overwintering indoor garden

[habbababba]

Hi, this is my first year growing chilies, I live in a small apartment with no balcony so all plants are doomed to an indoor life. I'm wondering how and if overwintering should be done?

First of all, what happens if I don't overwinter just keep them under light for the same time year around, will get tired and become weaker and weaker or do chilies have some kind of built in cycle? As it is now i keep the smaller plants under artificial light and the larger (or the all the ones I can fit next to or as close as possible to windows).

So, in short tips and thoughts about how to maintaine a year around indoor "traditional" garden. Thanks, and I will soon try to upload some pics in "show us your garden".

[saulir]

Hi, this is my first year growing chilies, I live in a small apartment with no balcony so all plants are doomed to an indoor life. I'm wondering how and if overwintering should be done?

First of all, what happens if I don't overwinter just keep them under light for the same time year around, will get tired and become weaker and weaker or do chilies have some kind of built in cycle? As it is now i keep the smaller plants under artificial light and the larger (or the all the ones I can fit next to or as close as possible to windows).

So, in short tips and thoughts about how to maintaine a year around indoor "traditional" garden. Thanks, and I will soon try to upload some pics in "show us your garden".

Overwintering is not necessary, if you don't grow c.pubescens. ( Pubescens-plants takes 8-10 months to grow pods in ripe phase )

Plants will grow in 5 months in adult phase, and will flower and finally do pods in about 6 to 7 months... even here in Finland. We have 3 months of summer here, and rest of the year, we have about 10celsius to -30celsius...
But if you want to overwinter your plants, they will grow even bigger and will do more pods, so it is convenient.

Energy saving lamps will do with overwintering. Use over 20W lamps, to get best grow, the more power, the better results. Many growers uses HPS lamps (High Pressure Sodium)but it's light is orange, and it's not so nice to eyes at indoors.

Also use less nutrients at winter than summer. Chile growing is not science, but it will easily be when the hobby gets more wind under it's wings

Welcome to infernochili forums!

[habbababba]

Sorry, I don't think I was clear on my main question. Because I don't want to throw the plants away and start over next year I'm gonna keep most of them for as long as they live  (I hope a number of years) and try to get as much pods as possible. So I wonder if you have to let them rest in some periods, or just keep them in as much light as possible. I assume that they will keep producing pods if tou keep them under lights and pick of the mature pods as they ripen, but for how long can they keep on going if they are kept under CFL? Remember it's indoor all year so the climate won't change much except better light condition during summer months. (I live in Sweden in the Stockholm area by the way.)