. I know that I trade seeds, don't know about any other folks. I got some red "MYSTERIOUS RED" seeds from peppers I found in the store that are absolutely delicious and sweet, not hot. They are about 8 inches long, conical, and about 3 at the shoulder. They apparently are an heirloom sweet bell pepper type. I planted seeds this year and they all sprouted but the fruits were much smaller. This plant needs to be in the ground with plenty of room, not 1 or 2 gallon pots like I planted them in. I will be glad to send you some, just shoot me a PM with your address.

I've also got some Yucatan Whites, a creamy colored habanero that is not really hot at all.....nothing like a red or orange one. They are very tasty. I making salsa with them today, and I'll save a pod or two worth of seeds for you if you want.

Yeah, glad you liked the nmsu site....it's fantastic. I'm planning on getting some hatch chiles from them this winter and planting them next year to see how they do around here. I'm, figuring they need to go in the ground too, unlike the smaller pods which do great in clay pots.

save the seeds and you can trade or plant them  Will that work? They were planted in a bed with jalapeno, bell and anaheims. How about cross polination..?? I could get red bells that are hotter than a plasma torch !!! 
 

 I got some red "MYSTERIOUS RED" seeds from peppers I found in the store that are absolutely delicious and sweet, not hot. They are about 8 inches long, conical, and about 3 at the shoulder. They apparently are an heirloom sweet bell pepper type. I planted seeds this year and they all sprouted but the fruits were much smaller. This plant needs to be in the ground with plenty of room, not 1 or 2 gallon pots like I planted them in. I will be glad to send you some, just shoot me a PM with your address. Address is on its way

Dave I kept a Thai in the house all last winter and it did fine, the peppers just dried on the bush, follow Rivets directions and if you don't forget to water it, you can plant it again next summer.I've got a hab that I'll keeping in a pot this winter.

Good to know.. I do get tired of buying plants in the spring. I have been starting plants from seed the last 3 years.. Even bought a heat mat to start bell peppers. Works well. I am about to dig up the rosemary plant and pull it in the house too.  I am also thinking of putting hay bales on top of the pepper plants to see if I can keep them warm this winter.. Thinking the decaying rotting hay might give off enough heat to keep them from freezing.. Stupid me..
 

Dave   I think the easy solution is to ship it to me for the winter and ill take care of it,   it will be missing quite a few of those peppers when i send it back next spring though! 

Rick, When the pods mature I will send some seed if you want... I can see the feds now if the plant came thru the mail... Shipping almost lethal pepper spray in its original form... I might get put on the "kill do not capture list".. another American gone bad... ( i just heard of the secret panel that makes those decisions)  (if that is too political... please just erase the line that is offensive)( I thought it was funny ha ha)

 

[chefrob]

i was thinking they were some sort of thai..........i've had some plants upto 5 yrs before a really hard freeze got to them.

 

[rivet]

Hi Dave, as far as cross pollination making your bells hot, here's the deal:

A lot of folks say that is bullhockey. A lot of folks who are plant experts say it takes several generations to get a sweet bell hot.

I know from experience that growing cayennes and jalapenos in a row next to sweet bells (in the same growing season) made them hot. Not near hot like the japs or cayennes were, but the bells had a definite zing to them that was unexpected. There certainly was a heat level to the bells.

So. Don't worry about a plasma torch, but you may get a bite that is unusual. Maybe you can separate the peppers (hot from sweet) by a row or two of tomato plants? Peppers and tomatoes grow well together.

If the thai red is really hot, and it looks like it is doing well in that pot, and you can continue to grow it in one. Get a 2 gallon clay pot and plant them in there. The clay pots absorb the sunshine heat and keep the rootball warm which is what chile peppers like. Keep it watered, but don't over water....meaning if you stick your finger up to the first joint and it is dry dusty soil it needs water. Of course, saggy limp leaves are another indicator!

Yeah big clay pots can be expensive compared to brown plastic ones, $7 vs $1.99,  but having used both, clay is the way to go. Be gentle with the pots and they will last for years, and are worth the extra dollars.

Got your address and am prepping the seeds already! Check your mail later this week after I dry the new seeds.

 

[daveomak]

i was thinking they were some sort of thai..........i've had some plants upto 5 yrs before a really hard freeze got to them.

Rob, morning... Do you leave your plants in the ground ?? How cold does it get ?? I left 2 bells in the ground over winter. Piled straw on them and they froze. Of course it was below freezing for 4 months.. 
 

 

[chefrob]

Rob, morning... Do you leave your plants in the ground ?? How cold does it get ?? I left 2 bells in the ground over winter. Piled straw on them and they froze. Of course it was below freezing for 4 months..  

dave, i have a couple of raised beds and i have had them in the ground before. our winters here are 35 low to 65 high.....we do get 2-4 freeze warnings a year and have been known to dip below 30 on occasion. one thing i have found with heat or freezing, if the bottom of the plant is still good you can cut it back and new sprouts will take.

 

[daveomak]

My old camera died and I'm trying to learn this Fuji... bear with me...

So I pulled 3 more peppers in for the winter and put them in clay pots... someone smarter then me suggested this approach.. A series of questions I have will follow the pictures...

Here is the Anaheim... Look at the new growth !!!

Here's the Thai red.. The peppers are maturing nicely EXCEPT for some of the green ones... They appear to be shriveling up..

Not growing or something... Any suggestions as to what is going on ???

Here is the Bell Pepper I potted indoors.. Growing as good as it did outdoors.. New shoots and all...

 The Jalapeno is doing as good if not better the the rest of them ??? Looks better than it did outdoors...

Since this is just the first 2-3 weeks of transplant I'm not sure what to expect down the road... Looks like they are healthy enough...

Maybe too healthy... I have read "do not feed during the winter"... I have some concerns with that statement due to the growth I am seeing...

When transplanted to the pots I put the native soil in the pots... submerged them in water to force the air from the root system (bottom up watering) and moved indoors... I am thinking they will need food..

I am also thinking they are not supposed to grow this well indoors...(from what I have read)

I am thinking I don't know doo-doo when it comes to gardening sometimes and I am getting really lucky..

(I tried to grow Orchids twice, they died... twice)..

I am thinking a soluble food about 10% normal rate and feeding every watering... I am watering now about every 7 days give or take...

The plants are in an area with 70 degree temps, continuous air flow and 12 hour/day fluorescent light (dim at best).....

As you can see they were pruned pretty severely at transplant time.. pretty severe root loss when dug up...

Any direction would be appreciated... If they flower should I get a painters brush and pollinate the blossoms ????

Never done that before... Any suggestions how to ??? and when and how often ???

Dave the "don't know what the H I'm doing" gardener....

 

[diggingdogfarm]

How did the overwintering go?


~Martin

 

[daveomak]

Diggy, morning....  3 out of 4 died.... I did have the sweet bell survive.... It is getting acclimated on the porch now....  Hopefully it will really produce this summer with a bigger root system and all..... time will tell....  I think that is the last overwinter I will try... I'm not too good at this plant thing... 

Dave

 

[smokinhusker]

That's too bad about the plants...they were really gorgeous! I know what you mean about the gardening thing...my ex bought me a gardenia plant and it died, I replaced that sucker with new ones three more times and they all died!!! I gave up on them after that and only have philodendrons in the house now.