Mike P. planted the pepper seedlings on May 29, Memorial Day Weekend, three varieties:
| Lady Bell, a sweet bell pepper from Busa Farm.
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Carmen, a Mediterranean sweet pepper from Waltham Fields.
|
Jalapeno, a hot pepper, donated by a neighbor, Robin.
|
Mike planted the seedlings using a standard successful method:
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- Scoop the soil out of the planting hole, a little bit bigger than the hole you need;
- Throw in a handful of compost and a bit of fertilizer;
- With some loose soil in the bottom to correct the depth, position two seedlings* so the soil lines match the surrounding ground level;
- Fill the hole halfway with soil;
- Fill the hole with water to soak the soil around the seedlings’ roots;
- Fill the hole the rest of the way with soil;
- Build a little dike around the stem to help catch water.
* We doubled up on pepper seedlings – two to a hole, an inch or two apart. Pepper plants are kind of “loose” and let a lot of sun through the leaves. Growing two side-by-side helps shade the fruit from sun scald, and practically doubles the yield in the space available.
