Growing peppers in Pots is a great way to extend the harvest for those growing in short seasons!
These habaneros and herbs shown above were picked in mid-November in Denver, Colorado – grown in pots that were moved into a small garden bed hoop house to keep them warm through the fall snows and frosts. Denver had an exceptionally warm fall and so peppers were picked all the way through mid-November! In the Front Range, it was an unusually long season in 2024, but the un-heated hoop house kept the potted peppers just warm enough that the frost didn't wipe them out as early as it does in most years.
A little cover helps for sure, and potted peppers are especially great for short seasons as you can move them to cover if an late or early frost is expected in the spring and fall.
Learn more about growing peppers in pots »
In the fall, the pepper pots were moved into the hoop house on nights that fell below 50˚F, and moved out into the sunniest part of the yard during the day. This helped keep them growing and ripening the peppers well into November on this particular year. Granted, there were not too many cold spells as it was a fairly warm fall, but it was cold at night and the hoop house made all the difference.
While they aren't super happy with the cold nighttime temperatures and shorter days, these potted Habanero and other pepper plants above were able to continue to ripen all the green pods as it stayed warm enough not to get frosted in the un-heated hoop house until mid-November in 2024. Pretty impressive! Trapped heat from the day in the soil helped to keep them warm enough even when the temperatures dropped below freezing on some nights.
If you want to keep your peppers growing for a longer season but you live in a short growing zone like zone 5, potted peppers are perfect as you can move them to a warm covered spot to avoid frost to keep them going long into fall.
Hoop houses are also great for spring!
Pictured above is the hoop house working to protect spring seedlings from late frosts and snowstorms in early May. The peppers and tomatoes were started indoors under lights in March/April, and then brought outside to harden off. A small garden bed hoop house can really help with hardening them off, and you can leave them outside on cold nights when covered (as long as it doesn't get too cold for too long!) The greenhouse film traps the heat from the day and keeps everyone cozy at night. Then during the day it is opened so that the plants can benefit from the breezes and sun to get hardened off and ready for transplanting. Hoop houses can trap heat, so be sure to vent and open them on sunny days or you'll end up cooking your plants.
Using pepper plant containers is a great way to expand your gardening space and your growing season!
You can also use cold frames or even milk jugs or other containers or frost clothes to keep seedlings warm at night in the spring months! Get creative! You can extend short growing seasons by several weeks if you work with some cover for your plants for cold spells.
Want ideas for what kinds of peppers do well in pots?
Check out out Collection: Best Peppers for Pots »
Happy growing!
