pepperhead212's 2022 garden

[imafan26]

Nice tomatoes. You know about the BER problem. I rarely have that. The only time I did have BER was when I had planted a TYLCV resistant tomato (Camaro) that was not heat tolerant. SIPs do eliminate the issue of uneven watering. I almost never give my tomatoes extra calcium. They do get some in the complete fertilizer that I use. I use a citrus fertilizer.

I do not get BER in the fall regardless of their heat tolerance. So, I think part of your problem with BER might be temperature related. I won't see BER in temperatures less than 85. This year, it has been hotter than here.

If you could grow that tomato earlier or later, it might help. I know you don't have as long a season to do that. The other option is to place the plant where it gets shade from the midday and afternoon sun.

[pepperhead212]

imafan, When some variety of tomato gets BER terribly, or other disease, that others didn't get that year, I just don't grow them again! My season isn't long enough to change the start time much. And actually my entire garden gets early shade from a huge tree in my neighbor's yard, then the sun starts again, and eventually the house shades it out in the evening. Some plants that need sun the entire day wouldn't like this, but I've never had a problem with any plants like that.

First bottle gourd harvested today, and 2 more Sambar cucumbers, these almost round. And more tomatoes ripening, those Surrender determinate tomatoes are starting to ripen quickly. They are a tart Indian tomato, used in curries, which is why I wanted to grow it!
Surrender - a determinate tomato, starting to ripen, 7-6, about 2 inches, plus or minus a little. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

3 Oaxacan Jewels, largest only 4.9 oz. Also 2 green grapes, and 5 red grapes. 7-6 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

First Bottle Gourd, 13 inches w/o stem. 2 Hari, 2 Ichiban, and one Spring EP. 2 Sambar Cucumbers, and 2 WS 58 Cucumbers. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I tried the first Brandyboy F2 tomato today, and it was absolutely delicious! Not a huge core, either. Best one of the season, so far, but then, mostly what I've gotten are cherries. That Orlov Yellow Giant was also very good - not quite as strong as the Brandyboy, but delicious, and well balanced. Reminded me of the Amish Gold Slicer, that used to come in second, in many of the taste tests I would run. It has a very small core, much like that one. Unfortunately, something chewed a hole in that first one, so I had to cut it out.
First Brandyboy F2 I cut into. 7-7 Definitely the best tomato of the season, so far! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Brandyboy F2 cut in half, showing a relatively small core. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Orlov Yellow Giant, 7-7. Very good, and small core, but I had to cut some out, since something chewed a hole in it by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Also saw the first ripening peppers today! And a lot of green ones, on other varieties. Also more bitter melons almost ready to pick.
First peppers to ripen - Superchili, as always. 7-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Santaka Thai peppers. Loaded, but not ripening yet. 7-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Aruna peppers, 7-7. Hard to see them all, but it's loaded! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

2 of the 3 largest Number One bitter melons, 7-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Largest of the Bitter Melon fruits, 7-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[imafan26]

Looking good. I know you put kaoling clay on everything, but do you eat the bitter melon leaves?

[pepperhead212]

imafan No, I don't eat the leaves, though I have read about them being eaten. I've read that it is the young leaves that are used, so I'm thinking that maybe it's more the trimmings, when cutting off all those suckers, so maybe I could get them before spraying. Do you eat them, and if so, what do you think about them? I don't put the Surround on greens that I eat, as it would be a pain to wipe off every leaf, even smooth ones. It doesn't just rinse off, like DE.

[pepperhead212]

More of the larger tomatoes are ripening, but unfortunately, something is attacking them, chewing holes in some of them. Even one barely ripening, had a hole in it. I don't know if it is a squirrel - I have a trap out there that I usually catch them in, but there has been only 3 birds in it lately. Maybe they are the ones chewing the holes in them.
The larger tomatoes really starting to ripen now! 7-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Mostly sunsugars ripening now, though sunrise is doing well, too. Picked a few rattlesnake beans, too. 7-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I got a second bottle gourd today, too.
Second bottle gourd, 7-8. This one about 12 inches. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I uncovered the Earthbox with the pepper maggot prone peppers in it, and got a few jalapeños. Only one I noticed on tbe Hanoi Markets, but they always start ripening in early August, so this is about normal. I dusted with DE, as a precautionary, though they seemed clean. I covered up again, until next time - have a little over 3 weeks, until I can remove it for good.
First jalapeno m peppers. 7-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Beans are starting to produce now, rattlesnake first, but blauhilde is close behind. And those Long Valor beans are growing like none I've seen before - pointed up! They are all loaded with flowers.

