Both. It does give you earlier harvests when you start with more mature plants.

Awesome! So glad to hear you have had success overwintering peppers and eggplants. Very cool.

I bring my entire pepper plant indoors, and bring them out as soon as outside temperature is warm enough. And within couple of weeks it’s starts flowering and fruits sets early. I intentionally keep a few pepper plants in the pot to avoid digging from the raised bed ( it does work that way as well). I have saved same plant in the large enough pot for 3-4 years, before it died due to my negligence. Same with eggplant too.

Yes, you continue to care for them through the winter. Potting them up into small pots in a month or two would be a good idea, and keep them regularly pruned. Make sure they get plenty of light so they don’t grow leggy. And be sure to harden them off before planting them outdoors in the spring.

I haven’t tried it with peppers because I suspect they will be more sensitive to the cold temps in the fridge, but you could give it a go and report back.

It’s long-fiber sphagnum moss that is in a sheet instead of pulled into individual fibers. You can find it online or at florist shops.

Yes.

It might. I haven’t tried it yet, but my guess is that pepper plants will be more sensitive to the cold temps in your fridge. But it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.