Sunburnt and sleepy

There is nothing that truly wears you out more than working in the sun all day.  The skin on my back is dark and lightly tinged with red and my hands are rough and the creases are filled with dirt. I am exhausted! Today we thinned the turnips, transplanted more cabbages, tomatoes, and onions, and tilled up the back alley for our neighbors' gardens. The only thing we truly have left to 'thin' is the brussels sprouts seedlings which are currently too small to rearrange. Thinning is one of my least favorite things to do garden-wise because I have an issue with tossing away perfectly good seedlings.  So that means that every plant that I thin out has to go back in the ground somewhere which then requires extra digging, burying, more time on my knees, etc, thus contributing to my exhaustion. ;) I mean this all in good humor.  There is nothing more satisfying than having a well organized garden (and eating from it, of course)! I'll try and post some pictures within the next day or two.  The plants are flourishing and are already providing us with lovely salads on a daily basis.

Peppers are complicated

Last year I had more than trouble with my pepper plants -- I had a full on disaster! I planted so many kinds of peppers and I didn't get even one fruit.  First of all, I think I planted my seeds too late.  I didn't plant them until February.  On top of that, I just used potting soil with no fertilizers or anything.  Well, this year I planted my pepper plants in December and used our nice garden soil that's been nourished with compost and rabbit poop. I've had some AWESOME results! In fact, I've had such great results that I had to share a photo:

A lovely cayenne pepper flower bud!! Oh boy, I can't wait to get this plant in the ground! Another week or so and the weather will probably be more ideal for a heat loving pepper plant. I can't wait to see all of the thin red chiles hanging off of my plants!