Hmmm, that is interesting. I really cannot tell you what might be the problem. Maybe some more details might help. Soil, fertilizers, watering schedule, light, etc...

I would say trim the branches with the black and ooze but it seems you would wind up cutting some off at the soil line.
Bruce

when were they brought in? Looks alot like how mine die off after a frost

They are in the same containers as they were grown in. So nothing has changes in terms of soil. I have not fertilized them or watered them. Though they did get a heavy dose of rain the week before I brought them in if that makes a difference.

They are in a garage with shop lights, so very low light. I put on a fan for a few hours a day to give some air circulation. My aim is to just keep them alive until next season not to have them grow any.

Yes, I feel as if I were to cut off the 'bad' parts I would soon have nothing left.

I wonder if anyone else has had these problems?

They got cold down to 38 or so but did not freeze, I am fairly confident of that. I had that problem last year.

All my peppers were out in the same conditions and came in at the same time. And it seems random as to the ones that have or seem to be developing the same problems. I did try to rinse them off thoroughly if there something might have been clinging to them but maybe it is some pest that was in the soil???

My guess is that they got too cold one or more evenings either before or after bringing them in. Even if you get them in before a hard frost they still will suffer from prolonged exposure to cold. Peppers don't do well with temps getting much below 50 never mind 40. They can handle a few hours of 40 for a night here an there but when the temps are getting in the 40's in your garage night after night, with artificial sunlight and not getting the daytime warmup each afternoon, they will suffer. If you want to overwinter them, I suggest you get them inside where the temps are more favorable. If not, they will likely "die" off. But there is a good chance that if they don't ever really freeze, they will sprout up from the soil line next spring. The exposed parts will likely die off completely. The key is the roots.

Bruce

To me those dark spots on the stems look symptomatic of root rot. Which could be the case considering the extreme pruning coupled with the rain soaked soil. With no leaves to pull the water out via transpiration, there could be trouble, depending on the soil type. Which isn't to say that I disagree with anything Bruce said, I agree with him, far as my knowledge goes :) It just really made me think root rot when I saw the pictures.

sunnible7 makes a good point. I was concerned about your comment on rain soaked soil prior to bringing them in. I figure if you thought it was worth bringing up you probably thought it might be an issue....and it very well could be. If I were you at this point, I would pull them from their current pot and repot them in smaller containers with new damp (not wet) soil. Prune the roots back before repotting. Then over winter them indoors. Your garage in zone 6 is just not going to be warm enough unless you heat it. And dont be afraid to cut back the roots.
Bruce

Thanks for all the info. I'm just trying to get ahead and doing the best I can with what I have.

I kept them out that long because I had many unripe peppers and others that I had to process some way. I, perhaps like some out there, just can't seem to grow only a few. The soil drains pretty well but if it is due to being too wet and getting root rot hopefully I will not lose but a few.

The oozing I mentioned along with the root rot and too much water now makes me think that that aspect is caused by all that water and oozing due to capillary action. A la what sunnibel7 says about lack of transpiration.

I only have so many smaller pots for singles and have already put 3-4 plants in a 12" wide by 9", not to the extent of root pruning as esox07 shows but around a med cantaloupe size as shown below. These are the ones mainly from the garden and some from the 5 gal. These ones and the singles I have don't show any of the things I mentioned, only those still in the 5 and 10 gal. So more roots, more soil, more water means more of a problem I guess.

I'd say it is 50-55 in the garage maybe as low as 45 in the middle of winter. I was planning to hang shoplights over them. I don't have enough room inside for all of them unless I cut them back what esox07 photos show and even then it would be a challenge to get all of them someplace good. So the garage is all I have and I know it is a long shot at best, again just trying to get ahead and hoping if this works it is easier than growing from seed.

Will try to see if I can get some containers together to dig the bad ones out and repot and hope that helps them and prevents it in the others. Hopefully the fan blowing over the soil is having some effect to dry things out, not as much as a repot but hopefully it bought me some time on the others.

I appreciate all the help.

Another thing to consider would be light intensity. When I grow peppers under shop lights, I like to keep the top of the plants within an inch or two of the lights. If you have the lights several feet or more above the plants then that's not much better than sticking them in a dark closet and they may simply be starving to death from lack of light for photosynthesis.

don555 I am going to try to get the lights as close as I can, perhaps with some clever rigging but I don't plan to grow per se but just to keep living. Either way I will shoot for with in a few inches like you mentioned.

Thanks