Rattlesnake starting to produce first. 7-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Long Valor beans, starting to produce. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

Great harvest, but a shame about damage to your big tomatoes. Birds would leave triangular beak marks. Looks similar to chipmunk (or other smaller than squirrel rodent) to me … BIL showed me pics last year that turned out to be a young rat.

Look also for triple tiny~small pierced and slightly ripped holes from their claws. Try baiting traps with chocolate or peanut butter (I use reese’s or nutella).

Thanks for mentioning the timing when protection against pepper maggots might be safe to remove.

[pepperhead212]

apple, That's exactly what I did - put rat traps with peanut butter at the plants they seem attracted to.

[applestar]

I put the traps inside a cut off 2L soda bottle which seems to make “limited” effort to keep wary birds away (I ended up getting a house wren once though )

[pepperhead212]

I harvested 6 more eggplants today, plus some more tomatoes, a small number of okra, 3 more bitter melons, and the first Armenian Cucumber I've ever grown. It's almost exactly 12", and I wasn't sure when it becomes seedy, plus it seems only the one was growing much - several others had set, but only grew to 4-5", very slowly, so I figured that I'd pick the first, and see if that triggers any. The bottle gourds are like this, and when the largest is picked, another will start growing. This plant also has light colored leaves, like the bottle gourds, and long vines, that I have to keep under control! It's like indeterminate tomatoes!
First Armenian cucumber, about 12 inches long, plus a couple more Number One bitter melons. 7-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I cut it in half crosswise, then lengthwise, and it looks like an English cucumber, with barely any seed development, so that size is still small, for this. I tasted it, with just a small amount of salt, and it tasted like a mild, burpless cucumber, with a slight sweetness; no aftertaste at all, like with some cucumbers. I cut it into sixths, lengthwise, leaving the seeds in (I usually scoop them out, for this type of pickle), and into 2" pieces, and put them in a qt jar, with ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp calcium chloride (crispit), plus 3 tb each sugar and white vinegar. I just leave it in the jar, turning it upside down, and back again, when I walk by it in the kitchen. Everything is dissolved quickly, and eventually it goes in the fridge, and tomorrow I'll sample it.
First Armenian Cucumber, cut in half, 7-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

First Armenian Cucumber, halved lengthwise, showing little seed growth. 7-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

First Armenian Cucumber, made into a quick pickle, leaving the seeds in. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Another thing that I harvested the first time this year was the squash blossoms, on all those butternut plants! I also have 6 fruits formed on the 6 large vines (this variety always seems to set one per vine early, then a bunch late in the season. Also saw 4 started on 3 "Butterbush" plants - an early variety. All have countless more unopened male blossoms!
First squash blossom harvest, 7-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

More peppers are ripening, and some later ones are appearing now, like the habs, and those kanthari. That one plant that looks like it is a jalapeño, not a Thai, is loaded, and I don't see any pepper maggot seeds on them, which is unusual, since it's not covered. The Thai peppers are loaded, and just getting some blushed peppers, like the Superchilis.
First violet kanthara pepper, 7-13. Plants large, and LOADED with buds and blossoms. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Santaka Thai peppers, loaded, and just started to ripen, 7-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Largest Superchili plant I have ever grown, loaded with peppers - also starting to ripen now. 7-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here's that Pickling Melon, showing the two largest on it. Not sure when to pick it (grows to 18 inches?), but it's still growing, and that's all I have to see!
Pickling Melon, left one about 8 inches long. 7-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I'm getting more beans every day, mostly rattlesnake, but the blauhilde is starting to kick in now! Those new Long Valor beans look like snow peas! And I'm not sure why, but all the leaves are turning yellow. Started with the lowest leaves, but it's almost all of them, now. They aren't in a constant daylight spot, but I've never had anything else do this! And right next to them are other bean - the Thai Long Red - and their leaves are green.

