So what vegetables, herbs, etc. have you planted this year? Where do you live?
I am in the NYC Metro area just north of the city, Lower Westchester County. It’s been a crazy Spring with a day or two of 80-90F temps, then a p-lunge down to the 50-60’sF, and into the 40’s at night. With rain every few days, usually on the coldest ones. A horrible Spring to plant veggies outside. Especially chile peppers which don’t like temps under 55F, and hate wet roots. I do a container garden, using medium/large plastic pots. I used to do much more, but have cut back. The past few years I have done mostly hot peppers, a few tomatoes, beans, and Asian eggplants. I get some huge, incredibly productive plants using organic liquid fish emulsion for growth, and then a liquid kelp/fish emulsion for flowering and fruiting.
Each year I overwinter a few chile pepper plants by cutting them back in late Oct/early Nov, to just over the first fork, and repotting into 4" pots and keeping in an unheated bedroom over the winter, watering every two weeks. Their second year (and I have overwintered chile plants up to four years) they produce fruit much, much sooner, and the plants grown huge. This is really great with some of the superhot peppers who have an extremely late season and sometimes grow until late summer/early fall before producing fruit.
Plants 2017
Chile Peppers - A mix of mild, medium, and very hot; for fermented sauces and drying for powder.
(2) ALEPPO - mild; 3.5 to 4 inches long by 1 to 1.5 inches wide; medium thick flesh; matures from green to red; pendant pods; green leaves; 24 to 30 inches tall; Mid Season (70-80 days); Uses: Drying, Powder; from Syria; aka Halaby pepper; C.annuum. Aleppo has a moderate heat level with a mild, cumin-like undertone, a bit of fruitiness, and a hint of a salt and vinegar. Aleppo chili offers a pleasant variation from your usual crushed red peppers. It has a very robust flavor that hits you in the back of your mouth, tickles your throat and dissipates quickly.
(1) FATALII - extremely hot; Habanero Elongated Type; 2.5 to 3.5 inches long by 1.25 to 1.5 inches wide; medium thick flesh; matures from green to bright yellow; pendant pods; green leaves; 30 to 36 inches tall; Very Late Season (90+ days); Uses: Prolific; from Central African Republic; deadly hot!; C.chinense. With the heat level of a habanero, it has a more fruity, citrus flavor, lemon and sometimes peach, and packs an instant, intense burn.
(2) HAWAIIAN SWEET HOT - hot; 1.5 to 2 inches long by 0.5 to 0.625 inches wide; medium thick flesh; matures from green to red; pendant pods; green leaves; 18 to 24 inches tall; Mid Season (70-80 days); Uses: Chutneys, Fresh Salsas; from USA, Hawaii; C.annuum. Sweet, hot flavor.
(2) LEMON DROP - hot; Andean Aji Type; 2 to 3 inches long by 0.5 to 0.75 inches wide; medium thick flesh; matures from green to bright yellow; upright pods become pendant; green leaves; 24 to 30 inches tall; Very Late Season (90+ days); C.baccatum. The lemon drop pepper, ají limon, is a hot, citrus-like, lemon-flavored pepper which is a popular seasoning pepper in Peru, where it is known as qillu uchu.
(1) SANTA FE GRANDE - medium; Short Wax Type; 3 to 4 inches long by 0.75 to 1.25 inches wide; thick flesh; matures from greenish yellow to orange to red; pendant pods; green leaves; 18 to 24 inches tall; Early Season (60-70 days); Uses: Prolific, Canning/Processing; C.annuum. . Santa Fe Grande’s fruit have a slightly sweet taste and are fairly mild in pungency.
(2) URFA BIBER - mild; Blocky Type; 4 to 6 inches long by 1.5 to 2 inches wide; medium thick flesh; matures from green to red; pendant pods; green leaves; 24 to 30 inches tall; Mid Season (70-80 days); Uses: Drying, Large Stuffing, Powder; from Turkey; C.annuum.
