Will peppers survive frost in a mini greenhouse?

[willyg]

Ive got tomatoes and peppers and chillis in a mini greenhouse, but there is frost due next week. my question to you all is will they survive the frost? should i move them to my large polytunnel or bring them inside?
there is 42 seedlings in total but i maybe could make room for them in my house at night if i had to
i really dont want them to die

 

[Chuck]

Ive got tomatoes and peppers and chillis in a mini greenhouse, but there is frost due next week. my question to you all is will they survive the frost? should i move them to my large polytunnel or bring them inside?
there is 42 seedlings in total but i maybe could make room for them in my house at night if i had to
i really dont want them to die

If the frost actually hits them goodby plants. If it doesn't frost but still freezes for a short period of time they will probably be OK. I would take them in

 

[Plantdoctor]

Cover them at night with newspaper, take it off in the morning.

They will be fine,at this time of year.

 

[willyg]

nice one, how do i apply the newspaper?

 

[willyg]

yeah i might take them in if it gets too cold

 

[Plantdoctor]

nice one, how do i apply the newspaper?

Just drape a few sheets ,take them away from near the glass first.

 

[willyg]

its only a wee 2 ft plastic greenhouse i bought in b and q though

 

[Plantdoctor]

Then move them into the polytunnel,if it has a door on it..

 

[Bootsy]

They should survive in the polytunnel but it would be best to bring them indoors. Chillies prefer not to have the temperature drop below 50F otherwise they take a little longer to recover. At 60F they are comfortable but would be much happier above that temperature.

I sell chilli plants and have experimented at different temperatures. A few nights where they drop to 50F can slow them down by a couple of weeks compared to those that are kept at 70F. Funnily enough, we've found that chillies that are of the hottest breeds (usually related to the Naga - such as Bhut Jolokia) are slower growers and prefer higher germination temperatures.

 

[willyg]

i have still got them in the little greenhouse. i have noticed they have been very slow growing over this past month cuz the temps have been low , around 6 celcius at night maybe im not sure, but it has warmed up this week and they have doubled in size. the nighttime temps are about 8 celcius day time is 15, and the greenhouse holds the heat at night so it must be above 10 celcius now at night in there which is 50 f cuz they are growing well, but the polytunnel doesnt hold the heat well at night, not as well as the little greenhouse.
it gets roasting hot in the polytunnel during the day, 5 minutes in there and you are sweating heavily.i dont have a thermomiter but its pretty hot.
would the hot temperatures benefits outweigh the negative colder nighttime temperatures in the polytunnel?

 

[Plantdoctor]

You need an even temperature, too cold ,too hot,they just stop growing.

It is May, sun is getting higher, they should be in the polytunnel now, needs ventilation and consider some sort of shading .

 

[Bootsy]

Yes, the heat would help as long as it doesn't get too hot. Are you able to ventilate the poly? Do you have a door at each end? If not then you would need to water the plant more frequently and keep the ground damper.

If you have a solid or paved path then water that as well. The evaporation will help keep the air temperature lower but air flow is better.

If you don't have ventilation or a door at each end then think about making one. It will make a big difference to most things in the poly.

 

[willyg]

my polytunnel has too doors , one on each end we just got them on a few days ago. i have them both open now and im going to plant the peppers and chillis in the raised bed in there now in the evening when its cooler. having the doors open really cooled it down though, should i have them open all day?
there is a large tree and an electricity pole on the south side of the tunnel will that give it enough shade?

 

[Bootsy]

Opening and closing the doors depends on the heat inside. maintaining a temperature in the comfortable range for them would result in a better crop.

To save me a lot of typing here's a good link form the Royal Horticultural Society explaining things

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=664

 

[willyg]

thanks for the link bootsy, it was saying to plant them in their final position when they are at flowering height. ive had them a few weeks now and due to the cold temps they are still small. should i plant them yet? or just leave the pots in the greenhouse till they get bigger?
here they are