“May I have a pepper?” I slice the top off one of our homegrown cubanelle peppers, take out the seeds and give it to my son for a snack. I hear him crunch and mumble, “mmmmmm, this is good!” My gardening heart fills with joy. All his complaints about the plot – “I do not want to go there! It is dirty, stinky, hot, and boring!” – are quieted for the moment. I can give up the idealistic dream of my son working beside me, picking, watering and weeding (he would rather pound dirt and find bugs). He is eating fresh vegetables and learning how good food is produced, that is what is important. We will keep our garden plot growing!

This is our best year for peppers! They are large and prolific. We are amazed. What did we do right? Maybe it was the hot and stormy summer? Could it be the organic fertilizer – fish emulsion and Garden Tone? My husband threw handfuls of organic fertilizer (10-2-8) into the soil when he turned it over in April. I gave the pepper plants a quarter cup of Garden Tone (4-4-3) in June, when I planted them and again at the beginning of July. We also put organic black plastic down around each plant after we planted them. Once the peppers are picked, it is best to store them in the refrigerator if they are not going to be eaten or preserved immediately.

Harvest totals last week:
Bell Peppers: 0.65 lb,
Purple Peppers: 1 lb,
Cubanelle Peppers: 9.75 lb,
Tomato: 8.0 lb,
Eggplant: 5.0 lb,
Red Onion: .75 lb.

Overall produce: 47.25 lb (mixed veggies)

Preserving harvest: Cubanelle peppers: canned 8 pints marinated and 5 quart bags frozen.