I'm right on the 8 border and I kicked all mine outside outright. We are 60s all week and not cold at night. They were all in my bedroom so I was kind of over it. They have taken well to my tough love.

I have found that unless I wait until they are almost ready to fall off (I grab a pepper and twist slightly, if it comes free it's ready- also don't have to worry about removing stem or cap, they stay on the plant). Last year it turned cold too fast and I ended up using them before they were almost over ripe, the sauce really tasted nasty, tasted like the bottled stuff in the store. If you wait until they are really ripe you get a really flavorful sweet sauce. Jalapenos, fine green, tabascos, nasty nasty nasty. Well, I assume nasty since orange is pretty foul. I even use the ones that have shriveled a bit. Pam p.s. I got your humor Judo! I thought it was pretty funny myself, I knew you knew better than that. This post was edited by kuvaszlvr on Wed, Oct 9, 13 at 8:18

This is the stuffed peppers recipe I use. I also use the sauce and the filling to put into the giant pasta shells and manicotti pasta tubes for a different take on it. 6 large green peppers 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves 2 tablespoons butter or oil 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 cup chopped celery 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 can( 1 lb) tomatoes, Undrained 1 egg 1 can (8oz) tomato sauce 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 clove garlic, crushed 2 lbs ground beef ( can be chuck or very lean, your choice) 1 1/2 cups cooked white rice 1. Cook rice this way- Take 1 /12 cups of water and bring to a boil. Put a small amount of butter or oil in the water to prevent sticking together. When water boils, put rice in and stir to separate the grains. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat without a lid. Use a timer. Then cook 5 minutes with a lid, then turn off heat and remove from burner and let sit covered for 25 minutes. 2. Cut tops of peppers off, remove ribs and seeds. Chop the edible portion of the tops and set aside. Wash the peppers. 3. Place peppers in a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let peppers sit for 5 minutes. Drain Peppers and set aside. 4. In butter or oil, in medium skillet , saute chopped green pepper, chopped celery and onion for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. 5. Add tomatoes with liquid, tomato sauce, garlic, basil and oregano 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper. Break up the whole tomatoes. Simmer , uncovered , for 10 minutes. 6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl , combine egg with remaining salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Beat with fork to combine. 8. Add the beef rice and 1 cup of the tomato sauce, may need a little more use your judgment. Mix well. 9. Stuff the peppers with the beef mixture. Place a small amount of the sauce in a 3 quart casserole dish. Pour remaining suace over the peppers. Bake uncovered, for 1 hour. Makes 6 servings. Enjoy it.

Maybe something like a grouping of 3 columnar hornbeams would work. I use these frequently in designs for privacy screening as they are available in a decent size already for a modest cost, grow pretty rapidly, do not take up much real estate and are less oppressive than a planting of coniferous evergreens. I favor Carpinus betulus 'Frans Fontaine', which comes highly recommended for this area by Great Plant Picks. Readily available at 10-12' to begin with, should hit 20' within 5 years. And stays quite tight and narrow...the crown seldom wider than 10'. And while they are deciduous, the have such a dense, upward growing branch structure they provide decent screening even when leafless in winter (and when privacy concerns are less pressing). Bright gold fall color and virtually NO pest or disease issues. btw, I used 3 of these for fenceline screening in a back garden one quarter the size of yours!! On their second year, they have already put on about 18" of growth and the client loves them!