The Summer of Peppers - Get the best out of the hottest months.

 No doubt that our premiere growing season runs from sometime in September to about the end of May the next year.  We achieve the best looking, healthiest crops with the highest yields during that time.  We are able to grow enough carrots, lettuce, radishes, onions, herbs and seasonings to supply us through the season and beyond.  We continue to consume the stock of carrots and onions that we grow well into the summer, and most of our best seasonings continue to produce in the hot months. But then what ?  Do we put the whole garden to bed for the summer months ?  We are limited in terms of which plants will thrive or even survive during those ultra-hot months.  Between the pests and the heat...things that do grow in the hot months get eaten or crippled by bugs and worms and everything.

Bring in the peppers.

Someone here on the property asked ( from the kitchen ) " Do we have any green bell peppers out there ? " while preparing a dish that required it.

" sorry no " I said, and then went to the store an bought a green pepper plant.....something I try not to do.  I am all about growing from seed, my Datil's for example are 100% from seed.  It is just too long to fruit in this case....I needed to have bell pepper growing.  

Pepper are one of the few things that will thrive during the summer.  The boring worms that we get, ( dropped off by a little green translucent fly) don't totally kill the plants for a long time.  Some pepper plants produce for several years even though they have been cored out by the boring worms. We just cut them back at the end of the season and they re-grow.

Beyond the Bell pepper.... We have added Hot Burrito peppers, Mad Hatter peppers, Congo (habanero) peppers, and  Fresno chili's.  We already have a great number of the hot Datil pepper variety that yield plenty peppers. 

We may at some point during the hot months of the summer be forced to purchase some of the produce that we can't grow in the heat....but one item I doubt we will purchasing is peppers.