[Wneighbor]

Have you ever tried to carry over a couple of tomato plants from the previous year by bringing them indoors, for over wintering ?

I overwinter tomatoes in pots inside the house. They don't do quite as well as peppers for me but usually half to 2/3 rebound very well once spring arrives. I feed them well when I first bring them in from the cold and then don't feed again till late winter when they begin to show more growth. I water normally until all tomatoes have been harvested then cut back on watering. In spring I plant them out or repot in fresh soil, feed well and very quickly those tomatoes begin producing.

Usually a tomato given such care produces better the second year than the first but, for me, I've found that the tomatoes are pretty much "used up" then. I keep peppers in the same manner but they last longer, at least 3 years and I have 2 in my sunroom with me now on their 5th winter. (I know you asked about maters, but these 2 nightshades have so much in common.)

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Wneighbor :" I keep peppers in the same manner but they last longer, at least 3 years and I have 2 in my sunroom with me now on their 5th winter.
(I know you asked about maters, but these 2 nightshades have so much in common.)"

True about both tomatoes and peppers being in the same solanacious family, and many new gardeners don't know enough to rotate the nightshade crops.
Glad to hear about your long-term success with peppers.
Question: do you keep just the mother plant, or do you make cuttings/rootings from side shoots ?
Yes, I agree that peppers may be somewhat more tolerant to decreased light and/or temperature conditions
Are you selectively breeding for over-wintering conditions ?

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

TIK :" Are you selectively breeding for over-wintering conditions ?

The other part of that last question was supposed to be " or is it just happenstance ?"

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Prayers up for you last night when I saw your post
Prayers for you, and your hisband, and a full recovery for you.
Look at it this way, now your husband knows how much effort you put into the garden, to keep him fed ! LOL !
I had no interest in horticulture when I was in my early 20's, until my mother went to Florida and I was responsible for about 150 plants that she had for spring sale.
These plants were a fund raiser for my mom's college spring plant sale: African violets (temperamental), "mother-of-a- million(indestructible), bromiliads, and aloe Vera.
It was the success there that I found that I enjoyed the plants, and later led me to pursue Master Gardener training, and later working in a 4 acre greenhouse .
So, you never know what effect his taking care of the garden may occur.
You might challenge him that you can grow more food than he can , and this might excite his competitive spirit, and he can grow what he likes to eat.