fancy colored peppers indoors?

[swords]

Hey guys I'm gonna be cleaning big red, orange and yellow peppers and I was curious if I can save the seeds and grow my own peppers indoors? These colored ones are way more $$ than the green but if I had my own plants it would be nice.

Is there a way to store them "fresh" (like by freezing) so they can be harvested when ready and then used whenever needed? I tried to freeze unused zucchini but it defrosted into mush.

 

[droseraguy]

It's not impossible but pretty close unless you have lowland conditions already. Heat, light and a long time.

 

[seedjar]

Like tomatoes, peppers don't really like the cold. I used to get flash-frozen peppers from Trader Joe's that were OK when they came home from the store, but they didn't really keep in the freezer very long before freezerburn took over. But if you grow your own indoors, you have a pretty broad window to use them as they ripen on the plant. You could also pickle them or something, I imagine.
droseraguy has a good point - they want warmth to grow. They're a good candidate for sodium vapor lighting.
~Joe

 

[swords]

Heat is no problem for me. I could probably turn off my heat and have a warm apt just from the heat from the family downstairs.... I keep it set below "comfort level" and the thermometers around the house still say 78*F, under lights you can add more heat to that... Cooling enough for HL for me is the chore despite being in MN.

 

[boxofrain]

I have grown cayenne peppers indoors..Metal Halide 1000K, 16 hours a day.
Grow like weeds and throw lots of fruit.

 

[dionae]

I plan on growing some Bolivian Rainbow Peppers indoors. They like lots of light, high humidity and warmth. They're tropical plants, if i'm not mistaken. I'm going to veg mine under T5s then when it starts flowering i'm going to put it under a HPS.

 

[millworkman]

Capsicums grow and bloom at the same time. Changing bulbs is unnecessary. Keep them under the T5s and they will be plenty happy.

 

[dionae]

Capsicums grow and bloom at the same time. Changing bulbs is unnecessary. Keep them under the T5s and they will be plenty happy.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[swords]

Ah, wiki sez Capsicum are a Solanacae. So I wonder if the pepper plants (leaves) have some of the same alkaloids as Datura, Tomato and Nightshade I wonder if it's safe indoors with the cats...

 

[dionae]

The peppers are edible as far as I know. they are supposedly very hot though so idk if you want your cats nibbling on them.

 

[swords]

No, I mean just the leaves, Tomato leaves are toxic.

I'm only interested in growing the apple sized cooking peppers like a green pepper only red, yellow and orange. NOT the Bahut Jalookia or Scotch Bonnet I can't even eat green peppers much (heartburn) but the colored ones are milder with less acid. They just cost 4 x as much. I figured a couple plants in big pots would be nice to try. Outside in good weather under lights in winter. I wonder if they can be "perpetual flowering/fruiting" with heavy ferts and steady light cycle? Daturas flower and fruit continuously with heavy ferts. With Daturas I fertilize with bloom formula in every watering.

 

[seedjar]

I think tomatoes and peppers are both nightshades, so they probably share the toxicity. Mmm, deadly deadly nightshade.
I don't know about continuous fruiting but I've seen pepper plants cycled between vegetative growth and flowering for several seasons for multiple crops. You can do a continuous drip-feed in pure hydroton and grow them huge. All you need is a fountain pump and a good drainage tray - they've got these big concrete mixing tubs at Home Depot for $12 that work great.
My apartment is on the cool side so peppers are a no go for me, but I'm going to be growing some hydroponic kale and various herbs once I make some shelf space. It's a lot easier than you'd think from listening to weed growers. XD
~Joe