No Squash + No Heat = Odd, But Beautiful Summer

It's been a very odd summer. Not that I am complaining since it hasn't been very humid! I have even seen blue skies more often this summer!

Although I still have yet to see a winter squash grow in my squash patch. I see lots of blooms, but no female flowers to be pollinated with. I have, however, harvested a bunch of hot peppers and continue to do so, but I am getting close to the end of my harvest as it has been so cool that the plants aren't flowering much.

The tomatoes are doing well with the exception of the fact that even though my soil tested high for calcium, I am getting blossom end rot! So I have had to pick those off to give the others a better chance. I've added some generic Tums to the soil. That has always worked for me so I guess I should never be with out! I even added ground up egg shells, but I guess that isn't in a usable form yet unlike the generic Tums. I've learned my lesson and will never be without that with my tomatoes!

Bhut Jolokia!

Today's harvest of the hottest peppers in the world!

Winter Wonders?

My peppers have come down with aphids. I was going to spray them this past weekend while we had the freak warm weather, but time got away from me and I wasn't able to. Need to take them down into the basement and at least blast them off with water.

The one Phrag that has been in spike is still in spike! I don't know what it is or isn't doing! I do have two other plants in spike.

Neofinetia falcata 'Shutennou' 'Red Emperor' possibly in bud!

Rhctm. Fuchs Stardust X Rhctm. Lilac Bloom x Rhy. colestis Pink in bud!!!

Ping laueana is also in flower for the second time. Ping 'Aphrodite' are all in bloom and blooming their heads off. Not much promise though for the spring orchid show... :\

I Need a Greenhouse!

So I had my hot peppers on my enclosed front porch and I bought a thermostat to monitor how cold it got out there. It has dipped below 50˚F and the peppers are really showing that they are unhappy with this weather with droopy leaves and lots of leaf dropping and winter hasn't even hit yet! So I moved them into the actual house into my dining room as much as I was trying to keep plants out of there. I still have two Clivias and a Mandevallia out there. They seem to be holding up ok. I will probably move the clivias up to my third floor and find some space somewhere for the Mandevilla. Winter is so hard to do in this house. There are hardly any windows and if there are any, the window sills are so tiny! I keep trying to downsize, but I amit, I'm an addict :)

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention....I was at Lowes a few days ago and they had the new and improved Meyer's Lemon on sale for....$3! What's so new and improved about this one? It is self pollinated! Unlike the one I have already, which needs a pollinator for me to get any lemons! I couldn't pass it up. $3!

Overwintering Peppers

This year I'm trying something different...since my hot peppers take so long to mature I am bringing them indoors to overwinter. Not sure how well that will work, but it's worth a try!