Cold Weather and Bell Peppers

It's been a bit on the nippy side in Nashville. My tomato plants have been growing strong, despite the cold, but this weekend's cold weather has given me quite a chore. I had to find a way to cover up all my plants to protect them from any chance of frost. Cam and I read that you could cover them up with bed linens, if you didn't have the fancy plant weather protectors. So far, the plants look safe and snug and green underneath the linens. We'll see how they hold up if or when the weather decides to warm up. Nashville weather is always a bit unpredictable.

Here's something I wasn't expecting--my bell peppers seem to be ALIVE! After staying dormant and fruit-less all summer, I had given up on them. But I guess they like the colder weather because they are really growing quite well.

Below: One of the bell peppers out back

I really don't think this is a green bell pepper. It looks like a huge mix between jalapeno and bell, but when we bought it, it said bell pepper. I read that peppers can cross-pollinate, but I don't think this is the case for this plant. It's nowhere near any other variety of peppers. It was planted next to a purple bell pepper and a red bell pepper. Anyway, maybe Lowe's labeled the seedling incorrectly...

We've picked this particular pepper, and the flavor was mild enough to eat in a salad. Pretty tasty!

Below: Bell Peppers from the Front


These peppers will hopefully ripen into beautiful red bell peppers.

I'm excited about the bell peppers actually doing great! I guess the cold weather hit the spot, and maybe they didn't grow well in the heat. Or my bell peppers are just special. Whatever the reason, I am pleased!

I'm Back!

Hi Everyone,

After a month long absence from the blogging world, I am back--alive and kicking. I apologize for not blogging for so long. Cam has been sick and my great-uncle (my grandmother's youngest brother) passed away. On top of this, I've gone to two children's writing conferences.

I do have one piece of good news: I have two literary agents currently reviewing my manuscripts, so I hope that at least one of them will take me on as a client. That would be wonderful... and a step closer to getting published. Please pray for me and hopefully something wonderful will happen soon.

Back to the garden.... Everything is coming along very nicely, despite the cold fronts that we've had. Tomorrow, there is a frost warning... but I'm hoping my vegetables survive.

The cabbage head was killed off my bugs, the bell pepper plants seem to FINALLY producing fruit, and the eggplants are still going strong. The watermelon is on its last leg--but we've had plenty of watermelon fruit that we've enjoyed. All of this and more on upcoming posts this week and next.

For now, I leave you with a recent harvest from the garden.

Below: Lots of tomatoes... A few beans

Apple Sauce

With all the apples from our trees, I finally decided to try to make some apple sauce. I used a handful of apples--about 10 or so. (Maybe more, maybe less).

I didn't follow a recipe, and I didn't bother to watch heating times. (This plays a crucial part in making apple sauce, as I've recently read).

First: I peeled, chopped, and cored the apples. Don't they look so juicy and delicious?


I actually ate several apple pieces as I was cutting them up. They looked too delicious and tasted SO good, and I just couldn't help myself.

Next, I experimented with a variety of flavors. I used cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and several other spices (which I can't remember now, LoL). I mixed them all up in the bowl. They ended up looking like spiced apples.


And then I cooked them on HIGH (big mistake) with several tablespoons of water. What I didn't realize is that you are supposed to lower the heat after the initial boil. So the stove was on high the entire time, and the apples got soft but dry. So I added more water than I needed.

When the apples were soft enough, I used a potato masher and mashed all the apples together until they were smooth. Then, I placed the mixture into two jars and had apple sauce as a side snack.

All those apples only made two jars--the apples really cook down. The end result was delicious. It tasted a bit tart and sweet at the same time. I enjoyed my experiment, and I will be making more apple sauce in the future.

The apple trees are still huge with tons and tons of apples.

Betty and Bam Bam

Betty, the cantaloupe, was finally ready for our stomachs. She was about to fall off the vine, so I took her inside. Sadly, I have no pictures of her flesh because I gave her to my little sister to take back to her dorm at Vanderbilt University.

Below: Beautiful Betty

My sister reports that she was delicious and beautifully orange and sweet. Good-bye Betty. I had a lovely time raising you.

Below: Bam Bam, the watermelon

With a ton of watermelons, we decided to harvest another one for a summer's day treat. The flesh was pinkish, but it was sweet.

Betty has other brothers and sisters that are growing. I say about three little ones (more about them next week), but I don't know how will survive and who will die. There used to be five little ones, but two of them withered away. I guess the vine was not strong enough to support that many fruit. I'll keep you all posted on the cantaloupes' development.