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The plants we've been watching with worry in our garden have been our pepper plants. We got a late start to this whole project (most everything was planted around Memorial Day) and our natural inclination leans toward impatience, which isn't the temperament to have when were waiting for a garden to grow.
That impatience morphed to outright frustration as we watched the tomatoes explode with rich, vibrant fruit.
A month ago, when we noticed the beginnings of peppers beginning to sprout from the plants, we celebrated with tempered glee. Once they began to sprout our major concern was the flies. Liberal spraying of the plants with a mixture of cayenne pepper and warm water alleviates this somewhat. Tiki torches do a better job, but we can't burn those 24/7.
Anyway, take a look at some of the peppers on the vine. They've grown to bear some hardy fruit. The two we did pick had a sweetness to them that we absolutely enjoyed. We used one for some grilled vegetables; the other we diced and made a mint salsa with the fresh mint we planted in early July. That mint plant was another welcome surprise. We didn't think it would produce more leaves because we bought it so late in the season. But it's a perennial that responds best to moist climates. If anything, the August rains have certainly provided that.
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Good luck taming the mint plant. it's a weed. You'll regret the day you gave it any positive feedback.
The peppers have thrived from the August rains. I have sweet red, yellow bell, and banana peppers growing in containers. They are on the second round of growth. Peppers will never grow to the incredible hulk sized you can get from Jewel. But the bruce banner sized ones are worth the effort. They have less seeds in them than store bought, but have a more potent taste because the flavor is condensed.
If you decide to do the tomato plants in the same spot next year, be sure to give a healthy dose of miracle gro on the area when you pull up these tomato plants. Remember that tomatoes are basically flavored water balloons and they take all the nutrients out of the soil. Any spare leaves in the fall you come across should be spread on that area as well.
Lastly, don't bother with cucumber plants. Too many critters like the flowers and you'll end up with one. And that's too few for the effort you put into that damn thing.
someone in the office of my building downtown brought in cucumbers he grew on his farm. the things were positively obscene. he must know a few secrets..
wow i do love thinking of tomatoes as "flavored water balloons." thanks for that visual. also, they are ovaries. yum yum
People are growing 'obscene cucumbers' and 'flavored water balloons.' Is that code for weed and 'shrooms?