These Pickled Peppers Have Nothing To Do With Peter Piper

Well, it's not quite a peck of pickled peppers, but I think six pints will be more than enough to see me through the winter.

Back From Death's Door

This banana pepper plant spent the winter perched on the sill of a south facing window. All seemed to be going well until just before I was about to put it outside. I noticed the leaves were changing and falling off. Turns out that some very small insects were attacking it. I took it outside anyway and thought about throwing it away. I found some organic insecticide and sprayed it, but it still looked as though it was at death's door. I decided to put it aside and see what would happen.

As it turns out, Mother Nature was more than happy to lend some help in reviving her creation after it had been given an assist in fending off its attackers. It now looks like it was never in any danger at all. Amazing!

Harvest Hues

The vibrant colors of these banana peppers clearly indicate that they are ripe and flavorful enough to be collected. They'll make a great addition to my baked sausage, potato and onion dish.

Yes, You Can Grow A Rainbow

One of the great things about growing banana peppers is that you can never be sure what colors you'll get. And when there are multiple hues on a single plant, it's as though you're growing a very tasty rainbow.

And I Almost Forgot...

While I was waxing poetic about the myriad ways in which banana peppers could be eaten and used in an earlier post, I forgot to mention that they can also be pickled. How careless of me!

Flavorful Rainbow

Fragrant, flavorful, fantastic, fresh banana peppers come in many colors and are extremely versatile. They can be used in salads, soups, stews, casseroles and stir fry dishes. They can be boiled, baked, fried, roasted or eaten raw. I can't get enough of them. This year I more than doubled the number of containers devoted to growing them. And I'm glad I did! And I can't wait to do it again next year!

Colors Of The Season

The sun is moving lower in the southern sky each day and overnight temperatures are dipping towards Jack Frost territory. Fall has indeed arrived and its customary hues can be seen, but not yet in the leaves of trees. Instead, my pepper plants are putting on an awesome autumn display of red and gold as they rush to give their last gifts of the season. Our average first frost date is around the middle of October. So in only a couple of weeks this chromatic festival will come to an abrupt and unwanted end. Color me blue!

Banana Peppers Anyone?

Despite their name, banana peppers aren't usually yellow. Although I'm sure there is a botanist out there somewhere who is trying desperately to breed yellow ones.