I have tomatoes, peppers and chilli's growing at the moment. What won't survive when the weather gets cold. Will they regrow next year when weather picks up?
Or will I be better of growing again from scratch in side next year.
by Own_Management_5740
9 Comments
In our climate it usually is too cold to overwinter tomatoes, peppers and chillis. I have successfully overwintered chilli plants before, but generally you’re better off treating these plants like annuals and they’ll produce better.
Things you could grow in your mini greenhouse over winter: spring onions (successionally planted), lambs lettuce/corn salad, radishes. Outdoors you can do turnip, overwintered onions and garlic, spinach.
Where you get your geodesic dome?
Generally everyone starts from scratch every year. But these are all perennial plants so they can be overwintered but because they are tender (ie not frost hardy) they typically aren’t in this country.
But it can be done – I’ve overwintered tomatoes several times, but indoors, not outside, not even in a greenhouse. Just a small plant or two, kept inside, slightly moist, on a windowsill in a cool room, should be fine over the winter. It means you can hit thr ground running in the spring a bit sooner with plants that have a well-established root system so they should fruit sooner. Didn’t work this year because it was too cold all summer!
Your chillies are crazy! What type are they?
Everything basically
But you can bring some indoors
I suggest starting your peppers earlier. I start mine in a heated propagator at the end of Jan/beginning of Feb. I’ve been harvesting cayennes for months, but hotter ones will take the full season until mid October to get a good harvest. I transfer them into the polytunnel after last frost with a paraffin heater until temps pick up.
You can make green tomato chutney with those late tomatoes. It’ll be ready for Christmas Dinner and a few gifts for friends. Although once you’ve tasted it with the leftover Christmas cold cuts, you’ll be sorry you gave it away 😀
