country n news-a peck of peppers...

COUNTRY N NEWS-A PECK OF PEPPERS...

each spring i plant my peppers around the lst of april
since usually the last frost has happened here
usually i say
since some years the cold sneaks in and wipes out
what i planted

this is the story of our country n peppers shown in
the above picture

first i prep the garden bed
which usually i have done weeks before
i add 2-4 inches of our chicken generated
country n compost
mostly from the leaves that many of you gave me

then
i add a sprinkling of cottonseed meal
this provides nitrogen quickly to the new plants
then
i add a sprinkling of an organic fertilizer
like lady bugs 8-2-4 or medina growin green
this adds nitrogen that can be slowly accessed over
several weeks for the new plants
then
i water in a mixture of molasses and humates
to provide goodies for the soil organisms
that are the lifeblood of soil health
then
when i plant my peppers
i use a bit of earthworm castings in the planting hole
to boost the young plants growth
then
after planting i add liquid seaweed to boost new root growth

all i do after that is keep them watered when needed
keep insects off them
they actually rarely have a problem with insects
except
out here in the country
we get the infestation of grasshoppers which are worse
as the summer goes into the fall
i control them by scaring them into the chicken run
around the garden
adding an organic bait called nola bait to the garden
and surrounding property
this all seems to keep them under control
usually

now usually is a common word thats used
when gardening around here
sometimes things just arent usual

so
we look at what peppers we like to eat
so we chose these four
bell peppers used in salads sandwiches pasta sauce grilled veggies
banana peppers rarely make it inside the house since i eat them
while working
jalapeno peppers used in poppers in margaritas grilling soups grilled veggies
poblano peppers  used in cooking and in chile rellenos

the peppers grow slow in the spring into the summer
now we do get to harvest some as we go
but
the real burst comes in the fall
i keep them watered and cover them with a solar screen
during those hot dog days of the summer
then
when the fall rains come
the weather cools
the peppers
well
they just explode in growth and fruit production
so much
that we cant eat all of them
so
right before the first severe freeze
i go out and pick all of them
like i did last week

i saved enough for the next weeks use
then
we freeze them
by
washing them well
placing them in ziplock freezer bags
zipping it almost closed
sticking a straw down in the bag
sucking all the air out of the bag
leaving the bag looking like this

we will use these peppers
bell jalepeno poblano
in cooking this winter

the heat from these jalapenos and poblanos
makes you feel warmer in the winter

this is more than enough peppers to last us until
next summer

so thats how we do peppers
here at the
country n

the organicgreen doctor