Peppers, A guide to cultivation.

Peppers, Peppers, Peppers!!

     Hello again friends, another beautiful summer day and all I can think about are peppers. Here in the high desert, during June and July I always cover my crop to lower the ambient temperature as much as possible whilst also preventing sun burns on my potential crop. This time-frame is particularly important for any plant because if you don't watch the stress levels they are under outside in the hot sun it will totally result in a poor harvest the following seasons, which isn't worth the wasted effort in my opinion.

 (Chocolate Jalapeno Peppers, 8 weeks from plant to harvest)

     To get a bountiful harvest like you see here, takes a lot of patience and not so much pruning. So key thing for plants during the summer here is to NOT prune anything. Reason being that the extra foliage will protect your potential crop from the sun. Trust me you want the extra foliage, it'll save you the hassle and stress over freaking out about the state of the plant.

 (Poblano Peppers, 9 weeks from plant to harvest)

     As you can see in this photo, some of the plants were not covered during those hot months. Leaves quite the ugly burn on your crop which isn't a great thing especially if you are planning on sharing/selling your crop to friends and local foodies. Not only did the burn cause cosmetic damage to the crop but it also added more stress to the plant and the result was a less bountiful crop than what was projected. I could of gotten more peppers from the plant if I just provided it with some shade. Most vegetable plants will stop fruiting at about 95 F/ 35 C just because it is too hot for the plant to produce viable flowers that will hold above that temperature.

(Pepper Mix; Cayenne, Pepperoncini, Thai Dragon, Green Habanero)

     These pepper plants were covered, and I had an extremely bountiful harvest. 5 full bags of peppers that had to be given away in the long run. But that's the point of gardening, to bring joy to you and those around you with an organic crop that you couldn't get at your everyday market. So, please to save yourself the trouble and to reward yourself with a more bountiful crop to keep the gardening alive in your soul, treat your plants with the utmost respect and positivity. Your plants will recognize it and provide you with more than you need. 

     Again friends, feel free to contact me with any questions and concerns regarding anything for plants, and I will of course reply. Till next time...

Happy Gardening!

Farmer Jeff

Follow me on Instagram for Daily Photos!

Follow me on YouTube! Subscribe for future Videos!

Early Spring Garden Update! 2014

   Hey Fellow Green-thumbs!! It is Early Spring so I decided to do a little video sharing what I am growing in my Organic Sustainable Desert Garden! I'm extremely excited about sharing this video with you fine folk, because it truly shows what you can achieve through gardening in a desert environment. Everything in this video is in early developmental stages of growth, except my Organic Onion Patch. Those are my Winter Onions and take quite a bit longer than my Spring/Summer Onions because of the weather and the amount of sunshine they have been receiving throughout those dreary Fall/Winter months.

   I will do another Garden Update by the end of Spring so you all can see the progress my Organic Desert Garden has gone through. I love doing these type of videos and most of all I love sharing with you fine folk what I can grow in the Desert. Subscribe to my various Social Media Outlets to stay in touch with my Organic Sustainable Desert Garden. Thanks again for watching and staying with me through this journey. It's been fun! Until next time...


¤ KEEP IT GREEN AND KEEP IT GROWING!


TWITTER   INSTAGRAM   PINTREST   YOUTUBE   BLOGSPOT   GOOGLE+

<3 I ALWAYS FOLLOW BACK!! <3

HyperSmash

Fall Mini Garden Update

Wow! My garden has been looking beautiful! Everything producing looks so vibrant and amazingly delicious! Look at my Santa Fe Pepper turn red, and more hot compared to the green variety. This would be a nice choice to use in guacamole, it has the right heat without overpowering the avocado and just enough to not make you tear or grab for your closest drink.

As I said, these are the milder version of the Santa Fe Pepper. I use these in my Ramen constantly, or I caramelize them with onions and eat that with sausage. These peppers are extremely easy to grow, all you need is; porous soil, manure, compost, and some care. It is probably the easiest plant I deal with.

The Thai Chili Pepper is a beautiful plant, but is extremely hot! I use gloves when I harvest off the plant or maintain it. I touched my eyes once after dealing with it, and I ended up pouring milk on my eyes and complaining constantly for about an hour straight. I use one chili pepper for salsa, if I used two I'd be screaming.

 My Thyme; completely common, it's found in woods up north of Nevada and other woodland areas. This thyme smells so great and can be used on anything pretty much. It's currently being populated in a new area of the garden so that's why it's not as clustered as before!

My French Pumpkins! These I planted hopefully in time for Christmas! I love pumpkin cookies, cakes, pies, shakes, teas, and bread! All of those things can be made from a fresh pumpkin as well. I get a nice crop and a beautiful plant to stare at until the crop comes. It's a complete win-win scenario. I'll keep you all updated about this specific plant until it's bountiful.

The Bloody Butcher Tomato, which is so-called because once you slice into one the juices flow out more than usual. This tomato is extremely flavourful and awesome in a grilled cheese, I promise you that! It takes about 80 days from flowering to get the full flavour and nutrient value from the fruit, but it's totally worth it. The plants kind of purple due to the fact of a colder climate.

Mexican Sage, how beautiful is that?! Just take a second and gaze at this picture, that's nature friends. Those buds slowly mature and dry into the sage we all use in our recipes. That process takes about 55 days to get really decent sized petals and you can dry them out in your oven on the lowest setting, just keep an eye on it time varies with altitude. Or you can let it dry by itself on the plant, then harvest when needed. So friends, that was fun going through my garden yet again. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Until next time, Keep it Green and Keep it Growing! Ciao!!






HyperSmash