Slowly But Surely

It's been awhile since my last post. Not a whole lot exciting has been happening except for the fact that both of us have not been home this week. But there has been one very pleasant surprise this week...and this summer as a whole.

A lot of people I talk to with home gardens always say that bell peppers are the most fickle plants. More times than not, they don't produce much except frustration.

But this year, our bell pepper plants have been amazing. Not just a lot of fruit, but they have been large in size. And just this past week or so, we've finally reaped the rewards. We have at least a half dozen ripe red bell peppers on the plant....with another half dozen yet to ripen. I've also noticed that the peppers take a long time to ripen on the vine compared to other vegetable plants. But once we cut into one and tasted it....we knew it was well worth the wait.

Why did this year's crop do so much better than last? It could be a lot of factors. I put them in a bigger pot. I bought these plants at a quality garden center opposed to last year's plants from Home Depot. It could be the potting mix I used. Maybe the drought last year was too much to handle. It could be a lot of reasons. Regardless, I consider the bell peppers the big success of this year's garden.

When The Farmer Is Away...

Fortunately for me, I have a trusty farmhand to help take care of the crops when I'm travelling for work. And today, Mrs. Harlan picked another Cajun Delight okra and two bell peppers. No, they're not red. But that's because she picked them a tad early. All bell peppers start off green and eventually ripen to another color...red, yellow, orange, purple, white, etc. They may not be as sweet as if they had matured to red, but they'll be good just the same. Plus, now the plant can focus on nourishing the other smaller peppers.


Compared to last year, just having any decent sized peppers this season is a major coup. A combo of no rain, extreme heat, and small pots last year created peppers downright awful. So to see two peppers this size on the Fourth of July is reason for fireworks.