Jalapeno Peppers
This year I have decided to dry virtually all of my peppers, and I’ve started with the jalapenos. I’ve strung them with embroidery thread about 1 to 1-1/2 inches apart, tying a knot at each stem. They will hang like this for several weeks in my south-facing kitchen window until they are dry and ready to be made into either powdered pepper or infused in oil.
Mmmm.
Pepper seeds in a row
Here we go. I started my first seeds on Sunday March 13th – Serrano Peppers and Jalapeno Peppers. Here in Edmonton I’m assuming it’ll be safe to place my plants out on or about the 15th of May.
I use Pro-Mix, a peat-based starter with MycoRise Pro. MycoRise is a symbiotic fungus which helps root development and reduces transplant stress.
It’s important to allow the starting medium to absorb water first before planting, so I placed my long narrow containers in water and gave them a good soak from the bottom up. Once the water had thoroughly drenched the soil I removed the containers and allowed them to drip off any excess.
I made a 1/4 inch (5 mm) trench the length of the container using a pencil, then placed the seeds approximately 1.5 cm apart the length of the row. I like to place the seeds on edge to reduce the risk of rot. I covered the seeds with 5 mm of light sand and carefully marked each row with a marker cut from a plastic yogurt container.
I made custom clear plastic covers from a dollar-store tablecloth and placed the seeds under my lamps. Once they begin to sprout I’ll remove the plastic covers to allow them to breathe more freely. I have them under artificial light for 14 hours per day and the room is about 21 degrees C.
Now its just a matter of waiting…10-15 days for germination depending on the soil temperature. By the time these sprout I’ll have planted my tomatoes, eggplants and some hybrid onions – but that’s for next week’s post.
Herb Spiral: July, 2010
It’s been two months since I transferred over my hardy herbs and seeded the annuals in my new herb spiral.
Visually, the spiral does not disappoint. I love the way it’s slowly filling out, with cilantro growing tall on the north-east corner and oregano getting bushy on the south. Basil and sage enjoy the afternoon and evening sun from their vantage point on the west. Rosemary sits cheerfully atop the spiral where conditions are driest and most intimidating. Alternating jalapeno and habernero pepper plants wind their way slowly from the bottom of the spiral upwards. Parsley thrives in the relative shade of the cilantro, while thyme enjoys its own space in the full sun. Garlic plants fill out the remainder of the north-east side of the herb spiral, towering over a struggling lemon basil plant that a friend donated to my culinary garden.
Chives and spearmint have been banished to pots on the side (spearmint invades aggressively if left to it’s own). Ok, if you look closely you’ll see that I have chives in the spiral as well, but I swear that if they produce so much as one offspring, I’ll banish them entirely. Chives left to blossom and go to seed can produce dozens of little plants that pop up yards away from their mama plant. Much as I love chives, I don’t love them that much. (I harvest the chive blossoms for Chive Blossom Vinegar – see June 2010 – and that generally prevents those pesky progeny).
I’ve been eating oregano, sage and thyme for two months now, cilantro leaves for at least six weeks, and bits of rosemary in recent days. My favorite is the fussy sweet basil that began slowly this spring but is now gaining ground. I’m hesitant to strip my two plants of too many leaves before I’m certain they are strong enough to endure the annoying fluctuations in weather that have plagued us this summer.
Herbs are an essential part of my kitchen, and having the herb spiral a few feet out the back door has proven to be a spectacular addition to my culinary creativity. It looks and smells fantastic as well, and isn’t that the goal of any zone 3 gardener?
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The Herb Spiral sits just outside my back door:
Gardeninggrrl 