Edit: It seems strange that the leaves on those plants look fine, except for being yellow! Almost like turning in the fall. This, and a number of similar beans are listed as "day neutral", though none as long or short day, so I have a feeling they aren't neutral, and the day getting shorter is doing this, or these long days of the summer are doing it, and it is something better grown in shorter day areas, like short day onions down south.
Long valor beans, looking like snow peas! 7-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Long valor beans, with most leaves turning yellow - other green leaves are the Thai long red. 7-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I didn't look at the eggplants or tomatoes (well, maybe a little I did) today, since I did all those yesterday. Still getting a few okra every day - Little Lucy is still most productive, and that Clemson spineless the smallest and least productive. I got a bag of it I have to use up tomorrow, that I picked the last 4 or 5 days.

[pepperhead212]

I had some more of those odd veggie harvests today - those bitter melons the most productive, though the round Big Top is still the slowest. Those Sambar cucumbers also aren't real productive, and it's well over 60 days from planting - the WS 58 are on their way out already, but the County Fair are just starting to produce, and those are the first two. Those green Hari eggplant are more heat resistant than the others. I got another bottle gourd, I didn't put in the photo. Only picked 3 more tomatillos, because they were turning brown, but the tomatillos were green under the husk. The peppers were the arunas that were on that plant I pulled out. No tomatoes, but there were plenty ripening! I'll get them tomorrow.
Misc. harvests, 7-17 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

As I said, I would harvest tomatoes today! This made it worth being out in that 75° dewpoint weather for so long. I also had some from a couple of days ago, getting ripe; this is the same thing I did today - I picked anything with even a blush on them, yet today, at least on the cherry tomatoes, some were already fully ripe, in just 2 days!
Tomatoes, 7-18. Two smaller bowls of reds are Surrender, a determinate. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tomatoes from 7-16, ripening up well on 7-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I went back out one more time, before the rain comes (I'll believe it when it happens). Got a few more things, in addition to the garlic chives and basil I needed for my salad.
One WS 58 and two County Fair cucumbers, an Armenian Cucumber, and a bottle gourd, 7-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

You’ve got summer bounty avalanching in!

[imafan26]

Great haul from the garden. Those are a lot of tomatoes. Bittermelon is still a wild weed in my yard and I am still pulling it out. It is nutritionally dense, but the small wild bitter melon is just too bitter.

[pepperhead212]

I didn't spend much time out today, due to that heat! I got a couple more cukes, some more beans, and a few more tomatoes. I also packed the first gallon bag of ripe tomatoes, to put in the freezer, though there is little space left for more! I had been trying to eat as much out of there as possible, but once the things started coming it from this season, that's about all I've been using!
There's only so much one person can eat!(rofl) Here's today's harvest:
A few more beans and tomatoes, and a couple of cucumbers underneath, 7-21 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And I had a little over 2 lbs of beans from the last 5 days or so in the fridge, so today I sat in front of the TV (not often done this long!) and destrung (they really didn't have much as far as strings) and snapped them to a good size. Ended up with about 3 c purple, and 4 c green, then I steamed them in the IP, and spread them out on sheets, to cool, and finish cooking - a method I discovered on ATK one year, which shortens the cooking time. The beans finish cooking on the tray, and dry out some, which is good for salads.
3 cups of steamed purple Blauhilde beans. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And like I've said before, peppers love heat!
One of the 3 Superchili plants, showing the ripening, 7-21 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A couple of green Chocolate Habaneros, 7-21 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Violet Kanthara, starting to get a lot of peppers on it. 7-21 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I had the last of my varieties of tomatoes ripen today - Spears TN Green. It was the latest one to ripen - most varieties beat it by a couple of weeks, at least. Haven't tasted it yet, though one of these ripened even more just sitting on the counter since this morning. I got a few more of some others, plus the cherries, of course. I also picked 6 more County Fair cucumbers, though these are something else, I think, as they are shorter, and have a gritty surface on them, which I have never had on any others. Usually the spines on the surface are much larger, and fewer in number. They scrub off easily, however, and the cukes are good. Maybe this is the old pickling version of the County Fair, before it was improved?
First ripening of the Spears TN Green tomatoes, 7-22. Plus a couple of Sambar Cucumbers, and one County Fair...maybe. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And something good that I noticed today - no spotted lanternflies, on any of the plants they are usually all over - the cukes, okra, bitter melons, and eggplants! I'm wondering if the heat has done this - if so, at least there is something good about it! Have you noticed this apple, or anyone else infested with SLF?

