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Talkback: Overwintering chillies
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I live in the southern hemisphere and winter is not that harsh, still it rains a lot and temperatures are on the one digit. I left Jalapenos in the green house, an harvested them in August, some were really small, but still they were good. In the e end the plants were rotting because of the humidity. I will do the same this year.
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I treat jalapenos as biennial and they do produce flowers and pods earlier than ones sown from seed.
Aphids are a general pest when bringing plants indoors and should be treated as such.
We have a naga chilli sitting comfortably in our conservatory (S.E.England) as it has done for the last 4 years. It seems happy to flower & fruit (with a bit of manual pollination) all through the winter & only requires a bit of judicious pruning if it gets leggy. Yes, white fly & spider mite can be a problem but an occasional water spray or immersion seems to help prevent this.
This year we will be trying to overwinter some additional types (apricot, coffee bean, pumpkin & Etna).
A simple tip (well it works for us) is to initially reduce the summer growth by 1/2 to 2/3rds & then provide as much light as possible & not over/under water.
the best way to dry chilies is with a towel or tissue...
muhahahahaha.
Anonymous - I've never had a problem with aphids on overwintered chillis. The only thing I can suggest is that you thoroughly inspect and remove any on the plants before bringing them indoors.
Simon S - thanks for your tip and good luck with your other overwintering experiments.
Mandy - thanks, that chutney looks delicious. My mum once made chilli jam, which was amazing.
Kate