(2) ZAVORY - medium; Habanero Elongated; 2 to 2.5 inches long by 1 to 1.5 inches wide; medium thick flesh; matures from green to red; pendant pods; green leaves; 18 to 24 inches tall; Late Season (80-90 days); Uses: Seasoning Pepper; these can be quite mild, or have some kick, a bit variable; C.chinense. Habanero with all the fruity flavor and aroma, without high heat.
Overwintered from 2016 - All Cayenne types for making fermented hot sauce and drying for powder.
(1) CAYENNE LARGE THICK - hot; Cayenne Type; 5 to 6 inches long by 0.75 to 1 inches wide; medium thin flesh; matures from green to red; pendant pods; green leaves; 18 to 24 inches tall; Mid Season (70-80 days); Uses: Drying, Fresh Salsas, Pickling, Powder; C.annuum.
(1) IBERIA HYBRID - medium; Cayenne Type; 7 to 10 inches long by 1 to 1.5 inches wide; medium thick flesh; matures from green to red; pendant pods; green leaves; 24 to 30 inches tall; Early Season (60-70 days); Uses: Drying, Fresh Salsas, Roasting, Fried/Stir-Fried, Crafts; a NJ Long Hot/Mesilla type; C.annuum
(1) MESILLA HYBRID - medium; Cayenne Type; 7 to 10 inches long by 1 to 1.5 inches wide; medium thick flesh; matures from green to red; pendant pods; green leaves; 24 to 30 inches tall; Mid Season (70-80 days); Uses: Drying, Roasting, Fried/Stir-Fried, Crafts; C.annuum
(1) SUGARCHILE HYBRID - mild; Cayenne Type; 5 to 6 inches long by 1 to 1.5 inches wide; medium thick flesh; matures from green to red; pendant pods; green leaves; 24 to 30 inches tall; Mid Season (70-80 days); Uses: Prolific, Roasting; C.annuum
(1) GARDEN SALSA HYBRID - medium; Cayenne Type; 8 to 9 inches long by 0.75 to 1 inches wide; medium thin flesh; matures from green to red; pendant pods; green leaves; 18 to 24 inches tall; Mid Season (70-80 days); Uses: Fresh Salsas, Prolific; resistant to Tobacco Mosaic Virus; C.annuum.
(1) Mexibelle Pepper - 5 inches by 4 inches, 75 days, Scoville heat units: 100 to 500 (mild) This unique hybrid pepper combines the characteristics of bell and hot peppers to produce a bell with a kick. Mexibelle bears large, flat, wide, bell-shaped peppers that mature from green to red.
Sweet Peppers - No full size ones this year.
(1) Lunchbox Orange Pepper - sweet; 2 to 2.5 inches long by 1 to 1.25 inches wide; medium thick flesh; matures from green to orange; pendant pods; green leaves; 18 to 24 inches tall; Mid Season (70-80 days); a new super sweet, practically seedless snacker; C.annuum.
Tomatoes - Nothing heirloom or fancy this year.
(1) Husky Cherry Red Tomato – super sweet cherry tomato , short 65 days, 3 to 4 feet tall, Dwarf Indeterminate
(1) Super Sweet 100 Tomato- Very Small Round Cherry; matures red; Cherry Leaf; Mid Season (70-80 days); very sweet favorite cherry; low acid; Uses: Prolific, Tall Variety; Indeterminate; S.lycopersicum.
This is when they were just planted four weeks ago on April 26th, they look pretty forlorn. This is the unused South facing side of the house, with a wall that reflects light and radiates heat. I’ll post a current photo in a few days, but due to the cold snap they haven’t grown as much normally. The overwintered plants didn’t go into full hibernation this year and tripled in size over the winter. Unusual. The Fatali and Aji peppers have been hit really hard by the cold weather, and almost died, no growth at all and the leaves turned yellow and looked like they were about to drop, but the past few days of 90F temps may have saved them since they are greening up again.