[pepperhead212]

Here's more of those Oaxacan Jewel tomatoes in their own bowl, along with some Black Nyagous in the smaller bowl. And mixed cherries, with mixed larger varieties, under the eggplant and beans.
Harvest for 7-26 - mostly tomatoes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I pulled one of those Spears TN Green tomatoes, since a couple of weeks ago the main stem snapped in the wind. I tried to graft it, sort of, but it never caught, and most of it was getting brown. I planted a cucumber plant I started last week in the spot I pulled it from, so I figured in mid to late September it might start producing. I have 3 more seedlings, for places where I remove other plants from.

[imafan26]

I have Oaxacan Jewel seeds. What do they taste like and how big does the plant get?

[pepperhead212]

imafan The Oaxacan jewel are delicious flavored tomatoes, with a good balance of flavors, not too sweet, and a good aftertaste. Only the Brandyboy F2 and Amish Gold Slicer were better this year. And nothing produced as much, and, KOW, no discoloration of any leaves, which is unusual in PL varieties. And the plant is huge! Here is one photo, though it just shows the lower 2/3 or so, as I was just taking it to show the tomatoes. Definitely a keeper, and I'll bag some blossoms, to save seeds.
Oaxacan Jewel - just one plant, showing some of the tomatoes. 7-19 by pepperhead212, on Flickr


A few more tomatoes today, both larger and cherries, and only one cucumber.
A few more tomatoes, plus one WS 58, 7-27 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Peppers are starting to ripen! It's still very early, but about on schedule, for the various peppers.
13 jalapeños, from one plant, 7-27 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And a few more of the oddball veggies:
Two more bitter melons, plus another Armenian Cucumber, 7-27 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[imafan26]

Thanks that's good to know how much space I will need to grow it.

[pepperhead212]

Back to picking! The last two days I didn't pick anything (except okra, which I always do early), so I got a bunch more of several types. That Oaxacan Jewel still had 12 more on it with blushes, and countless small green ones.
All Oaxacan Jewels, from the same plant again. 7-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Several Amish Gold Slicers, a few others, plus some larger cherry tomatoes. 7-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

7 eggplants, plus the smaller cherry and grape tomatoes. 7-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And more of the cukes, beans, and bitter melons. A few peppers from the uncovered jalapeños and Hanoi Market, though the HM was just knocked off - none ripe yet. This is average, starting a week or two into August.
An Armenian Cucumber, several other cukes, the last few bitter melons, some beans, and long Valor beans. 7-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I picked some ripe Thai and Superchili peppers, plus some more Jalapeño M peppers. Still no ripe Violet Kantharis, but they are even more loaded! And I tasted one - had a good flavor, with no bitterness, like some small unripe peppers are like, and it was maybe 30-40k heat units.

Thai peppers starting to ripen, 8-1 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Ripe peppers from 2 Superchili plants, 8-1 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

More Jalapeno m peppers, 8-1 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

More Amish Gold Slicers and Oaxacan Jewels, plus a few cherry tomatoes today. I got 2 more trays of tomatoes in the dehydrator today, plus a tray of eggplant cubes, plus some blanched bitter melon slices - something new for me, but I found some references translated from some Indian language. No peppers dried yet, but there soon will be a lot of them.
Amish Gold Slicers, 8-3 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

All of these ripe Superchilis are from one plant! The ones from a couple of days ago were both from two plants.
All the ripened chles from just one Superchili plant. 8-3 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Two plants worth of Aruna peppers starting to ripen, with many more to come.
Ripening Aruna peppers, 8-3 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Those Oaxacan Jewels are delicious - very juicy, and a well balanced flavor, and they rated 3 (when I , behind only the Brandyboy F2 and the Amish Gold Slicer, and was the best producer, for sure. Was also the first larger of the plants, by far, and never stopped flowering during the high heat. In the beginning, it got BER on some of the fruit that was in clusters with 3 or 4 per cluster, so I started thinning them to just 2, and it went away, and it was obviously still producing a lot! Definitely a keeper, and I am going to bag some blossoms and save seeds from this plant, since it has done so well.

