Picking peppers during December in Arizona, 2010

Jalapeno peppers as far as the eye can see!

Look at the size of our jalapeno peppers!
December, 2010

This is a few Jalapeno and Anaheim peppers mixed in with many more Serrano peppers and some cilantro.

New growth on tomato in December 2010

This photo was taken December 19th, 2010 here in Arizona. Can you believe new growth during December!? This tomato is really strong and has been in this location for over 1 year. It has vined up into the Anaheim pepper next to it for protection from the elements.

Arizona garden in April of 2010

I found this old footage of our Arizona garden from April 2010 as we were just starting out.

Video of our side garden and garden hutch in our Arizona garden

A fast post showing a few new Anaheim peppers

Anaheim peppers growing in our Arizona garden. Not sure if it's only my Anaheim peppers, but these all seem to grow straight up!? Strange.

Anaheim peppers from our garden

A few more Anaheim peppers from the garden. I put the maker next to them for size comparison.

A few more peppers and a carrot for fun!

Here we picked a few of the peppers,(Anaheim & Jalapenos), hanging around and we just had to pull another carrot! They are so full of flavor!

I know, I know, the carrot is super small, lol, but it still tastes so good!

Another day, another reason to make salsa!

Here's a good look at a few more peppers and tomatoes I picked earlier this morning. Salsa sounds like a nice treat today!

I can't wait until I have my cilantro plants growing. And if I can swing it, maybe a bears lime tree sometime soon :)

The top peppers are jalapenos, the tom's are early girl, (I think), and the bottom peppers are the Anaheim peppers.

A few peppers drying in the west side window

A few Anaheim peppers drying in a sunny, west facing window. The longest pepper is approx. 6" long. They are really good in eggs and salsa.

P.S.- I chopped up and ate ONLY ONE small, very small jalapeno pepper on some nachos the other day and almost burned my tongue right out of my mouth! lol

Make sure you wear your gloves when picking these hot peppers like jalapeno, habanero, serrano and others.

Shade cloth to the rescue!

Thinking about the increase in heat recently, I think I'll try some shade cloth over a couple peppers.

First pepper to get some shade cloth covering will be our Anaheim pepper. I'm wondering if some shade
will correct the strange upside down growing habit this pepper has grown to like?

Second pepper is our great tasting jalapeno pepper. This girl is growing fantastic! Almost 4' tall! The reason for the shade cloth is that one of the stems is looking a little sun burnt which I think is coming from a reflection of a nearby window? This is why it has a little different looking shade frame. We'll see by first thing tomorrow...

I don't like to use shade cloth unless there is no other choice to save a plant or tree. I think the plants need to adapt to the heat and weather in order to do well here, and if your using shade cloth your babying them to much.

I used some landscaper's tree stake wire, I guess that's what it would be called, lol. It's the green coated wire that you see on tree stakes with the piece of hose over it. It holds really nice and you can hold the cloth on with clothes pins. If you bend the wire so that a piece of it will hit against the wall, it will hold itself up for you.

Here are some pics:

Over 110 degrees today...the heat is coming...

Today by any account was a hot one. Over 110 degrees and a little hot breeze as well to add even more stress to the plants and trees.

Have a look at our Anaheim peppers! They are growing upside down, lol. I wonder if it's some sort of nutrient deficiency? Most likely it has to do with the heat increase. We've picked and ate a few of these great tasting Anaheim peppers a few weeks back and they grew normally and tasted great. Interesting huh?!

If you have any idea's please share them with me! Take a look: