Blossombuddy - yours look a little smaller than mine, which is probably because you are two zones further north. Mine are just starting to set peppers.
I tried growing peppers in pots but my hubby never waters them correctly, so they are in the ground this year. I hope all the rain we've had doesn't kill them.
Peppers for 2010 - Whose in?
Mine are set back a little, they should be bigger, but I did not bump them up earlyier when I should. After they settle in the new cans they should go like gangbusters soon enough.
I dint put them in the garden.. Im battleing weeds like mad and just hoping the next tilling will be it and I will broad cast the melons. If I was smart and rich... I would put plastic down. Right now Im losing on both counts I think! LOL!
I have peppers galore right now! We've had such a mild spring that I have fruit everywhere on the maters and peppers and eggplant too. Normally they are better fall producers as we get so hot so early, but not this year!
Blossombuddy - If I were smart and rich, I'd have someone else tend the garden LOL
It's been my experience that the more you till, the more weed seeds come to the surface, which is why I pull the dang things out by hand!
As you said, your peppers will pick up soon. They seem to love the hot summer weather.
Your right there... It never ceases to amaze me how much seed the sopil can puke up! LOL!
I guess I best bump my lil green bells to gallon pots this weekend.
Honey bee - I tilled in compost, kitchen scraps & discards from the local market. (Unbelievable what vendors discard - I got 2 lbs of tomatoes from the "throw aways") I planted bells then covered with the black mesh (Costco has the best deal) I added mulch and so far, zero weeds. Same for eggplants. Incredible growth in the tilled soil.
smb12321 - what a great idea! I love free stuff.
I have used black mesh in the past, but found it became a problem when I needed to replant anything.
Thats why im doing peppers in pots...easier to weed.
Nanner nanner, first banana!
Ha ha - my banana pepper was about that small when I got my first two peppers. They are tasty little guys!
How does one "pickle" them?
Here's a pic of my first Jalapenos of the season. The little plant is loaded with 1" and 2" cuties!
Nice, Kelly. Mine are almost there (the jalapeno plants are the short ones on the left and the right of center. Look carefully, hopefully that makes sense.)
Here are my bells...fruit production is low because I skipped a beat while feeding/ watering these guys. It doesn't take much to throw-off the plants, does it? These guys are darn near 3' tall.
Your peppers look good John! If you're anything like us, we get the best production from peppers here in the fall. But mine seem to have forgotten it's summer. All my pepper plants are short and stout and loaded with fruit. Last year I was tying limbs up all over - they were breaking under the weight of the fruit. Peppers are perennials here for us for the most part. I may look at planting some in my ornamental beds this fall just for the fun of it. We make a lot of salsa and pico de gallo so Jalapenos are a must. But you know, I totally forgot to plant another necessary pepper - Serranos - lol...
Cheetos with Jalapeno anyone? Oh yeah!!
Yup, tried 'em. Like 'em!
Cheetos and jalapenos? Interesting.
Hopefully my peppers will come on like gangbusters in the fall. They're ornamental at this point, LOL!
I was hoping to make marinara from my tomatoes, but I might have to settle for salsa given my (expected) modest tomato production. We love salsa as well so it would be great to make a homemade salsa for once.
Try this Pico de Gallo John - it's easy and delicious. I don't measure - everything is to taste...
Pico de Gallo
Tomatoes
Red Onion
Cilantro
Jalapeno
Serrano (hotter) or Poblano (milder) Chiles
Mexican Oregano
Lemon
Lime
Salt Pepper
Chop first 5 ingredients and combine. Add fresh lemon and lime juice, Oregano, Salt and Pepper to taste. Let sit in fridge until ready to serve.
The flavors get more intense as it sits. Will keep in fridge for a day or two but is best eaten the day it's made.
Yumm...thanks for the recipe. Just need to start growing citrus, LOL! You know, now that I think about it limes and lemons have so many uses and we would definately use every last one that we grew...I just need to get off my can and go by some citrus trees!
We have a lemon and an orange tree. Most citrus grown well here in Phoenix believe it or not. Next maybe a lime tree? Be careful - after the first few years those things will be like zucchini - drop 'em and run - lol...
Just moved my big nursery cans and filled them with dirt so Im ready to poke in some more greenbell pepper babies and let them grow!
My older green bells are sporting blooms and well, I only still have the one lonely banana pepper hanging on the tree! Its getting big and pulling the little plant that it is on over!
Must be something about them banana peppers - that was the first ripe pepper I got too, way ahead of all the others... Big peppers on an itty bitty plant...
LOL! That it is!
I finally got most of my green Bell seedlings bumped up to larger cans. The earleir ones are doing great and setting flowers now.
I have aboiut 6 more to bump up but the potting soil I got yesterday was so wet, its like clay so maybe tomorrow after it dries out a bit I will finish.
Guess I best think about me planting impatiens, petunias, vincas and polkadots! I got 4 flats of them to get to where I want them.
