Ok… it’s the time of year, when a lot of chilli growers are taking the last pods off their plants…and pulling them up for the compost heap, with thoughts already on next season’s growing list.

My advice is…why not over-winter a few plants ?

Now… you will find loads of information on the internet about this subject, and it will all pretty much say the same. I’m not going to tell you here, that this is the only way to do this…that would be arrogant and stupid of me ! Also… I’m not going to guarantee that this will work, it really is hit & miss.

However…I can explain to you what I do, and have had good results in the past…

First, why would we want to over-winter chilli plants ? Well, when it comes to Cap.Annum plants, there really is no need, as these are pretty reliable to germinate and grow. Over-wintering is more favourable to Cap.Chinense varieties, which are harder to germinate, and require a longer growing season. A plant that has been Over-Wintered, will also have a great head start for the next growing season, and most have proved to be more prolific in their second season.

How does it work ? Any plant’s mission in life, is to produce seed…. our aim for Over-Wintering, is to make the plant feel it has finished producing seed…by picking off all pods, trimming foliage…and then help it into a state of dormancy.

First choose your plant, this could be your favourite for the season, or a good cropper of certain pods you like, however…try to avoid any plants that are in very poor condition, or haven’t produced very well.

Here, I’ve chosen a Purple Bhut Jolokia that’s finished podding:

The next job, is to cut it down….there are a few different thoughts on this, some growers like to just give a little trim and leave the plant more or less as it is. Others will cut the plant down to just a six inch stick…. I cut mine down to a “Y” :

This may seem drastic, but trust me !
Next, we take it from the pot….and remove as much soil as possible:

Then we trim the rootball right back, and clean the roots some more:

Now we need to re-pot the plant in fresh compost….you can put it back into the same pot, or as I prefer, a smaller pot….I feel a smaller pot helps restrict root growth and helps with dormancy:

The plant is then watered, and placed on a window sill where it will get plenty of light, this is important as the plant still requires warmth and light to survive. Watering should be kept to a minimum, I would suggest every 2 weeks, however…the compost must not be allowed to dry out !
Chillis require very little in the way of feeding over winter, but a small diluted solution of Tomato feed once a month will do no harm. You should notice some fresh growth within a couple of weeks.
When Spring arrives, just put the plant back into a larger pot and feed it…. and if everything has gone well, your plant will have a great head start for the growing season.
iggy

UPDATE: Just one week later…and we already have signs of new growth on this Purple Bhut Jolokia

Bonsai, is the Japanese art of growing small trees in small pots…. and dates back as far as the 6th Century.The word Bonsai,so I believe, literally translates as… plantings in tray.
Through the years that I’ve been growing chillis, I have come across Bonchi on numerous occasions,Bonchi being Bonsai chilli plants, and have seen some beautiful specimens. This is a subject that has fascinated me for a while now, so after doing some research and reading on the internet…. I decided at the end of the 2011 growing season, that I would have a go. I chose 2 plants, a Habanero Orange and a 7 Pot Yellow.
The first thing I did was cut them right down to “sticks” about 6 inches high, as you would for overwintering, (sorry, no pics of this stage !), the roots were then cut right back, small enough to fit inside a Bonsai pot. I used plastic pots, as I didn’t fancy paying for expensive ceramic ones if it all failed !
Anyway…. the “sticks” were planted in their pots with fresh compost…watered, and placed on a south-facing window sill to get plenty of light. It didn’t take long to get some new growth coming through, and before I new it….I had small, untidy plants.
As 2012 moved on through Spring, and Summer…growth was very vigorous, and I was constantly trimming off any large leaves. The more you trim large leaves, new ones come through…only smaller.
The plants were fed every couple of weeks with Chilli Focus, and were soon abundant with flowers…. a lot of which did drop unfortunately ! However…. I persevered, and eventually got some pods on the Orange Hab ! here are the results:

Orange Hab

Yellow 7 Pot

And here they are after another trim:

Ok…they’re not the prettiest looking specimens…. but with a little more trimming of the branches, they will look better. I am so pleased with the results, that I’ve decided to do another half a dozen at the end of this year’s growing season….and this time, I will take pics of every stage !
If you fancy having a go yourself, or want more information…then check out this site
http://www.fatalii.net/growing/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=95&Itemid=105
iggy

EDIT: One thing that I forgot to mention when I originally posted this, was that if for some reason you’re not happy with the way your Bonchi has turned out….. just re-plant it into a large pot in Spring, and it will happily grow on as a normal plant….with a slight head start….. a more interesting way to over-winter a chilli plant
Update: Here is a pic of the Orange Hab now:

Well…it’s time for another update…the plants in the Hydro greenhouse have grown huge with loads of leaves, despite being cut back earlier. Continue reading →

Overwinter your chillies with firefoods. If you have a spare warm windowsill try this and you will get a early bumper crop of chillies Continue reading →