As for ones that didn't do well, as always, there were more of those! Here are the ones I won't grow again.

Yellow Warren - while the first ripe cherry, and good flavor, the plant is dead now, after the branches died off after ripening. Didn't seem like a disease, more like the branches just dying after ripening, and it stopped growing.

Amy's Sugar Gem - a largish cherry tomato, 1-1¼", that was the last one to ripen, but after about a dozen ripened, almost every tomato got BER, which almost never happens with cherries! In the same SIP next to it a other variety - Tropical Sunset - did not get a single one with BER. However, that's also not a keeper, as it's not as productive as many, and was the only one to get splitting this season. Not as good a flavor as Sunrise, either.

Nyagous - the only black I grew, and actually produced a lot, but not great flavor, and almost every fruit had splits, not as deep as many blacks I've had, but still split.

Red Grape - not great flavor, and was prone to BER, which is twice this year for small varieties! Normally, that doesn't happen. And not one BER in Green Grape in the same SIP. I'll go back to Sprite.

Green Grape - OK flavor, but late ripening, and very dense and low growing plant, despite my pinching off suckers.

Spears TN Green - Good flavor, but misshapen fruits, that had to have a lot trimmed out of them. Also the last large fruit to ripen.

Talladega - very late; not bad flavor, but very few tomatoes

Dad's Sunset - eventually pulled plant. Don't know if a single one came out w/o BER, while no problem with the Big Beef in the same SIP.

As for eggplants, Green Knight is definitely a no, and is already pulled. There were a bunch of clusters, like a cherry tomato! I couldn't thin it enough - I have never seen one like that before.

[pepperhead212]

I have 9 butternut squash out there now, with another bunch of flowers starting up, which is normal for this variety - Polaris. It gets a second crop, for the fall; the smaller variety - Honeybush - had early, smaller fruits, too, but the plants just died off last year. These others have a larger, late crop.

Also, they last a long time! Today I cut up my last 4 butternuts from last year! One little spot starting to go bad on one of them, so I cut all of them up, getting 75.5 oz of cubes, I'm putting in the dehydrator, and over a cup of seeds.
One of 4 butternuts from last season! 8-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

75.5 oz of trimmed butternuts, ready for dehydration. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

About a cup of seeds, plus all the trimmings from the butternuts. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I had skipped yesterday, in the tomatoes, and today I picked over 4 quarts of just cherry tomatoes, at least half of those the Bumblebee Sunrise. Even with this intense heat, those weren't bothered, and the Green Grapes and Sunsugars weren't too bothered either. The Oaxacan Jewels kept blooming, too, and the Amish Gold Slicers were only slightly slowed down. Tropical Sunset was definitely affected by the heat, as well as the Brandyboy F2, though that one came back quickly, with a number of blooms, before we had our latest heatwave, and there are new, green tomatoes on it now. Here are those cherries I harvested today:
About 4 quarts of cherry tomatoes, mostly Sunrise, 8-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

There were large tomatoes ready for picking, which I might do after dinner.

Here's was what I got later - some tomatoes, Behold eggplants, the first Thai red long beans (bunch more started) and some blauhilde, and some sambar cucumbers. I didn't stay out there long!
Cukes, eggplant, tomatoes, and a few beans. 8-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Those Arunas and Santakas are ripening big time now! Both of those are determinate types, which ripen a large number pretty much all the same, and ripen pretty much the same time, and, with most I have had like that, once I pick a generous amount of the ripe ones, it triggers them to another flowering, for a later crop. Still more than half the arunas left, but this should do it. I'll pick many of those Santakas later this week, early in the day, when the shade is there.
Aruna peppers ripening, 8-9. Should flower quickly, after all these are picked. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Santaka Thai peppers, ripening quickly, 8-9 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here's the start of this year's dried peppers. Those green ones are last year's frozen ones I still had in there, since I don't need them anymore! Also had about a dozen red Thai peppers - I estimated pretty well how many to freeze.
Dried ones from a couple days ago, and a few jalapenos. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

