A Great Year for Growing Peppers

Bean, Bee, Bell pepper, Crops, Earwig, Fruit, lettuce, Master Gardeners, Nasturtium, Orange, Ottawa, Paprika, pepper, peppers, pH, pimento, Pollinators, Radish, Recipe, Seedling, Tea, tomato, Vegetables

I am going to try to save the seeds from which to grow peppers, but I am not sure if they will be viable. Probably best to buy more seeds, collect seeds as well and do a comparison. The jalapeno and paprika peppers were given to me and also started in good time.

Greetings fellow gardeners,

We got some cooler temperatures, and the world is finally comfortable. I am not a fan of high heat and humidity. The radish seedpods are quite delicious in my salads and the flea beetles found my radish seedlings. I am curious to see if the radish will form with only sticks for leaves.

Growing Peppers from February Seeding

How are your peppers? This is my best pepper year ever. I know it is because I started my seeds in February. In previous years I never got this lovely, lush growth and all the fruit. I have three types of peppers: pimento, paprika and jalapeno. Related, here’s an article on everything Bell Pepper.

In February when I planted the pimento pepper seeds, they were frustratingly slow. Now I have peppers turning red and soon these sweet red fruits will be ready to eat. I am going to try to save the seeds from the peppers, but I am not sure if they will be viable. Probably best to buy more seeds, collect seeds as well and do a comparison. The jalapeno and paprika peppers were given to me and also started in good time. I am not sure what to do with the paprika pepper and will be doing some research.

My jalapeno is looking hot! I am not a fan of spicy food, but I do like a little bite in my salsa. They will fit perfectly into my recipe. (Here’s a recipe, not mine!) I shall be making salsa this week. As I grow an interesting variety of tomatoes, my salsa is quite colourful with splashes of red, yellow, and orange. Usually, I chop everything instead of using a food processor as I prefer the chunky texture.

A few pots of pimento pepper plants — Pimento Pepper

A pimento pepper growing in a pot with a big bright red pepper — Paprika Pepper

A pot with a jalapeno pepper plant — Jalapeno Pepper

Bee Hotel

This spring I agreed to take part in a project led by a PhD student. In the spring she placed two ‘bee hotels’ in my garden with one in the sun and one in partial shade. I check on them from time to time. It was so exciting to see leaf-cutter bees adding leaves to the structures. And oh, what an amazing number of earwigs live in my garden! Another student came by to record the many types of flowers and pollinators that were in the garden, and we had a nice visit.

On Sunday the two students returned to check on the boxes and to take note of the flowers and pollinators. Apparently, there is a specific bee that feeds on creeping bellflower. Creeping bellflower is quite invasive in my garden, but perhaps I should be a little more tolerant of this weed. Seeing these students so excited about all my pollinators makes me happy and of course grateful that these pollinators also visit my vegetable garden.

A Bee Hotel, a stack of bee frames to attract bees — Bee Hotel

Doubling in one week

The pole beans and nasturtiums I potted up last week have doubled, which is wonderful. It gives me the incentive to try more late summer crops. I am preparing to start the peas and as soon as I finish harvesting my lettuce I shall start more.

Although the nighttime temperatures are more manageable, this humidity that creeps in during the day is annoying. Many of my vegetables feel the same way so I am watching out for mold and mildew. Enjoy your week. Judith.

Contact Judith through her Website https://www.lapisdragonarts.com/. Find more weekly Veggie Bites experiences on the Veggie Bites page.

About the Author

Judith Cox

Judith Cox is a Master Gardener and President of the Stittsville Goulbourn Horticultural Society . The many topics covered in her blogs include starting a garden, planting seeds, selecting the best seeds, identifying specific plants, and growing produce other than what is found at the grocery store. Every issue offers solutions to common issues faced by gardeners, including wildlife, whether to water, pests, snails, and other issues. During the winter, Judith writes for local journals and newspapers, give talks at local horticultural clubs on a range of gardening topics. She also finds time to run a small business selling watercolor and pen and ink cards.