apparently gardening has some tangible consequences; who knew?

[edenfalling]

Pepper time again! And twice as literally in some ways -- as you can see, my bell pepper is in the process of growing actualfax peppers, OMG. It is also still blooming, so I expect there will be quite a lot of peppers by the time all the flowers have fallen. (Hmm. I should see if I'm expected to thin them or if the plant can support all of them without trouble. Perhaps I should also look into additional stakes. Bell peppers can get pretty damn big.)

The jalapeño has just about caught up to the bell pepper in size. Yay! It has also begun to produce buds. Double yay!! Alas, I was unable to get a non-blurry picture of them, as they are still too small to show up well against the equally green backdrop of stems and leaves. Perhaps over the weekend.








This is so exciting! Oh, wow. Oh my gosh. Actual, literal peppers! Not only did I manage to avoid killing the plants through overwatering or underwatering or weird diseases or fungus infections or just sheer bad luck, one of them is producing actual food.

...

Holy shit, what am I going to do with so many peppers???

Comments

[branchandroot]

Dude, you're going to have a ton of peppers! Time to invest in some dressing to eat pepper sticks with, perhaps? (I'm partial to green pepper sticks dipped in ranch.)

[edenfalling]

Alas, raw vegetables and I do not get along. I am generally not as allergic to them as to fruits, but since peppers are fruits, biologically speaking, I have never cared to risk them. :-(

I suppose I can try to pawn some off on my coworkers... Or stir fry. I foresee a lot of stir fry in my future.

[branchandroot]

Oh dear; that does make difficulties. Between the green and the jalepeno, though, you have the makings for lots of mexican. Enchiladas, maybe. Also, green peppers freeze really, really well if you dice them up and freezer-bag them, so perhaps you'll just have stir fry now and then for a long time.

[autumnia]

My parents grow a lot of peppers in the summer (both bell peppers and Thai chilies) and for bell, we usually wait till they start turning or have become red before we pick them. In addition to stir fry, I usually dice them and add to pasta and soup as well. And omelettes. Grilling them is also a fun option if you have access to a grill.

[edenfalling]

Hmm, soup. You know, if I bought a crock pot, I could make chicken soup and/or beef stew every week. They're both incredibly hard to screw up, and last forever, and go well with breads of all kinds, and... hmmmm.

Okay, I know what I want for Christmas. :-)

[lady_songsmith]

Also don't expect to get the fist or double-fist sized peppers you get at the market off these. My home-grown peppers usually produce one "regular" sized one and a bunch about the size of a large plum. So it may not be as much actual pepper flesh as you're thinking. (But tastier!) :)

[edenfalling]

I'm glad to hear that the bell peppers won't all be double-fist-sized, since I don't think the plant could support them if they were!

A lot of grocery store produce is bred for size rather than flavor, more's the pity. I remember that store-bought strawberries and raspberries never tasted as good as the ones my parents grew in our backyard. (This was back when I could still eat raw fruit. Man, I miss those days.)

[rthstewart]

EEEEE! so exciting. Yes, definitely given them a little miracle gro or its equivalent to keep them going and the longer you can keep them on the vine and turning red the sweeter they will be!

[edenfalling]

I didn't water them today, since it's been SUCH a rainy summer, but the next few days are forecast to be clear so I think I will give them some Miracle Gro tomorrow evening.

I may pick some while they're still green and let others ripen fully. For science, you understand. ;-)

[via_ostiense]

Goodness! It is hard to believe that that tiny plant is producing little peppers that will grow to be full-sized bell peppers. This is what they call the miracle of life, eh? The little peppers are adorable, they're just like bell peppers except tiny!

(Obvious, I know, but I can't help but be amazed and squee when plants start sprouting and bearing fruit. It's marvelous and miraculous--a sort of everyday miracle.)

[edenfalling]

They are adorably tiny! And yes, I know that producing peppers is what pepper plants are born to do, but it's still somehow a surprise. The world is a pretty amazing place. :-)

[jomanflea.livejournal.com]

Peppers are awesome.
If you get a chance, give them some plant food while they are fruiting - making the peppers can take a lot out of the plants.

if you get too many to use while they are fresh, they freeze quite well.
I've frozen mine both whole and chopped.
You wouldn't want to put them in a salad or anything after freezing, but still great in sauces, stir-fries etc....
(I've had some lose a bit of their heat after freezing, but it depends a bit on the type of pepper I think)

[edenfalling]

I'm going to give them some Miracle Gro tomorrow evening -- I didn't want to water them today or yesterday because it has been a ridiculously rainy summer, but the next few days are forecast to be clear, so water will likely be appreciated. :-)

I will probably end up freezing a bunch of chopped or diced pieces, because I just cannot cook that much at once. (And I can't eat most raw vegetables anyway -- food allergies *sigh* -- so the lack of salads is not a deal-breaker.)