It's a beautiful day, sun shining, 65 degrees, and I am sick as a dog. But I decide that some Vitamin D can't hurt, and I can't spread my germs to anything out in the garden, so off I go.
First thing on the to-do list? Preparing the Jalapeno for over-wintering inside.
Yes, you read that right. I have been complaining about all of my peppers and here I am, unwilling to let the thing just die... committing myself to care for it all winter long. Why, you ask? Just to see if I can.
Growing up in New England, peppers were treated as annuals. But they are indeed perennials, and I truly had gorgeous plants (for which I can take zero credit. They were here when we bought the place.) It would be a shame to not even TRY to save them. I did a bit of research last night on the internet, and decided to take this approach:
First, I harvested most of the jalapenos and then pulled up the plant.
Next, I went ahead and trimmed the roots. Supposedly, this is supposed to encourage more root growth, but mostly I had to do it in order to get the thing into the pot I prepared for it.
Then I trimmed it back. Way back. And nestled it into it's new home for the winter.
And trimmed it back some more. (When Hurricane Irene came through, it got blown around and started growing funny, so I decided to trim off the crooked branches.)
Apparently, all it needs is to be near a window for the winter, so we'll see.
The Cayenne is next, but it still has too many peppers on it.
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