I planted some bell peppers in my raised beds earlier this year, but I'm only seeing one pepper per plant. Now, they're full of flowers and small peppers are starting to form, but with the temperatures dropping to around 4°C tonight in the Pacific Northwest, I'm worried they might not survive. Is there a way to save them through the winter? Can I overwinter them somehow, or are they just doomed?
2 Answers
There’s an option to keep them in a warm spot inside your home, but just a heads up, they might not handle the low light well and could be more prone to pests like aphids and fungus gnats.
It might be possible to overwinter your bell peppers, but definitely not outside, especially in your region. A couple of years back, I tried digging up my plants and putting them in pots while cutting them back to a 'Y' shape. I kept them cool in my basement near a window, but all of them ended up dying. This year, I think I’ll leave them as they are and just put them under a grow light inside. Hopefully, someone else has had more luck than I did!
From what I understand, it’s actually best to not use grow lights during winter. The peppers should lose their leaves and go dormant. Once late winter rolls around, that’s when you start giving them more light and water to wake them up.
Yeah, I’ve also heard that even in perfect conditions, pepper plants often don’t survive the winter. If you bring them inside, it's usually better to prune them back first, but the stress from being dug up might be too much. I think moving them indoors can really affect their health.