Show Date: 20 May 10
Peppers are usually the last to go in the ground.  They love warm soil…  these little poppers need to be hardened off as well.

Pepper seedlings

Gradually climatize them to the outdoors.  With the stellar weather expected, they should do well being outdoors for short periods of time. 

Don’t put them in blazing sun right away.  Let them get used to “real” weather, not the weather in your basement! 

Hot drying winds and dry soil can inhibit fruit set.  Be sure they get plenty to drink without them sitting in water!

By the way, ’Godfather’ is a great grilling pepper that produces prolifically. 

Pepper 'Godfather'

Show Date: 18 Jun 09

Kids are outta school and already they’ve spent hours sitting in front of some electronic device. Let’s get them dirty! Create a 6 foot diameter circle for a pizza garden!

Pizza garden chart.

Plant wedges of basil, oregano, parsley, onions (long-day variety for our climate), peppers and tomatoes. I would suggest a couple of types of peppers, maybe a mild chili pepper and a bell pepper. Try a grape tomato like ‘Yellow Pear’ for some other color and a cherry tomato like ‘Sweet 100.’

Little kids like the ‘Cuke in a Bottle.’ Choose an immature fruit on your cucumber plant and put a soda bottle over it. Be sure to poke holes in the bottle so you don’t fry the little cuke while it grows inside.

Show Date: 29 May 09

A great weekend for planting your tomatoes and peppers! If you’re new at this, then I suggest you plant in rows and follow the packet directions. The reason you plant in rows is so you’ll have an easier time identifying the weeds from the sprouted plants!

All veggies need full sun, that means a minimum of 6-hours of direct sunlight. Tomatoes, peppers and most herbs prefer 8-hours. ‘Honey Bear’ is a nice size squash you can grow in a large container. I’m trying ‘Sweet Olive’ grape tomato this year in a container. It’s supposed to be crack-free! Wahoo.

Once your seeds have sprouted, your plants are situated, then the rule of thumb is one inch of water a week. Either Mother Nature or you! Please feel free to email me with any questions you have:

Show Date: 21 May 09

… but I’ll hold off planting my peppers till the very end of May. They’re the last to go in the ground as they like it warm! Bells are great for stuffing, jalapenos are great for my roasted tomato mix and I grew habaneros for pepper spray to deter rabbits. They’re all lovely looking too! Peppers thrive in hot weather but they get thirsty. Give ‘em plenty of water!