Celebrating Summer Solstice

It's finally summer! Hooray! In celebration of the first day of summer, I gardened. Yep. You read right.

As I was running a (quick) errand, I walked by the outdoor plants at Giant Eagle. Marked down to $1.25 were vegetable plants. Since that's cheaper than the actual store bought veggies, I pounced.

I already planted zucchini seeds about a week and a half ago (a late start, I realize). But I don't think I see the seedlings sprouting. Patience has never been a strength of mine.

In addition to (hopefully) the zucchini I will be growing, I planted a Bell Boy Sweet Pepper plant and a Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper plant.

Here's my "garden" and compost bin.

Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper: This pepper is a type of chili pepper developed in Hungary. It closely resembles the banana pepper and can be used in a variety of ways in cooking. These peppers can get quite large if they are allowed to grow to maturity, but they are usually harvested when they are about the length of a hand. Hungarian wax peppers are naturally yellow at the time of harvest, although they can develop a rich red color if they are allowed to fully mature. The “wax” in the name is a reference to the slightly waxy texture of the rind of the pepper. Despite the texture, the rind is perfectly edible and in fact very flavorful. In terms of heat, Hungarian wax peppers fall around the middle of the spectrum. The flavor is fairly mild, but it has a hint of a kick which can be distasteful to people who are extremely sensitive to heat. Some people remove the seeds and white ribs from the pepper to reduce the heat, while others prefer to leave them in so that they can get a good hit of the spicy flavor.

Bell Boy Sweet Pepper: The 'Bell Boy' Sweet Pepper Plant produces a sweet pepper with large, block-shaped fruit that is dark green to red when mature. Bell Boy was an All-America Selections Winner in 1967. Bell Boy is a very popular hybrid pepper. It has crispy, thick walls that increase in sweetness as it matures. It is considered one of the best all-purpose early bell peppers. This sturdy, vigorous plant bears a heavy crop of large, blocky, mostly 4 lobed peppers which can be used when deep glossy green or left to turn bright red. Fruits are uniformly large, thick walled and fine quality.

Happy Summer!