Any benefit to growing perennial nightshade family?

I kept seeing YouTube videos this fall about how peppers and eggplants and tomatoes are actually perennials and you can dig them up and bring them inside over the winter to get a head start next spring. I decided to try it with four eggplants and four peppers since they usually don't fruit for me until late August. It would be really nice to be able to start harvesting for as early as June or July. Unfortunately my plants were shocked by the transition. Only one pepper and one eggplant survived. Then I discovered last week that one eggplant is absolutely covered with aphids and the pepper plant is just looks so sad and half dead.

Does anyone do this? Is it worth it? What benefits have you experienced from growing these plants as perennials? How do you do it?

I normally start my peppers, eggplants and tomatoes in February. I'm thinking that I could just start a couple of each in giant pots right now. Maybe even leave those ones in pots to bring in and out each year. Just trying to figure out if the real estate it would take in my house is worth it. (My dining room is completely devoted to growing plants and seed starting so I do have space but come February and March, that room gets pretty crowded.)

I think it depends heavily on your climate. I believe I heard some people saying they keep eggplant all year in Portugal? That may be wrong.

I saw some farmers here cut back and defoliate their eggplant recently, maybe mid November? I'm not sure if they're intending to overwinter it or if they were pruning to encourage growth... I'll check the status next time I walk by that plot.

It can work in mild climates, at least! Here in central California it's not rare for a pepper or tomato plant to last multiple years, uncovered and in the ground.

I have managed to overwinter hot pepper plants in a pot on my window sill. I'm a bit further north than you but similar mild winters I guess? I moved them out to the polytunnel. Those i planted out in the soil there did better than those left in their pots (I am cruel to pot plants I'm afraid) I think I got one through 2 winters, and it was certainly one less thing to do in spring. I must try and bring some in this winter before it's too late. I gather it's best to give them a heavy prune when you bring them in.
I tried with sharks fin melon and tomatoes (can't remember the variety) but neither of those survived the windowsill. I think it was too cold for the melon at least.
There's a few poeple trying to breed more cold hardy tomatoes see this post for example. I think as well that the hardiness or longevity of the capiscum varies with variety. Hot ones are more likely to overwinter I believe.

Eggplants grow wild in their native South Asia.

We have had peppers and tomatoes grow here when we pick the fruit in December.  We bring the fruit in to ripen and the plant just keeps growing.  I never thought about just cutting the plant back in the spring and let it keep growing.

I have a really hard time dealing with aphids.  I had a milkweed that I just could not keep the aphids and ants off so I just quit watering it so it died. And I would not like having them in my house.

As an experiment why not do like L Johnson suggested that "some farmers here cut back and defoliate their eggplant"?

Do this with all three, the peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes.  Cut the leaves back and defoliate them and see what happens.

If you decide to do this experiment, please let us know how it turns out.

This sound like a good idea to try. but with the results you got, I would try two things:

First, if you can have those plants in a spot where they just won't get cold, like a greenhouse; maybe setting up one around them, or having a micro-climate that keep enough eat and gives it back at night, like a huge stone,a wall...  however in my experience they just won't tolerate frost; or maybe they can tolerate frost, but only if they are thawed reaaally slowly (like with some flower or fruits, like Sepp Holzer does), but it's an hypothesis.

Second, maybe layering, instead of digging up the plant would be better ? Tomatoes stem will root if covered, so maybe it could be used to spread one plant to a container, then you cut it and put the container in a warm enough spot.

Also, maybe there are cold hardy heirloom varieties that could be used, but I don't know of any.

Mike Lafay wrote:This sound like a good idea to try. but with the results you got, I would try two things:

First, if you can have those plants in a spot where they just won't get cold, like a greenhouse; maybe setting up one around them, or having a micro-climate that keep enough eat and gives it back at night, like a huge stone,a wall...  however in my experience they just won't tolerate frost; or maybe they can tolerate frost, but only if they are thawed reaaally slowly (like with some flower or fruits, like Sepp Holzer does), but it's an hypothesis.

Second, maybe layering, instead of digging up the plant would be better ? Tomatoes stem will root if covered, so maybe it could be used to spread one plant to a container, then you cut it and put the container in a warm enough spot.

Also, maybe there are cold hardy heirloom varieties that could be used, but I don't know of any.

I like Mike's idea of creating a microclimate.

To me covering plants to keep the frost off the plant really helps though I don't have any idea how low of temperature plants like tomatoes can survive but I have read that cutting off damaged area will help a tomato to come back.

I brought in a potted jalapeno this year to try overwintering it. So far its happy enough with no special treatment.  Tomatoes I would not bother with in my location, because they have usually picked up some fungal disease by the fall, and I suspect any indoor winter growth would be weak and leggy. Better to start new plants.

I'm trying to overwinter a sweet pepper plant.
I've tried before, with no success.
Ar least one failure I blame on mice.
This time, it's located in the cool but not cold basement, under a regular led bulb.
It was growing in a container to begin with, so no transplant shock.
I'm not watering it much, or checking it very often, but it remains green and pretty healthy looking.

I have been taking tomato cuttings to over winter successfully. It saved me money to buy new ones every year and I have extra to share.

I tried for the first time to over winter my bell pepper plants indoor. I dug up the plants about one week before frost to repot. One plant had a smaller root ball and wilted so I trimmed it down to a few branches. It survived and started growing new buds near the base. Another one I used a big pot and the whole thing weighs 40 lbs. This one experienced minimal shock and kept on maturing peppers and produced new ones too.

I did find some aphids and just eliminated them by hand. Just don't overlook those tiny cocoons.

Starting nightshades much earlier indoor is a good idea. Bigger plants will produce earlier. Also warm up the soil around peppers somehow so they won't stall after transplanting.