A few more tomatoes today, slowing down some, due to that heat, but I see a lot of new green growth on many of the plants. And I'm sure the blossoms will start up, on those that were slowed by the heat.
Misc. tomatoes, 8-12 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

More of the Amish Gold Slicers, 8-12 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I also picked what maybe the last Armenian cucumber on the plant - only 6 all season. And only 2 of the 3 Asian Pickling Melons - don't know if it will grow or flower anymore.
Probably the last Armenian Cucumber, and the only 2 Asian Pickling Melon, so far. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I have been getting a lot of Mexican Sunflowers on the two plants out front, by my okra. The monarch butterflies like that, but I never see them on all those Zinnias. The ones on the right seem less prone to whatever causes the browning on the leaves, so I'm saving seeds from those, which should be easy.
One of the monarchs that like those Mexican Sunflowers out there. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The only peppers I picked today were a few more Arunas - 12 more yesterday and today ripening, but still no new blossoms. The Kanthari, both greens and violet, are starting to ripen. And those Superchilis, that I picked all those ripe peppers from about a week ago already have full sized green peppers, grown from little buds that were waiting for those peppers to be picked!
Green Kanthari, ripening on 8-12. Was supposed to be White, but went from green to red. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

One of the Violet Kanthari, turning ripe on 8-12 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
One of those Superchili plants, that I harvested all those ripe fruits from, that the new peppers are full sized on already! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[imafan26]

Nice harvest. I tried growing armenian cucumbers but have never been successful. You have inspired me to try it again. Maybe, I am growing it at the wrong time.

[applestar]

Looking good! Could I ask — do you think it’s OK to remove the insect mesh cover from sweet peppers now? I was hesitant because the heatwave may have been promoting the hot weather pests. The mesh tunnel IS keeping the stinkbugs out….

Mexican sunflowers (tithonia)! I haven’t grown them in a while but it would make sense that Monarchs would favor them as recognized nectaring flowers. Hummingbirds like them too. Thanks for the reminder — I’m putting them on my growlist for next year.

I still see hummingbirds everyday but I am not seeing the Monarch’s in numbers I was used to in the past — and most of my milkweed plants stand uneaten, which is sad.

[pepperhead212]

The main reason I have that cover on my peppers is the pepper maggots, and they are pretty much gone at the end of July. And I don't have much of a problem with stink bugs, KOW. The thing I have to worry about is aphids under the cover, so I watch closely for that.

I have seen 2 hummingbirds at those Mexican sunflowers, but that's all. Only hummingbirds I've ever seen at my garden! I wasn't expecting it - one just flew up about a foot from my face as I was picking the okra one morning. I see bumblebees at them all the time - even more than at the zinnias.

[pepperhead212]

Speaking of peppers, here's more! These are the ones that I use the most - dried in a lot of cuisines, and fresh, both red and green, in some cuisines. The Thai santaka grow in clusters, so are more decorative, but the Vesuvius are easier to pick, and they come right off - the santaka I have to cut off, or parts of the stems can come off. Both produce a lot, as there are still a lot of greens left, and I see a lot of buds, waiting for this picking to start flowering again.
Thai peppers, ready to harvest, 8-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Close to 2 qts of Thai peppers, harvested on 8-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

This isn't really canning, but will be sort of a refrigerator pickle, after it sits overnight. The jars have already sealed, and will sit maybe a week in the fridge, before I open one. I am giving one jar to an Indian lady I know, that has problems eating hot stuff, so I left the heat out of that, and just made them separately.

