Cold Peppers

Winter decided to make a final push here in Arkansas. The temperatures on Sunday fell dramatically and the whole state was under a hard frost warning for both Sunday and Monday night.

So, we ventured out to the farm in a swirl of bone-cold wind (particularly jarring since we've been enjoying mid-70s weather) to protect our peppers and tomatoes with homemade cloches.

Our plants owe a debt of gratitude to our addiction to seltzer water because we had a large quantity of empty plastic bottles on hand. Adam, ever the boy scout, tells me he was saving these for just this purpose. We'll remove them on Wednesday when the temperatures return to their normal springtime haunts.

A time to plant

Today we planted:

Cabbage and Collards



Peppers - banana and bell (please pray they don't turn out like last year!)



Strawberries!





Beefsteak tomatoes



We also re-planted our rosemary, thyme and oregano from last year.

Still need to plant:
flowers
herbs
potatoes
okra
beans
carrots
squash
corn

Other to do:
build a tool "shed"

Picture of the Day

Don't call it a comeback


Yet.

But, do you see what I see?

A bell pepper flower? With beautiful green leaves surrounding it?

So exciting!

I'm trying not to let my bell pepper dreams run away with me but I'm already thinking of all the things I can make with these as-of-yet-nonexistent fruits.

We were about ready to throw in the shovel (sorry, I had to) and then the plants had a rebound. I'm not sure what caused it. We did fertilize them and give them extra water. And when we watered THIS time, they had mulch to protect them from the bacteria that supposedly splashed up on their lower leaves.

We'll see. Keep your fingers crossed and your good bell-pepper vibes coming.

Picture of the Day

What ISN'T doing well

Lest I give you the impression that every plant in our garden is going great guns, take a look at this bell pepper plant above. What? You say that all you see is a stick?

Exactly.

Our bell peppers have never really done anything. When they first started growing, the bottom leaves died and fell off. Now, ALL of the leaves are dying and falling, leaving us with what you see above.

And absolutely no bell peppers.

As I mentioned before, we aren't the only ones afflicted with this problem. But we don't really know how to solve it and we are about to pull all of our bell peppers. If it had been up to Adam, we would have pulled them long ago but I'm slightly more optimistic (or naive, take your pick) and we've left them.

But after arriving at the garden and finding the above, I'm about ready to relent.

Something else that isn't growing well, almost overnight, has been our squash. They started getting these milky white coating of fungus all over them and they just didn't look healthy. Adam theorized that it was because we were watering them at night and, after speaking with a more seasoned farmer, he determined that he was correct.

After one day of watering during the day, instead of at night, the squash started making a rebound.

Amazing.

The only other plant that isn't thriving is a tomato. ALL of our tomatoes are doing great except one and, of course, it is the one that was a gift. For whatever reason, it started getting all wilty despite the fact that it was getting just as much water as the rest of the tomatoes. It is a Brandywine tomato so I'm not sure if they have different requirements than roma or beefsteak.

So there. I've sufficiently tarnished your picture-perfect vision of our garden and our small reputations as gardening professionals.