For those who say you can't grow peppers small containers.

[Doug9345]

This Cubanelle pepper was planted in a 3.5 oz solo cup last year on April 15. 2011. I transplanted it to a 16 oz cup this spring, it flowered and I used a brush to pollinate it. None of my Cubanelle seed sprouted so I wanted this pepper to produce seed for next year which it has. I decided to take a picture of it before I took the pepper off it. I plan on transplanting it into a bigger pot.

[RayR]

I had an extra Cayenne pepper plant that was in a 3" pot last year that I forgot about in the yard, it flowered and made a few peppers. They won't grow much root bound in that little bit of soil, but that doesn't stop them from wanting to reproduce.

[bower]

I had 3 Jimmy Nardellos that were left in 4 inch pots in a dark corner of the greenhouse last summer cold and dank, where they bore a couple of fruit each in spite of me. I decided to try overwintering my pepper plants so I brought these in as well and potted into maybe 6 inch pots. I planned to plant these out in the garden later on.. when I went to look at them last week they had peppers on em again.
I also have Jimmy Nardello and Doe Hill seedlings which are bearing fruit in 16 inch beer cups... just couldn't wait for me to build that pepper house.....

[Crandrew]

Cool I'm trying them in 3gal bags so it should be plenty

[muskymojo]

Same here. I always end up with a couple (trays) extra which sit on the edge of my raised bed and put out a few pods each. I just can't bring myself to toss em...

[luke]

I'm growing several in gallon pots. I plan to keep a few of the better plants over the winter. I think I can put one in front of a window, and might try to keep a couple in a utility room with some grow lights on a timer.

[muskymojo]

Just make sure to rinse all the soil off the roots, and replant in new potting mix. Otherwise you are asking for pest problems. I always prune the roots and cut the plants back quite a bit as well. My overwintered plants are way ahead of the ones started from seed this year.

[Lcottomsvcs]

Newbie question: how long will a pepper plant live, if kept in good conditions? This thread has got me thinking....

[Doug9345]

This thread on another site talks about 30 year old peppers.
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/20507-...per-plant-get/

[Crandrew]

Last year mine jalapeño tried to produce again. In nov/dec but was on a shady side of the house. This year I'm doing them in pots so I can move to where the sun hits. Well see.

[Lcottomsvcs]

Thirty years is an amazing life span for a vegetable plant. That makes me sad for all of the ones I have allowed to be taken by frost. There is a greenhouse at the school were I work, I will definetely try to pot up a couple of plants this fall.

[Tracydr]

I have 3 year old jalapeños and 2 year old habaneros and anaheims. Would have older but lost one crop to an irrigation accident ( cooked roots with alfalfa pellets and flooding) and then another crop with temperatures down to 20 degrees for three days in 2010. But, still have a few that survived that freeze, along with 3 year old eggplants.

[bitterwort]

Another thing to think about if you're serious about overwintering peppers: I overwintered three of them bareroot this winter, at least they're leafing out so I'm assuming success at this point. I cut the top off so only about 3 inches of stem remained, root-pruned them and removed the soil around them, put the roots in dry peat in a plastic bag, and closed the bag around the stem with a twist-tie. Then I put them all in the coldest non-freezing part of my house, an underinsulated front entryway. The stems were still green at the end of winter, so I potted them up and put them out in the greenhouse. Seems like they'll be fine, and the process took very little space and care.

[bower]

For people who have real winters, it is amazing to have a few peppers all year round. I brought in Jimmy N's and Pepperoncinis with green fruit on them in the fall, which ripened over time and we had the occasional fresh pepper to the end of January. The plants kept flowering all winter but dropping their blossoms, until we hit the 12 hours of real daylight mark - they were not fooled by the shoplights I hung over them in the window. But then in February, the Pepperoncini with the best foliage put on a dozen fruit, and I had ripe fresh peppers again in March.

Some of the plants lost most of their leaves, and it's important not to water much if the leaves aren't there to transpire it. My Bulgarian Carrot lost every leaf but eventually new sprouts came, and now there are seven peppers on it.

The point about pest control is important though. The old plants had a few mites, leaf miners, thrips, or several of the above. It was a bit of trouble trying to keep this in check during the winter with a bit of soap and sanitation, and I quarantined the plants in one room while my new seedlings were coming on. This worked for a while, but then the containment failed and my seedlings got infested. So now I need to build a separate hoop house for the peppers, to make sure my tomatoes don't suffer the same!

[janezee]

I am so excited to read all this! I'm seriously trying to grow peppers for the first time, rather than just throw them in the ground and letting them fend for themselves. I've put them all in 2 gallon pots, so they can be in the warmest places during the summer, and can go in the hoop house or cold frame for the winter. Guess I'd better get back to building!

j