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My boysenberry bush is bigger and happier than ever! I look forward to all the yummy berries :D

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Lol I think someone stole some potting soil from the half full bag I have in front of my apartment. I'm moving out in a week, I would have given them the whole thing if they asked. :P

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Favorite pepper? What made you take up gardening as a hobby?

My favorite pepper is definitely the hot Portugal, good balance of sweet and spicy. As for what made me take it up, I think I just like having things to take care of and I like food XD I started with herbs and then moved on to tomatoes and peppers and then just everything I could.

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Here’s an update on how my seedlings are doing. Everything is sprouted and on its way! The Sugar Rush Peach Peppers sprouted just fine. I found out that the Chocolate Peppers are supposed to be really hot, so that’ll be fun. 

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I found this in the community garden the other week left over from last fall. I thought it looked rather funny all squished in the fence.

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My fritillaria also bloomed and looks gorgeous! 

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My snowdrops bloomed as well, I love how they look like tiny ball gowns. They’re so delicate and cute. They’re probably one of my favorite flowers.

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Yesterday I got to try different kinds of honeys: California wildflower, avocado, alfalfa, blackberry, coriander, orange blossom, cotton, buckwheat, sage, and meadow. The California wildflower was def my favorite, but the avocado, cotton, and ob were really unique!

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It’s a little early in the year for my summer strawberries to be flowering, but they are! I actually don’t remember if these were my white strawberries or my red ones. I’m assuming they’re the white ones, as those ones bloomed earlier.

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I took this picture a few weeks ago when I went to tend to the chickens. The trees are in full bloom!

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For those who were curious, here are the two types of peppers that I’m trying new this year.

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Hello all!

So with the new growing season upon us, I’ll be posting some new pics soon. I’ll be moving home from college so my garden is going to start in a box in my apartment (I’m currently already sprouting the seeds) and will conclude in my parent’s backyard.  Over the winter I set up an automatic drip system in my parent’s backyard, which I’ll be expanding as I add my summer crop. I’ve currently tested it on my thornless boysenberry, my Eureka lemon tree, some of my white strawberries, my oxalis triangularis, lemon thyme, and a couple kinds of mint. All of them seem to love it. Considering it doesn’t really freeze here it also doesn’t seem to have a problem being left out/on overwinter. 

This year I will be further expanding my pepper collection, as I was gifted a couple new kinds of pepper seeds by my sister for Christmas: Chocolate Seven Pot and Sugar Rush Peach Peppers. Both of them are supposedly spicy and both can be purchased from rareseeds.com

The packet of Sugar Rush Peach Peppers I got was labelled as having “low” germination at (iirc) 47% so they actually kindly overpacked the packet. That in mind, I planted 6 cells of them as I wanted 2-3 plants at the end. All but one cell have sprouted so far and all have more than 1 seedling, so it all worked out. 

Last year I read somewhere that the germination time of pepper seeds was somehow impacted by their spiciness. I found that to be more or less true, with my spicier ones taking the longest to sprout. If that holds true, the Peach one appears to be mid spicy, about on par with my Hot Portugals, and the Chocolate Seven Pot will be my second spiciest as they were the second to last to sprout. The Thai Peppers will be the last to sprout, as they have yet to come up. I also found that tomatoes sprout before peppers, which follows as they are fairly closely related but not spicy at all (obviously). 

Over Christmas I also came up with a couple produce (mostly pepper) related recipes that I’ll share with you guys in a bit! For now, happy planting!

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How to use peppers #7: Pepper Vodka! It’s really simple but not for the faint of mouth. My friend LOVES ultra spicy stuff (I’m not willing to drink this, but that’s because alcohol alone gives me nasty heartburn). My fiance made some jalapeno vodka last year, so this year we made chinese five color vodka because it’s pretty. 

Just put some peppers, destemmed and cut in half (or in rings if you like), into a bottle of any old vodka. A good way to literally spice up something you’ve had off in a corner forever. Let it sit for at LEAST 2 weeks, but a month is recommended. Ultimately, the longer the better. 

This will end up very spicy, as the alcohol is a good vehicle for the capsaicin.

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How to use peppers #6: Put them on or in manicotti or lasagna! 

I don’t much care for lasagna, but I looove manicotti. For those who don’t know, they’re basically giant pasta tubes stuffed with stuff. I like making them in my large crock-pot but you can also bake them. Here’s my recipe for manicotti filling:

12-16 ounces of ricotta

several good handfuls of either mozzarella or Italian cheese blend

A handful or two of Parmesan

(You’re looking for a good consistency to the cheese where if you make it into a log it stays like that so you can properly shove it in the manicotti)

Pan roasted garlic (you could not roast them if that’s too much effort, or just double up on garlic powder)

Rosemary (I use it fresh from my garden) - I use a lot of this cause it’s my fav

Thyme (fresh)

Basil (fresh) - I personally hate dry basil, the essential oils that make it basil are too weak and end up degrading when dried. Personally I wouldn’t use basil in this if I couldn’t use it fresh.

Oregano (fresh)

Red pepper flakes (I use mine but you can use store bought)

Onion powder

Garlic powder

 Salt and pepper

Mix, stuff, cook, enjoy <3

I cook them in the crock pot on low for ~4-5 hours

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How to use peppers #5: Make salsa! My fiance loves to make salsa, but he won’t tell me the recipe. 

To my best knowledge though it’s one red onion, two pounds of tomatos (preferably romas but others work too), peppers to your preferred spiciness, salt. He also often adds Worcestershire sauce or brown sugar depending on if he’s going for a more smokey or sweet taste.  

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How to use peppers #4: Dry them! I cut up most of my peppers and make them into red pepper flakes by leaving them out to dry. In more humid climates you might need the aid of an oven or dehumidifier, but where I live it’s so dry that I can simply leave them out and they’ll turn into nice dried pepper flakes in no time! Be careful with peppers with more flesh though, as they might mold faster than they dry.

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How to use peppers #3: I made the peppers into a pasta sauce with some tomatoes, oregano, rosemary, and thyme from my garden as well. Just take any pasta sauce recipe you like, add peppers, and bam it’s awesome! In this particular dish, I actually used the sauce over some prosciutto and mozzarella stuffed chicken. 

To make this dish, get some boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Pound out the chicken to about an inch thick. Then take a slice of mozzarella and put it on the chicken, then prosciutto, then put your seasonings on top. We used pepper, salt, red pepper flakes (which I had dried myself), onion powder, and garlic powder. Then roll up the chicken and use toothpicks to hold it in place in the pan. Once you’ve rolled all your breasts, pour your desired pasta sauce into the baking dish but do not fully submerge your chicken. On top of the chicken, put some mozzarella or white cheese of your choosing.

Bake at 350 F until cooked. We use a food thermometer, and I’d recommend the investment to anyone!