Peppers

I planted the peppers this evening. As you might guess from the previous posting, I had more than I planned on and more than I had room for in the raised bed. My wife had the idea to pull out some large pots that she had stored away and so three pepper plants are now in those out on the deck. The rest went into the garden. I left room for one or two more since my friend Rob has said he wants me to try his Jimmy Nardello (sp?) variety. I'm going to give him a Godfather and one of the Pimento Moron Dulce sweet peppers in return. Since one of the tomato plants is done with the Wall-O-Water, I moved it and two others that I had to cover peppers. That leave a couple exposed still but there's nothing I can do about it. They'll just have to grow slower. I do feel a bit stupid. When pruning the lower leaves of one of the plants, my scissors slipped and I cut off the plant itself. Woops. At Karen's suggestion, I planted it anyway, just to see if it can recover.

More photos

Peonies at back deck gate with fair skinned son in full protective gear.


Rhododendron behind garage.

Pictures for posterity

The second bed.


The first bed. Tomatos in front, salad at rear.


Bean teepee.


Cascade hops just emerging (beside top rail).


Brewer's Gold hops emerging toward training twine.

What's going on in my mailbox?

Ok. No sooner than I made the last post about the peppers than UPS pulls up with a box from Cook's Garden containing...you guessed it...peppers. I can't find the order on their website so I must have done so under a different account. That's all I can figure. Even weirder, I can't even find the variety listed for sale on their website. Very strange but not so strange that I won't plant and enjoy them. They are an Italian grilling pepper called The Godfather. Here's the description from the Burpee site:

Sweet Pepper The Godfather
A classic Italian grilling pepper.
It's gorgeous in the garden and delicious on the plate. Plants are loaded with huge, meaty peppers. The best yield and the biggest fruit (7") you'll get from a frying pepper. Traditionally used green, they're even sweeter when red, about two weeks later. Try some fresh in salads too. Burpee exclusive. Days to maturity, 64, is from time plants are set in garden. For transplants add 8-10 weeks. Space plants 18-24" apart. Grow in full sun.

Peter Piper (thought he) purchased a peck of planting peppers

I thought I had ordered my peppers from Cook's Garden along with all my other seeds. I "remember" reading that they would be shipped as plants rather than as seeds when the frost free date for our area had been reached. So, I've been watching the mail each day, hoping they would arrive. Except that when I went back and checked the receipt, I never actually ordered them, I just thought I had. Ughhh...

With that realization, my son and I packed up and went to Lowe's to see what was left. I was pleasantly surprised to see that several varieties remained and we had plenty of healthy looking plants to choose from. I picked out several different varieties. Reds: The Big Early, Red Hot Chili, and Pimento Morron Dulce (2), a sweet variety. For greens I got Giant Marconi and Fajita Bell. I also picked up a couple of planters to match the others so I can expand the herb section with Parsley and Peppermint. My wife also wants some Thyme but Lowe's didn't have any. Our local farmer's market should have it soon.

All these purchases, plus a new watering can and a medium bag of potting soil added another $58 to the garden budget. The new tally is now $517.50.

Vine seeds, beans, and sunflowers planted

Now that the frost free date has passed, I planted some new seeds directly into the soil.
Big Moon pumpkins, Earlisweet Melons (cantaloupe), and Sweet Diane Watermelons all found their new homes in the raised hills I had developed a few weeks ago. To the garden box, I added another row of Minicor carrots and a striped tomato variety that my wife was given by a coworker who loves to garden. Along the back fence, I planted Full Sun Hybrid sunflowers. I also staked out a bean teepee with bamboo and wrapped it with climbing mesh tied to the poles. Leaving a space for access, our son will enjoy being able to climb inside his bean teepee when the climbing variety of green beans has covered it over.

As for the previously planted stuff, it's really coming right along. We've been eating salad from the lettuce and spinach for about four weeks now. The arugula is a particularly prolific grower. I like the taste but I love the spinach. Next year I'll plant more of that and less arugula. The first planting of carrots has now been thinned as the sprouts begin to develop. Those seeds are just too small to properly space when planting. The hop vines have sprouted, both varieties, although the Brewer's Gold variety by the swingset seems much more robust than the Cascade which has been slower to emerge, although it's in a bed that gets more shade during the day. That bed also holds the second planting of spinach, romaine lettuce, and carrots and they also are wanting for a little more sun. Hmmm...

Frost Free Day Arrives

Today's the day we in zone 6b have been waiting for; the average last frost date, which means it's now safe to plant outside without fear of a killing frost. I opened up the Wall-o-Water solar covers yesterday by filling the tubes the rest of the way. The tomato plants inside had reached the top. Most people in 6b will just now be putting their tomatos out. Mine are already over two feet tall, thanks to W.O.W. More planting will be happening in the next few days or this weekend, depending on the rain so stay tuned.