Overwintering Peppers

I am overwinter some peppers.
I grew them in 5 gallon sub irrigated buckets and they did well, considering the were overshadowed by the nearby tomatoes.

To prep the peppers, I cut them back hard and filled the sub irrigation reservoirs to overflowing.

I've had problems with keeping overwintered peppers properly hydrated, dormant and safe from mice.
This year I'm using some bucket bells to adress these issues
They are left over from a wintersowing potatoe experiment.

Here is a photo of the plant, bell, and bell lid:

I've read that people do that successfully. I bring them in and put them under lights and keep a light trickles of harvests going all winter, but it's not the cheapest hobby in the world.

I am trying to overwinter them in dormant state this year. I dug up five plants and trimmed down to less than one foot tall. I also kept the root balls small enough so jam them all in a five-gallon pot to save the room. The plants are staying in a dark corner of the coldest part of the house and the few remaining leaves are just turning yellow. So far so good.

Hello,

I do nothing, absolutely nothing for them in the late fall...and like a miracle they return the next year and give me even more peppers...I just don't deserve them because I do so little and they give so much :)