Overwintering Chilli Plants.

[snooky]

Had a cracking chilli pepper plant this year would like to overwinter to see if it gives me a good crop next year.I have not done this ever so any advice would be most appreciated.

[Primrose]

Bring indoors Snooky prune back fairly hard on each branching stem and keep on a frost free window sill. Keep compost barely moist. Check regularly for potential whitefly attack and shower/demise generously if found.
Around Jan/early Feb, remove .most of the old compost and replace with fresh, including a few chicken manure pellets if yiu have any for fresh nourishment.

I,ve tried this technique with both red pepper and chilli plants and it generally works well. Kept one pepper plant going for 3 years until i neglected it too long and let the whitefly overwhelm it.

[snooky]

Thanks for the info Primrose will most certainly do as you suggest;a winter experiment.

[Primrose]

You should also find that the plant will start producing new flowers earlier than a newly sown seedling using this method so should get an earlier crop of fruit.

[tigerburnie]

I did the above one year, have to say the crop was no better than the new plants, so I haven't bothered again and as for the whitefly, what a pain they attacked all my house plants, so be careful or vigilant.

[Primrose]

To reduce the whitefly try and keep well away from any potted houseplants. Don't know where all the little perishers come from but possibly eggs lurking in the pot's compost which hatch as the room temperature warms up, especially if located over a radiator?

[Westi]

I managed to keep one for 3 yrs. I just trimmed down any long stems, leaving them in their pots & kept them in the cold greenhouse but at the back of the staging with other pots in front. I pretty much forgot about them & they really only got the odd drink. I had no issues with white fly or other pests but possibly too cold for them. They started to show growth about March time so I potted them on in fresh compost trimming the roots. They just ticked over slowly getting more leaves but as soon as the temps weren't fluctuating so much they started getting flower buds so I took them down to the plot & planted them in the tunnel soil. They fruited earlier & a larger harvest.

I would have kept trying but it coincided with when I lost quite a few panes of glass from wayward footballs from the school. I did pot them on & left in the tunnel but they got heavy mildew.