How To RESCUE Unripe Peppers From The COLD

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It is all too common to see late-season veggies go to waste in the garden. The first fall frost often comes quickly and can ruin unripe peppers that are still on your plants. Learn what options you have to save your unfinished peppers from the cold in fall!

Overwintering peppers:

Ways to store peppers:

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Products in this video (Affiliate links):

FLOATING ROW COVER:

GREENHOUSE PLASTIC:

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Thanks for watching Pepper Geek!
#peppers #gardening #spicy

[capamerica]

This is exactly the question I have been having for a week. Thank you. Also, this is my first year growing peppers, I have over 30 plants and 6 varieties. It has been an incredible journey and your channel has allowed it to happen. Thank you for everything!

[Omegawerewolfx]

I'm in Jersey. I use the wind at my back when unfurling and covering my plants at night. I don't bother with spikes, I have small bricks that make it much faster and easier to cover and go. I use frost cloth, it's lighter and if I don't get into the yard fast enough in the morning I know the plants are not cooking in an oven as if I had used a plastic covering. As I pull/remove plants I just double up the frost cloth on the remaining plants until they're done for the season as well. This is for everything, not just peppers.

[HomeGardening]

very informative, learned a lot ! thanks mate ❤

[WinstonSmithGPT]

Great find. What a bumper crop in MA this year. Biggest harvest was a basket of peproncini from Italy I thought were Calabrian peppers. Beautiful bright red balls. They are so hot I can’t eat them at all. 😢

[defensaiyans.]

You can cut the plant at the base, or the branches with the peppers on, put in basement or storage unit that doesn't get below freezing, have a couple fans on them to keep the air moving while the leaves dry and the peppers will ripen so you can continue to make sauce with them...

[RT-wqbd]

Perfect timing for this video. Morning temps are going from 50's to mid 30's by tomorrow! Picked the last 10 gallons of peppers yesterday here in Central Maryland.

[sn]

Thank you! Did not realize the row cover absolutely needed to go to the ground level!

[RFabs]

@Pepper geek: Great video and advices, thank you. Another useful advice would be to reduce watering dramatically. What this does is that it's one of the stress factors that will make the plant ripen its fruit faster. In addition, it really makes a world of different in keeping your plants warm, as wet soil has a lot worse heat retention properties..

[nicklausjohnson-ynqk]

🎉🎉🎉 Great Content 🎉 i love you Belinda Gerard ❤️😘

[bigmacjr]

I took my green cayenne peppers off yesterday, I will tell you they make an outstanding hot sauce with vinegar, garlic, and salt. I made some tonight and everyone loved the taste, it has a little kick but not murderous.

[thevikingbaker]

12K views and only 872 likes is diabolical. Excellent information, thank you Pepper Geek! I have quite a few Italian and bell peppers in zone 8B that I have been worried about, but this video gives me peace of mind.

[krazmokramer]

Perfect timing! The weather here in south-central Kansas (6b) changed from 93 yesterday to upper 60s lower 70s today. The forecast is for these temps for the next 2 weeks. This video is super helpful, as I am a first year vegetable gardener (even though I'm nearly 70). Right now, my pepper plants are loaded with unripe peppers. My growing experience was very similar to yours in New England. THANK YOU for this video, as well as your other pepper videos!! SUBSCRIBED

[ballincobalt]

I’ve been getting lows below freezing and highs in the 40-50s, I cut my plants off at the base and have them hanging upside down inside, they have been ripening up nicely so far

[PoisonBreaker]

Since I grow my peppers in pots, when I want to make them ripen faster due to weather/time of year. I stop watering. Probably similar to up rooting and hanging the plant but less drastic, takes about 2 weeks for whatever is left on the plants to fully ripen. Any foliage or peppers that are touching plastic or row cover when you cover them are very high risk of frost, if you can get a air gap it will be much better. Wasn't the best pepper year here either this year, hope we all get a nicer pepper year next summer. Great tips thanks.

[kentmagruder]

Great video. Here in Washington State, also had too much rain and had to pick peppers early since the leaves were falling off.

[MrAtda]

Sheesh we got like no spring to get a set of peppers going over summer. Summer was brutal. Ill be lucky to have peppers to protect this year...

[johndo]

Thanks SO much for this video! I'm in New England too and I was wondering this very thing today since the temperature just dropped

[sassyherbgardener]

You may want to use some hoops, or some stakes, when draping the row cover (or plastic) over your garden plants. Wherever frost, or ice, on the fabric comes in contact with the plant, it damages it, and makes it mushy. It dies and turns brown, as has to be clipped off. Just a tip I learned the hard way, and now most of the experts warn about this.

[Ishmaille]

I'd love to see a Rocoto update. Here in Colorado, we've been getting a lot of cool weather (above freezing), and my big Rocoto plants have finally exploded into flowers and peppers. I don't think I'll get a big harvest, but I'm hoping to at least get a few.

[harlots_hello]

Imo best way to speed up ripening is to stop watering peppers until turgor. Then water them just a tiny bit until they bounce back. This usually speeds up ripening a good 2-3 weeks.