The wait is over. We have peppers (no joke)…

News flash. The wait is over. We have peppers. Yes, real peppers. No joke. Actual, real peppers, hanging from the stems of the plants we’ve been growing over the past few months. I know this seems like a far fetched tale, but I sh*t you not. They have arrived. I literally never thought I’d be posting an update with photos of peppers on these plants. What a time to be alive. To see these little gems in all their glory. Oh. My. Goodness. It’s taken some time and by god, it’s taken a great deal of luck but today we harvested our first ever jalapeño.

As you may have previously read, our little pals moved homes several weeks ago, leaving the comfort of their “Click and Grow” townhouse incubator, travelling across town to a neighbourhood of detached-house plant pots. Times were tough for  while as they struggled to adapt to their new surroundings, but eventually they began to acclimatize, with their precious little stems strengthening day by day.

Several weeks then passed and very little appeared to be happening. The summer heat was hitting our garden, but the cool air-conditioned environment that surrounded them didn’t seem to be to their liking. Their growth was stunted and in general they seemed pretty down.

Perhaps it was time to take the plunge. Perhaps it was time to once again fly the nest, and head south to soak up the summer sun…and so the decision was made. The outdoor heat was too much to resist. They would once again move homes and hopefully reap the benefits of the summer sun in the garden beyond.

As you can imagine, this decision to once again move was not taken lightly, especially knowing that what lay ahead were potentially dangerous times. As you might remember, last year we lost a young crop of pepper plants to our time sharing racoon family the first night they were left outside. It was our hope that this time around the same fate would not befall these pepper plants. They were noticeably larger this time around and likely better equipped to deal with the racoon threat.

Anyway, fast forward three weeks and their holding steady. So far they’ve avoided any near death experiences and in general they seem pleased to have made the move. They’re getting more consistent heat and a good shower of water ever other day from the sprinkler, which they just love.

As we approach the final days of July I’m happy to report that all nine plants are now flowering and thus we look set for a good crop of peppers in the coming weeks. In particular we have some early advancements with the three cayenne plants already sprouting peppers. In fact today we plucked one to try and by god was it ever good.

Stay tuned for another update in the coming weeks…