Hey Carminator - the bell pepper mix seeds you sent me, so far I have Orange Sun and Diamond White growing. The Diamond are cool - they ripen to a very pale pale yellow. When I first saw them I though "oh crap!" something is wrong with those peppers. The other two plants I grew I gave to a friend from Tucson at our swap, so I'm waiting to find out what kind she got in the potluck - lol. The Jalapenos are doing outstanding as well!
My California Wonders are doing okay, lots of blossoms and quite a few peppers. I can see something is boring holes in them, so hopefully a good bug will come along soon and have bad bugs for its dinner. As long as they leave me some, I'll be happy. Last year they only left me one - NOT NICE!
Just looks at mine after the storms.. they are doing fabulous.. lots of flowers setting and lush forest ga-reen!
Looks like the idea of doing 2/3 manure topped with the potting soil is a big WINNER!
So far no weeds...
**** Deer Alert **** Deer have invaded my garden. The tops of the pepper plants disappear nightly.. I purchased the kit from Lowe's (6 packets you hang around the garden) but it's obviously a no-go at this stage. Then I transplanted a bunch of peppers into a circle surrounded by tons of mint. Unbelievably, they got to them last night. Now I've planted Spearmint right beside the peppers since I heard deer hate strong smells.
Any ideas will be appreciated. No fences, electric borders, special planters possible. Thanks
Cougar urine.. I beleive the hunting stores carry it or bear pee or something similiar that would scar the pants of the deer... um hopefully! Well some predatory odor of some sort. Those two seem to be the ticket for some gardeners other than fencing and lots of human activity.
The deer our here are pretty unflabbable.. they graze right to the edge of the road and a semi could blow their antlers off and they dont move. course crossing the road is another issue.. semis aim! LOL!
We saw one close to a road last evening. My son hollered at it. It looked up & said, "Don't bother me, I'm enjoying these soybeans".
We use a good strong electric fence, no deer problems. Tie pieces of cloth along the wire to warn two legged animals that it is there.
Its a good idea! Usually before we string a new fence we put a string up on the posts before the wire goes on and leave it there for a while. Right now I have a boundary fence that is going to go up in barbwire as soon as we get going there.. but in the mean time its lines out with ORANGE baling twines both for visibility, leaving it there so the deer get aware and the neighbs and maybe they will start to avoid the area, I doubt it, but wishful thinking on our be kind to animals part!
Anyway, todays banana peppers! thars babies in that pot! WHoohoo!
I have read that deer will not jump over something if they can't see where they will land on the other side. Again, from what I have read, this "barrier" should be at least four feet deep. The barrier has to be "tight" or deer will push their way through it.
Why deer don't jump into my garden is a mystery. I can only assume they don't like the "doggy smell" although if they saw my dog, they would probably laugh - she weighs 6lbs 9ozs
Honmebee, WOW anything that BIG oughta terrorize the neighborhood for sure! LOL!
My daylilies are fenced.. never seen a deer in them.. or the house gardens. They tend not to go where buildings are and people foot traffic.
They ate my sunnies this year and have been doing a number on the clover out on the prairie. Occassionally I see them in with the horses having hopped their pasture fence, but rare. I think they come up for the salt lick.
My veggies are fenced so no problem there, but the bunnies can get to those goodies.
I finally have jalapeno peppers!
The Bullnose plants are loaded with buds!
Blossombuddy - my hubby is up early and he sees the deer just on the other side of the fence. The neighbor's yard is not fenced.
Last year I grew tomatoes along that fence, and they didn't touch them. At the time I didn't think deer would eat tomato plants, but a co-worker said deer ate her maters down to the ground! I'm not tempting the deer again. From now on nothing will be grown along the fence.
Our fence is not very high, so easy for them to jump over, eat their fill and jump back out. I'm so glad they don't.
I love these...
Largo Purple pepper - these may be too hot to eat - lol - but the tiny purple blooms are pretty and the variegated foliage - green, purple and white. The more sun the more variegated the foliage. These will definitely be going in flower beds next year...
Those are really pretty, Kelly!!
OoooOOH those purples are pretty!
Honeybee, we have some wooded ground that is a sanctuary for wildlife and we get all kinds of critters.
Man its pepper growing weather now!
Blossom
How are your Peters doing. I planted 3 colors. Dropped the pots so I don't know who is who and now they are in the garden in a multi-racial bed. No blossoms yet. I think their not getting enough sun. I'm thinking of potting them up and moving them to the front of the house where they'll get sun almost all day.
Our Jack Russell pretty much rides herd on the deer here. The other mornin Sparky took on one with antlers. So far the only thing they've gone for is the hostas in front and one lily that was in bud along with the tops of a couple beans.
Go Jack! LOL!
Oh poor you on the potsy whatsee! My Peter petered....it damped off.
But my green bells and nanners are doing pretty good. Will have to take some pix!
I have to move a few of my bells to another location.. they are in pots and then put my glads where the bells were. The glads are in pots too.
My jalapenos finally started doing something!
