Drinking my coffee and standing at the front storm door, watching the hummers come to the feeder, one after another, to fuel up. They are so cute - lots of “chitter chatter” going on yesterday afternoon around the feeder along with aerial acrobatics as they chased each other. Yesterday morning, all 3 feeders got fresh nectar & the 2 in the back yard got bleached ... they were pretty bad. I had the shades off (they are in direct sun most of the day) due to storms with heavy winds, & the nectar spoiled quickly. The red shades are back on & the hummers are feeding there now, too.
Mowed late afternoon, early evening until about 7:45. The place looks like a park this morning - my ‘reward’ for about 3 hours on the mower. Everything around the garden is cut as well, so I don’t have to wade through grass to get to it. The grass is super green after all the rain (2.5” in 3-4 days) and various flowers are blooming. The trees are totally leafed out.
I replanted my peat pots and have two more little jalapenos just breaking through. The last 2 days, I’ve put the little plants (cukes, beans, 2 jalapenos) out in the sun for an hour. The replanted peat pots go out as well - the sun warms them up nicely so hopefully, the remaining seeds will sprout.
I’ve been buying 4-packs of jalapeno plants (maybe 2-3 inches tall) from the local nursery in years past. Last year, the tag just said ‘hot jalapeno’. The peppers were short & stubby and got the brown ‘stretch marks’ early - by the time they were red, they were not something I wanted to use for my now “famous” (among family/friend circles) Jalapeno Pepper Jelly. I only use red peppers & the jelly is a beautiful amber color with red pepper flecks. I will also add that I love jalapeno poppers.
This year, I bought seeds for a “Jalafuego” jalapeno. It is described as “Large, quality jalapeno great for stuffing, as each pepper can reach a colossal, 4” long. Hotter, larger and more productive than other jalapenos. At the higher end of the heat scale for jalapenos, ‘Jalafuego’ registers a 4,000 - 6,000 Scoville heat unit rating (medium hot). Delicious fresh, deep fried, in salsa or dried and smoked for chipotles. High disease resistance to bacterial leaf spot races 1-3 and potato virus Y.”
I don’t think I’m going to have fat, stubby jalapenos this year! Grow little peppers, grow ... can’t wait for poppers and jelly!