I think it probably wouldn't hurt and might help in her climate. I probably wouldn't use one here because we have so much sunlight, even on cold days, that plants inside these little plastic houses tend to roast on sunny days. Since she lives in a sunlight-challenged area, I doubt her plants will roast on the occasional sunny day. However, to ensure they don't roast, if I were using one and were leaving for the day, I'd unzip the door to vent the little growhouse/greenhouse in order to avoid a heat buildup if the sun amazingly comes out from behind the clouds. The great issue in Seattle isn't the length of the growing season, as you've noticed, but rather the lack of heat units or heating degree days. They stay above freezing a long time but don't have a lot of real heat, and tomatoes need a steady supply of heat in order to produce well and in order to produce tomatoes with good flavor. Beefsteak might not have been the best variety for her to pick. It can take a very long time to fruit and flower. If I were in Seattle, I'd likely choose something with a shorter DTM. Dr. James Baggett and other plant breeders at Oregon State University have bred tomatoes specifically for that climate that she might like to try in some future year. Bell peppers are more tolerant of cooler temperatures and won't suffer from the heat there the way they can here. If I were trying to grow tomatoes and peppers there, I'd have them in containers and place them on a concrete slab, if possible as they might pick up a little more heat that way. A concrete slab with a south-facing or west-facing wall would be even better as there likely would be more heat gain from sunlight (when they have it) reflecting from the wall and the slab up onto the plant. Also, the slab would heat up during the day and release the heat at night when might keep her plants a few degrees warmer. That's important in terms of fertilization. Territorial Seed Company is based in Oregon and specializes in plants for the kind of conditions they have there in the Pacific Northwest. I'm going to link their website below. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Territorial Seed Company

Thanks for the link John. This was my first year growing ghost peppers, and I now realize this plant is not what is was labeled at the nursery. I do have some chocolate ghosts that do display the proper shape, size, and skin texture. No comparison between the two. I'm not completely sold on the thought it is a Trinidad Scorpion, though. I've grown these in previous years and mine all had a very bumpy skin texture. These are almost smooth. They also don't display the "stinger" shape that gave the Scorpion its name. I'm inclined to agree with one of the earlier posters that it is a habanero or hybrid. I have a Caribbean Red, with a few pods getting ready to ripen. I'll post a side by side shot when they do, as I think these two plants are one in the same. Whatever it turns out to be, the recipients of the peppers I grow will still be happy. Most of my garden harvest goes to a church run food bank, but the super hots go to a relative of a work associate that makes one mean hot sauce with them. He usually reciprocates by sending me back at least one small bottle of the sauce. I won't be able to try it this year, but hoping to do so next season.

Thanks for the pictures--some of the most beautiful I've ever seen! We have beautiful, old established plumerias in my valley neighborhood. I have a very large plumeria that a grower identified as 'Cinnamon Burgundy.' I bought it at Lowe's about 10 years ago, marked as 'white with yellow.' It puts out masses of beautiful dark red/violet blooms reliably every year. Everyone wants to hack at my tree and this year I finally put an end to it--not one person that has taken a cutting has had any luck getting the cuttings to take. I just bought a variety at the LA County Fair marked 'Maui Red'--hopefully it will be a deep red like the cinnamon burgundy.

I had not planned to bring my plants inside. They are not in containers. I will pick my chiles before a frost. Do the pods on your plants continue to size up during the cool days leading up to the frost? Since you leave them outside until then, I guess that means they do. Thanks for your help, John. Jim