Hey everyone,
This is my very first year ever growing peppers, so I honestly don’t know a ton yet, but I’ve completely fallen in love with the hobby. I’m currently running a 20-plant setup out in Georgia (Zone 8b) getting full sun from sunrise to sunset. Uploaded a couple of photos to show how they’re looking right now—hope I’m doing okay so far!
To give you an idea of what I'm working with, here is my current lineup: I have 3 Shishitos, including an older one I call "The Old Guard." I also have 1 Pink Tiger x Carolina Reaper ("The Nightstalker") solo in a 13-gallon pot, and 1 standard Carolina Reaper sharing another 13-gallon. For Ghosts, I'm growing 2 total, with "The Phantom" solo in a 13-gallon and "The Spectre" solo in a 7-gallon. Rounding out the hotter stuff, I've got 2 Pink Tiger x Peach Bhuts, 2 Red Savina Habaneros, 1 Scotch Bonnet, and 1 Tabasco Pepper. For the milder side, there are 2 Poblanos, including one named "The Soldier" sharing a 13-gallon, 3 Giant Jalapeños, which includes my mature one, "The Veteran Soldier," plus 1 Serrano and 1 Mexi-Bell.
Once the season wraps up later this year, I really want to try making my own small-batch hot sauces and fermented pepper mashes. But instead of just tossing the plants or starting over from seeds next spring, I wanted to try something pretty wild that I saw online.
My plan is to overwinter the mother plants by cutting them back and keeping most of them (especially the superhots) in a cool, very low-light area indoors so they just stay dormant until spring. I might keep just a couple of the milder ones, like the Jalapeños or Tabasco, active to act as structural rootstock. Right before I cut the mothers back, I want to take a bunch of clippings to clone them. I plan on running these clones indoors during the winter so I have mature, established plants ready to go right when March hits.
Since I am a total newbie to this, I have a few questions for the experts here:
1 Are grow lights highly recommended for keeping the fresh clones alive and growing through the winter? If so, what kind of basic light setup should a beginner look for?
2 Which variety from my list would make the best, toughest structural rootstock for the grafting project?
3 Any tips on managing a newly grafted clone indoors without triggering early flowering?
I would be incredibly grateful for any advice or pitfalls to look out for so I don't accidentally kill everything. Seriously, thank you so much in advance for any help or links you can share! I appreciate you guys taking the time to help a beginner out.
by SnooPineapples6958