Peppers | 365 Days of Me

It is October 20 and we still haven’t had our first frost. In fact, there is not one in sight, though that could change tomorrow. The average first frost of the year is normally October 17 here, so it isn’t as if we are breaking new ground with a late frost, but it still feels as if we should have already had one.

Due to the weather outlook still looking like it will stay above freezing with no frost in sight for the next week, I have chosen to leave my super-hot peppers in the ground another week. I am still getting about 3-5 ripe Carolina Reapers a week, and there are probably a dozen or more that could still ripen, so I plan to leave them in the ground as long as I can. I am also going to pot my two Pineapple Sage plants as well, though I don’t have the room in the house to let them continue to bloom, so I am leaving them in the ground as long as possible too.

The work this weekend consisted of pulling up most of the tomato plants, which have really given out already, though they were still full of green tomatoes. Even if they had ripened in time, they sure don’t taste like a summer tomato. I did leave a few cherry tomato plants, as those are still palatable. Once I was done with that, I planted three new types of garlic: Purple Glazer, Duganski, and Mount Hood. Let me share a few pictures:

Purple Glazer Garlic

Duganski Garlic

Mount Hood Garlic

I have traditionally planted my garlic in my raised Square Foot Garden beds – wait, that is not true. I have planted as much in the ground each year as I have the raised beds, but all of this new garlic has been planted in the ground. I am hopeful that I have picked a location where the garlic will get plenty of sun in the spring and early summer. Here’s a pic of the planting:

Planting Garlic

Though some say the garlic needs to be a couple of inches deep, I have always just put mine right below the surface and then ensured there was adequate ground cover to protect it from cold weather. I suppose I might regret this if we have a bitter cold winter, but it hasn’t failed me yet.

The one last harvest I look forward to this year is the sweet potatoes. This is a new crop for me, last year being the first year I attempted to grow it, to no success. This year I have changed things up a bit, and I am hoping to have a nice crop of them to harvest after the first frost.

I think that has covered the happenings of the week, but don’t miss out on tomorrow’s post on the chickens – you will be surprised!

This has been a slow garden year for us. First of all, spring arrived late this year, and, second of all, with my work travel schedule, I was hardly home to work on the garden. I also started a new garden spot this year which didn’t account properly for the position of the sun in the spring, and the new chicken coup is partially shading a garden. In short, we have struggled with our garden.

We have yet to harvest peppers worth speaking of, and while we have harvested some great tomatoes, the crop has been small. I have only harvested my first cucumber in the last week or so, and the summer squash, while being one of the plants which was out as early as possible, has already stopped producing. Speaking of squash, my winter squash was hit by vine borers while on the mission trip, and there is nothing left. My okra landrace project is coming along, however, it isn’t producing quite like I had hoped. Oh, and let’s not forget the sweet potatoes! The deer are having a hay day with the leaves. 🙂 I still expect a good harvest from them though. The corn has done well, I think, other than the possible cross pollination issue. Even so, the corn looks healthy and I am expecting a good harvest.

It may sound like I am whining about the gardening year, but I am not. I consider every year a learning opportunity. I have several good take-aways from this year that I will be sure to implement next year, and if the Lord so blesses me, next year this will happen on a proper homestead property.

Speaking of vegetables, last Friday we stopped off at The Farmer’s Market in Nashville, Tennessee. If you haven’ t been there, you have really missed out. This is a true joy for me. Let me share just a few pictures:

Heirloom Tomatoes

Huge Onions!

Colorful Bell Peppers

My family is really blessed though, despite the lackluster garden year. My father-in-law also gardens, and he has blessed us with an abundance of melons, peppers, tomatoes, and more.

Speaking of peppers, we have already smoked a good amount of peppers, some of which are already dried and ground. Others are in various stages of processing, but I should be able to share a picture soon.

The chickens didn’t work as hard for us yesterday, and only produced two eggs: one blue and one brown. I did eat the first of the eggs last night, and wow, were they tasty! Hopefully there will be three more today. I had to smile at my first egg issue yesterday. One of the ladies laid her egg in the run below the cage, which is not fun to get into during the day while they are playing. I could have just waited to get it, I suppose, but I was impatient.

I have to wonder, am I the only person out there who is already thinking about next year’s garden? The growing season is not even over yet, and I am sitting here dreaming this morning of what I will do different next time. Don’t worry, I am sure I will share the plans here as the days roll on.

Tag: peppers

Happenings Around the Homestead

Happenings Around the Homestead