Photo attached is my 2ft wide pepper plant by a SWS window. That bell pepper is grown entirely indoor. The small one in the back is another pepper rooted from cutting.

Here's the plant I was talking about:

Anne Miller wrote:Eggplants grow wild in their native South Asia.

We have had peppers and tomatoes grow here when we pick the fruit in December.  We bring the fruit in to ripen and the plant just keeps growing.  I never thought about just cutting the plant back in the spring and let it keep growing.

I have a really hard time dealing with aphids.  I had a milkweed that I just could not keep the aphids and ants off so I just quit watering it so it died. And I would not like having them in my house.

As an experiment why not do like L Johnson suggested that "some farmers here cut back and defoliate their eggplant"?

Do this with all three, the peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes.  Cut the leaves back and defoliate them and see what happens.

If you decide to do this experiment, please let us know how it turns out.

Yeah I'm not happy that I brought aphids into my house. 😭

The weather and climate in my area won't work for over wintering outside in the field, not without a heated greenhouse. By October all my peppers, tomatoes and eggplant have defoliated themselves and a couple weeks later they have rotted to where there are no roots left because of our soaking freezing rain. I have seen some neighbors cover theirs with plastic and it seems to give them an extra month before they die.

I routinely do not remove or "clean up" my garden in the fall because I have had wonderful surprises or plants coming back from the dead in spring, of things that aren't supposed to be perennial (at least not in my climate). I have a broccoli plant that is five years old! And artichokes aren't supposedly perennials here but they are perennials in my garden.  I also get volunteer cherry and small Roma-type tomatoes and tomatillos so those self-seed nicely for me but they are definitely from seeds and not resprouting from the base of old plants. I love finding garden surprises like those.

Mk Neal wrote:I brought in a potted jalapeno this year to try overwintering it. So far its happy enough with no special treatment.  Tomatoes I would not bother with in my location, because they have usually picked up some fungal disease by the fall, and I suspect any indoor winter growth would be weak and leggy. Better to start new plants.

That is a great point that starting from seed each year will reduce the chance of overwintering disease.

This is the only pepper that is doing well. It was teeny tiny though so I don't think its root were disturbed when I dug it up. It is actually pretty happy, blossomed and set fruit. There were some sugar ants crawling in it so I think they pollinated it.

This tomato sprouted out of some dried up compost that was sitting under cover on my porch all summer (no rain or any kind of water for 4+months)... It sprouted in September (cold weather) and the compost felt as dry as dust so just the humidity in the air I guess was keeping it alive. It was over 12" tall when I took pity on it and put it in a real pot and started watering it. It's keeping the pepper in my previous picture  company.

I checked the "seed starter's manual" book and seed pack from Baker creek, both recommend starting 8 to 12 weeks before last frost date for pepper and eggplant. 6 to 8 weeks for tomatoes.

May Lotito wrote:I have been taking tomato cuttings to over winter successfully. It saved me money to buy new ones every year and I have extra to share.

I tried for the first time to over winter my bell pepper plants indoor. I dug up the plants about one week before frost to repot. One plant had a smaller root ball and wilted so I trimmed it down to a few branches. It survived and started growing new buds near the base. Another one I used a big pot and the whole thing weighs 40 lbs. This one experienced minimal shock and kept on maturing peppers and produced new ones too.

I did find some aphids and just eliminated them by hand. Just don't overlook those tiny cocoons.

Starting nightshades much earlier indoor is a good idea. Bigger plants will produce earlier. Also warm up the soil around peppers somehow so they won't stall after transplanting.

Photo attached is my 2ft wide pepper plant by a SWS window. That bell pepper is grown entirely indoor. The small one in the back is another pepper rooted from cutting.

I think taking cuttings sounds like a good idea, a little easier and less heavy as well.  I will try rooting cuttings next fall rather than digging up the whole plants. Then I don't have to worry about shocking the roots, just grow altogether new roots. Or dragging giant pots of dirt into my house from my garden!

I just want to follow up on this topic. My potted pepper overwintered just fine indoor throughout the winter. It lost half of the old leaves but grew lots of new ones too. Aphids were a big concern and I had to bring the plant out a couple times to hose off the bugs. Some still spreaded to my other seedlings indoor. To look at the bright side, at least they provide food for dear lady bug early in the season.

Another more practical way of growing pepper is to start early e.g. 12 weeks before last frost date. Here are the solanum I started 12w and 8w before last frost date( still 2 weeks ahead). The 10w old eggplant and bell pepper both have flower buds developing at this stage. In comparison, tomato grows much faster and doesn't need to be started so early.

Jenny Wright wrote:This tomato sprouted out of some dried up compost that was sitting under cover on my porch all summer (no rain or any kind of water for 4+months)... It sprouted in September (cold weather) and the compost felt as dry as dust so just the humidity in the air I guess was keeping it alive. It was over 12" tall when I took pity on it and put it in a real pot and started watering it. It's keeping the pepper in my previous picture  company.

This tomato has reached the ceiling of the 8' room and just produced two cherry tomatoes this week that were promptly eaten by my tomato loving children. It's a spindly neglected thing. I think I'll bury the whole thing except for the very end in the garden and see what it does when it actually has roots and nutrients.

Jenny Wright wrote:This is the only pepper that is doing well. It was teeny tiny though so I don't think its root were disturbed when I dug it up. It is actually pretty happy, blossomed and set fruit. There were some sugar ants crawling in it so I think they pollinated it.

This pepper is going strong. It's produced about 1-2 peppers a month through the winter. Lots of blossoms, but I haven't fertilized it at all. It would probably be happier with a little compost.