I would try starting some of the seeds.
Peppers are perennial if kept from freezing, I dig and pot my favorite plants in the autumn before hard frost...
I've had plants that lived 5 years.
Sometimes the pepper seed can be difficult to encourage to break dormancy, but that may be a result of getting too hot during storage.
I would dig a nice seed bed outside, and plant a few seeds in row(s). see what happens.
Also, I've had success starting a few seeds in a large pot filled with garden soil... just set the pot outside and keep soil moist.
