Pepper Weather

This week there is no doubt that summer has arrived in full force.  We're in the middle of another 90-something degree stretch with plenty of humidity and a heat advisory that runs for another couple of days.  It's nothing compared to the heat we experienced last summer, so this seasonable heat wave with an end in sight is actually kind of welcome (just so long as I don't have to mow the lawn again until it's over).  

The peppers, in particular, love this weather. 

I've mentioned a few times that the transition from indoors to outdoors was a little rough of the peppers this year.  Even after a proper hardening off, they just sort of sat there for weeks after being transplanted into the garden in the coolish weather.  It's only been in the last few weeks that Mama Nature mustered up enough heat to give them a little kick start. 

Even though all the plants are now starting to load up with blossoms and little peppers, some of the plants are still a little on the small size, so I've been giving them a little boost in the form of an epsom salt spray to coax along a little more foliar growth to fuel the production of fruit.  

It's a simple method with a big impact: just dissolve 1 tablespoon epsom salt in a gallon of water, add the solution to a clean spray bottle or sprayer, and spray the pepper foliage (you can read more about the science behind it here).

I'm hoping that between the heat and the epsom salt, I'll be looking at some pretty lush and prolific pepper plants in the coming weeks!