Well winter is well and truly approaching as the temperatures are falling and we are in danger of having our first frost. Its about this time of the year that there are a few jobs I’ve been putting off and the garden needs a bit of a tidy up before winter fully sets in.
Many of my chilli plants are looking more than scruffy as the leaves go yellow and start to die away. Now the temperatures have fallen i’ve moved all of my outdoor plants inside the chilli house (a conservatory) to protect them from any early frosts.
Some of the plants foliage has already started to die back, particularly on those plants that have been outside for the last few weeks. Today I’ve trimmed back all of the dead growth and removed any rotting/malformed fruit.
In addition to giving the chilli plants a good haircut i’ve also had a general clean up in the chilli house. This has involved throwing out several dead plants, trimming back what is left of my tomato plants (that are still just about fruiting) and generally having a good sweep up. The aim of this clean up is to help prevent any rot, mould or disease setting in and make my SPring clean a bit of an easier job when the time comes.
Sometime in the next few weeks (when time allows) i’ll select the strongest plants and prepare them for over wintering. Overwintering plants, particularly slow fruiting varieties such as habanero and scotch bonnet enables you to get a good head start on the following season. I’ll write more about this on the time but in the mean time here is some reading to get you ready
– Over Wintering Chillies Guide
– Last years overwintering part 1
– Last years overwintering part 2
– Last years overwintering part 3
