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Thursday, July 5, 2012

An early pepper harvest

A pepper harvest in late June is a rarity for California. Unlike the east cost or the mid west that is experiencing a heat wave, temperatures in the bay area are still not in the upper 70's and occasionally in the low 80s.

Last winter, I dug out some of the pepper plants from my raised beds and moved them into 5 gallon pots and brought them under the porch (not even indoors). They survived the mild winter and have done fabulously well after being replanted in spring. They are yielding close to 2lbs every few days. Needless to say we are sharing the love with friends and family.



9 comments:

  1. Hi, I am a new homeowner (bayarea) and wanting to grow some india veggies in my backyard. Needless to say I am quite inspired by your blog, and feel confident that I can succeed to some extent, may not be to your degree. I have a question for you - do you know where i can find "chikkudu" seeds? Any suggestions how I can make one from fresh chikkudu beans?

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  2. Glad to be an inspiration. I am not sure what "chikkudu seeds" are, i tried googling them, but couldnt identify what plant they may be from. You may want to try www.seedsofindia.com

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  3. Hi, Sorry about the confusion. I meant broadbeans.

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  4. I grew broadbeans successfully last years from the seeds i got from www.seedsofindia.com The germination rates are pretty bad when compared to the seeds typically available in this country. This year not even one plant made it out !

    I have been wanting to try this site...i have heard great feedback. You may want to check it out
    http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seeds_bean.html

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  5. I am so encouraged to find your blog. I am new to veggie gardening in the bay and have had success with tomatoes, cauliflowers, squashes etc this year, but am learning from mistakes like plantng peppers behind cauliflowers. A few questions:
    1. how many tomato plants did you plantthat gave 200 pounds. I am counting not weighing this year :D
    2. Where did you buy the large cages that I saw in the pictures? Are those the Texas cages? I realized my cages were too small
    3.Is it necessary to overwinter the peppers and eggplants or can we leave them in the ground? Do chillies need over wintering as well?
    4. When do you start bitter gourd and okra from seeds?

    Thanks so much

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  6. Very early on, I never had the heart to pull out the weaker plant and just let the strongest one continue. So I used to have like 5 or 6 tomato plants in one cage(you are right, they are texas tomato cages...and by far the best option IMHO. I bought them on ebay). Thinking back it is insane. The last couple of years I have found that just one (healthy) plant of each when spaced appropriately yields as much as or more than my 5/6 per cage. I now grow about 7-8 different varieties (1 plant each).

    Typically peppers/ eggplants die during winter. I never tried overwintering them until i stumbled on it by accident thanks to the mild winter. I might try to do it every year now just to get a headstart.

    I have tried a bunch of different things with bitter gourd/ okra. I have had success starting them from seed in Feb and then transplanting them. This year we just threw seeds in directly in late April and the Okras are actually doing way better than anytime before...and no babying. I guess it has to do with the weather.

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  7. Hi,

    I discovered your excellent blog when I was recently searching on how to grow Hibiscus in Bay area (I'm in South Bay - SJ). Have been browsing thru your archives - great posts/photos - very inspiring!!! Lot of learning - esp. after my Curry leaf plant died (early winter frost - forgot to move in on time).

    My main question to you - Why no posts for more than a year. Pls keep posting and inspiring us!

    Regards
    Ramkumar
    --


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  8. I will start soon. This blog has been the place to share with family, didnt realise anyone other than my family was following :)

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  9. Hello there. Hoping that all is well. Your blog was a huge inspiration for me when I started my new garden in Texas. Now that I have moved to California I keep checking back for more inspiration and to see the progress you have made:)

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