Mr. Unhappy Jalapeno perked up within 30 minutes after I put up some row cover shade - I was surprised the “perk” happened so fast. When buying the plants, I was pulling out some that were half hidden under a shelf. Mr. Unhappy was one of those plants & I think it was in shade all the time & not hardened off to sun. The other plant was in the front, so that one is doing just fine.
I want jalapenos for Jalapeno Pepper Jelly. I also found out this morning that a relative just picked buckets of blackberries on her farm yesterday. I’m going to see if I can get a quart to freeze for Blackberry Merlot Jelly batches. She doesn’t eat jelly, but I will give her a couple of jars with her farm name crediting the berries & she can gift them to people who DO eat jelly!
I have LOADS of jalapenos on my plants in East Tennessee already, with many more to come, based on the amount of blossoms...BUT what has me excited are the two Carolina Reaper blossoms that have just opened, and it isn’t even July 1st yet! Blossom ‘buds’ visible on my Death Spirals, but none have opened yet.
Beau said he’s spotted two patches of Black Caps that are starting to turn. We should be picking very soon!
The birds got all of his Haskaps (Honeyberry) while he was fishing in Canada.
What? I was supposed to camp out in the garden and protect them? *SNORT*
I watered The Big Garden so far (came in for some more coffee before I finish the Kitchen Garden) and our apple trees are LOADED, so I’m happy about that. Liberty, Haralson, Bonny Best and two Honeycrisp, which have NEVER produced fruit until this year (8 years in)? How anyone makes money on apples is beyond me. SO much work to do it right!
On a sadder note, woodpeckers have ringed my two pear trees (also producing for the first time!) and my Spring Snow crab apple. Fingers crossed that they can survive the damage. Jerks!