It was made with that pickling melon, which was incredibly unsweet. I probably should have picked it much earlier, but I wasn't sure how large it would grow. I scraped all the seeds, and the rest of the "goo" out of them, and got over 2 tb of seeds, in case anyone wants any!
First Asian Pickling Melon of the season, cut open, showing the seeds scooped out of one side. 8-15 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Peeling the dark skin of the melon, before cubing to pickle. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cooking the second qt of Indian spiced pickled melon, with jalapenos added to the batch. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The two qts of Indian spiced pickled melon finished, one with no heat in it. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Seeds from 2 pickling melon - large amount of them, if anyone wants any. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I'll post back later on the flavor. Here's what I used for the recipe for each qt - sort of a mix of some others:

3-3 1/2 c cubed pickling melon, or watermelon rind
1/2 tb pickling salt
1 c water
1 c white vinegar
1/2 tb each fennel seed, coriander seed, cumin seed, and whole black pepper
1 large Indian bay (tej patta), or 2 regular bay leaves, broken up
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 one inch cinnamon sticks
1 med onion, cut into wedges
2 large cloves garlic, sliced thinly
3 or 4 jalapeños, sliced thick (option)
2 tb jaggery, or light brown sugar

I mixed the melon and salt in a bowl, and let sit in the fridge overnight. Then rinsed well, and drained.

Meanwhile, I cut all the ingredients, and measured out the spices, into two bowls. Place the liquids and spices in a 3 qt saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Stir in jagger, until dissolved, then stir in the melon, onion, and garlic, (and peppers, if using) and bring to a simmer. Cook about 3 minutes, then transfer to a cleaned 1 qt jar, though a funnel, pressing the vegetables into the jar, leaving about 1/2" space, and tapping bubbles out. Clean lid and jar, and put the lid on. Let sit, overnight, then move to refrigerator. Let sit about a week, to cure, before sampling.

[pepperhead212]

A couple of days ago, my 19 year old friend, that I got hooked on gardening a few years ago, with his Mom, sampled the first ripe Carolina reaper from his garden. I have sampled them, but he hasn't, though he did have those death spirals last season, which was hotter than the "chocolate reaper", he grew the year before. I wanted him to cut them into quarters, and sample those, but he got sort of antsy about it, and all he did was rub the pepper over his tongue. He sat there, and after about 10 seconds, said "OMG, and started drinking the milk, and realized, it wasn't going to do anything! lol So he ran for some ice cream he had, and realized that only worked for as long as it was still icey! I finally sampled the quarter I tried, and it wasn't as hot as the year I grew it, but hotter than an entire death spiral I sampled last season. I could only keep this one in my mouth for 29 sec, the original I tried a quarter of only 18 seconds. I told him this need left on longer, to get riper, and it will probably be up there.

Another pepper I took him to sample were some of those Kanthari peppers - the green ones are ripening first, but the violets are right behind, and they probably have a hundred or so tiny peppers on each plant, still producing, and growing. I found out they are a frutescens variety, with that distinctive flavor, probably under 100k, but not much! And I got my friend to sample it, by reminding him that we've already had the hottest, and this was going to be a piece of cake. So he popped one, and was blown over by the instantaneous heat! I kept chewing it over a minute, and he couldn't figure out how, and I told him the endorphins from that first one were still active - his were, too, but he hadn't chewed that as long, and the ice cream deactivated it some. His Mom was listening to us talking about all this, and cracking up! Two years ago, when she saw us sampling that Chocolate Reaper, wanted to see how hot that could possibly be? We were showing her all the oils on the veins, after we cut one open, and she took a knife and (though we both recommended against it) barely touched the tip of it to the oil, then barely touched it to her tongue...and felt like she was going to die! She did what he did with this reaper - kept ice cream on her tongue, until it was bearable. Ever since, she has only watched this, from a distance.

Here are those Kanthari peppers ripening, about 3/4-1", and when picking them, I was reminded of another unique thing about them - when ripe, the peppers just pop right off! This is not something good about many peppers - when you pick them when ripe, they don't come off easily! Those Santaka Thai peppers I have to use scissors for - while doing this, I was reminded of one of the advantages of the Thai Vesuvius - they come off fairly quickly, w/o breaking off anything with it.

