My Slice of Pepper Heaven

My slice of pepper heaven kicked off the Labor Day weekend. I was so busy on Friday, I’d forgotten to check on my, now, 19 pepper plants on my upstairs balcony. The disadvantage to growing them up there is it’s off the master bedroom, and I work downstairs and out front all day. (The advantage is fewer pests and more sun!)

My pepper plants in cloth pots on balcony

I went up about 4:30PM and several plants were drooping! I got to work watering (with a dose of seaweed fertilizer and liquid calcium) a total of 14 gallons, which meant 7 trips, filling my 2-gallon watering can in my shower (which has a chlorine filter on it), to the balcony and back.

Spraying peppers with nutrients and essential oils

As they began to perk up, I mixed up epsom salts, a crushed aspirin, a few drops of peppermint, thyme and rosemary essential oils (aromatics deter bugs) into a gallon sprayer of filtered water, and gave them all a thorough spray. As they sat there dripping, and soaking in the nutrients, the sun was going down.

Jalapeno medium dripping in the last sun rays

After all the old original one-story houses around us were replaced with big, tall structures, most of the limited view we once had is gone. But, there is a slice, toward just where the sun sets (at least in September), where you can track the sun all the way to the horizon. My plants have done so well, and look so green and beautiful, I mourned not having spent more time with them.

Jimmy Nardello peppers

I pulled up a chair, poured myself a glass of champagne, and toasted them for all their independent resilience and productivity.

Champagne toast to my peppers

And it was nice. Watching them in the soft breeze, as the sun went down.

My point of view of peppers

Now, I’m leaving for a Late Bloomer journey East in a few days (and I will be filing posts from the road, so please check in, I need your support!), and my only real concern are my peppers. Will the leaves look this healthy without regular T.L.C.?

Pepper leaf

The summer garden is winding down: cucumbers are gone, most tomato vines will be pulled this week, harvesting my second and last pumpkin this week, corn is gone, only my beans will be left to dry on the vine, no worries there, but my peppers I do worry about. They could go on and be blooming into December, with T.L.C.

Pepper flower

This is my slice of pepper heaven, what’s yours? My upcoming pepper episode is with my editors now and will be uploaded late this month, but first, I have a big 2-part August Update that will be uploaded this week, so please subscribe here and on my channel, so you won’t miss an episode. Many thanks for your support. Please share Late Bloomer and help me inspire more people to grow their own food. Happy Labor Day! – Kaye

Sunset over my pepper balcony

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Category: Garden Musings, Maintenance, Pest Management, Urban Gardening, Vegetables, Warm Season