Peppers earned their space in the garden this year

For the first time in a few years, the peppers popped in my garden. This surprises me because it was a cool summer and we all know peppers like it hot.

The three peppers I grew were trial plants: Sweet Heat and Tangerine Dream from Burpee ^[1] and Wonder Bell, a grafted pepper from Jung Seed ^[2]. ^[3]

Wonder Bell and Sweet Heat were the best producers among the three, however Tangerine Dream was still loaded with green fruit in mid October. Tangerine Dream, considered an edible ornamental pepper, was a good producer, but a bit slow to take on its namesake color.

Wonder Bell compares in production and size to California Wonder, a popular sweet pepper. Wonder Bell was completely disease free, a benefit, no doubt, of the grafting process. It also produced very well with a nice size, green fruit with lovely shades of orange red.

Sweet Heat also produced very well, quickly turning from green to red. The heat is mild, but more pronounced when the fruit is green. The heat fades a bit when the fruit turns red and sweetens up.

Each of these peppers was grown in 10-gallon Smart Pots ^[4] and fertilized every two to three weeks with Authentic Haven Brand ^[5] compost tea. The tea is made with dehydrated livestock manure, which steeps in a bucket of water for a few hours before use. I probably could have been more faithful with watering and fertilizing.

This is the year I realized that I have a lot more shade in my back yard. A neighbor’s redbud has grown significantly, casting deeper shadows in my sunny growing spots. But it is not doing well, showing symptoms of verticillium wilt disease, so it probably won’t be standing much longer.

And there’s a weedy mulberry that shades the garden from mid to late afternoon sun, so when the tree comes down this spring, the yard should have a lot more light.

Still, I’ll probably move some things around in the garden next year. I’ve already started by pulling out plants I’m tired of or that have outgrown their space. I tell people all of the time that I’m always rearranging the plants in my garden, but seldom rearrange the furniture in my house.