I only picked 4 of these today, to make something with, but there are countless ones out there!
The green Kanthari peppers ripening, 8-16. These are definitely a C. frutescens variety. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

I, too, will watch from distance

(What a PERFECT plate for those peppers 🌶🌶)

[pepperhead212]

Last night I got these cherries, and tonight a few smaller of the large ones ripening. It barely stayed light enough for me to spray almost the entire garden with that H2O2 spray - 2 gallons of it, as a fungicide, for most things. I always wait until late, so the bees and other pollinators are pretty much gone, but it's getting dark faster now!
All the cherries, Wed 8-17 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Still a lot of cherries, as well as flowers on them, and new growth and blossoms on almost all of the larger ones, which is why I mixed up that that H2O2 solution - those, and eggplants got the first part, the rest went on everything else. A few herbs were the only ones not sprayed.

That pickling melon, that was harvested a few days ago, died almost overnight, like a bacterial wilt! And it seemed the harvest triggered one of the female flowers to set already! Doesn't make sense.
That pickling melon plant died almost overnight, as bacterial wilt does with cucumber. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

Wow, what a bummer about the pickling melon. Do you think it was a pest-transmitted virus? This time of the year, suspect list is long — spotted cucumber beetles, squashbugs or leaf footed stinkbugs, any of the hoppers ….

[pepperhead212]

Yesterday, I put 3 more trays each of tomatoes and peppers in the dehydrator! I picked a bunch more peppers today, and if it stayed dark longer, I would have picked some eggplants, which are starting up again, though I see the heat is coming back.

Those aruna peppers initially formed a fairly large number of peppers on the two plants, which took quite a while to start ripening, but has been happening quickly, once it started. Plus there are many more flowers, and new peppers on both plants, so it seems fairly productive. I'm hoping it is similar to a pepper I used to get the seeds for at Pinetree - Superthai - which was long, and about 50k heat level. The good thing I used it for was Nam Prik Pao - something hotter peppers weren't as good in, and some peppers just didn't get that caramelized flavor in, like this did. However they dropped Superthai for years (and what has that name now, is totally different), and I hadn't been able to stabilize it, as many times as I saved seeds. And a number of similar looking peppers, like this, were too hot (yes, I said that!), or no flavor. I'm hoping, with this variety, it is similar, since it is OP.
More Aruna peppers ripening, since I put a full tray in dehydrator yesterday. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Another favorite, and unique pepper - Hanoi Market - is starting to ripen faster now. I had gotten a couple at a time a little while ago, but now they are starting to ripen faster, which is about normal for them. Only other one of the orange peppers that I have grown that had a similar taste - Bulgarian Carrot - but that's hotter, and not as productive. And the places that used to carry the seeds stopped carrying them, so I have to save them.
Hanoi Market peppers, starting to ripen quickly, 8-22 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And more Thai peppers today, after putting those 2 trays in the dehydrator yesterday. And a few more jalapenos.
More Thai Santaka and Vesuvius, plus a few jalapenos. 8-22 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here's another pepper that I didn't harvest, as it will get hotter, on the plant.
Reapers ripening quickly, 8-22 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

My Thai red long beans are producing quickly now, and have to be picked daily, like okra, or they get too large. There's one I missed yesterday, and it got too large, so I'll leave it until dried, to save seeds.
Thai red long bean, got overgrown, so I'll save it for the seeds. Was probably ready yesterday, but I missed it. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Thai red long bean my most productive now, though others are coming back some, after that heat let up. 90s coming back, though. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I harvested the butternuts today - only one per plant, though the polaris will have much more later. The Butterbush only produced one per plant, then they just die off, like last year, so I won't grow those again.
Far right 3 Butterbush, the rest Polaris Butternut, harvested 8-22 Another flush of fruits forming on Polaris, which is usually more. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A couple of days ago I planted some greens, and today a few started showing. So I put them under an LED today, and later, noticed a few more were showing.
Here's a few of the greens germinating -a few more varieties showed later. 8-22 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And one last thing I did, since they were getting too large, was to trim one of the kaffir lime trees, so I could walk by it easier! There are no restaurants/grocers in the area to share it with, like I do with epazote and curry leaves, so they just get thrown out.
A bunch of excess, trimmed Kaffir lime leaves. Not even finished yet! Have to trim them way back, before re-potting. by pepperhead212, on Flickr