Facing the Ghost

Finally the courage was found to eat a ghost pepper. I did not eat the whole thing of course. A friend sliced the pepper into almost miniscule pieces. One little piece on the end of the tongue was all that for which courage could be found. A little tingle…A rush of heat…Tongue on fire…Even my face was burning. After that things settled down a little. Believe it or not, the aftertaste was great. I had to do it again. The next taste was even hotter. The rush was phenomenal.

Aside from the act of great personal courage, there was some serious progress in other areas over the weekend. A little more mulch was put into the garden pathways and the leaves were gathered in most of the front yard. They were piled around some of the trees. There has been no comment from my wife yet. Two of her projects were accomplished so she may let me get away with putting the leaves around the trees.

There is enough compost now to fill the little rock wall that will be built around the mailbox. Now that school is in kids will probably get drunk and take their frustrations out on mailboxes. They may get a surprise.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

The Ghost Lives

The first little ghost peppers appeared this weekend. The peppers do look like the ones in the pictures of ghost peppers. Maybe they are real!!

Lots of lima beans and string beans are coming on too. The second planting of cucumbers is climbing and blooming, but no cukes yet. The new squash plants are growing well, but no blossoms. The turnips, mustard, kale, spinach, arugula, cabbage, sugar peas and radish are up. The carrots and beets are not up but they usually take a while. The late crop of figs seemed to have made a false start. The trees produced a handful and then quit again. They are loaded with figs.

The old squash plants really look scroungy and they are not producing anything but a few patty-pans. Even those have pickle worms. They still have blossoms though and I am loathe to pull them up. Once they are gone, the beds they occupy can be reworked and put to sleep for the winter.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Do You Believe in Ghosts? (pepper that is)

A couple of years ago people started talking about ghost peppers, that are 1000 times hotter than a habanero. They do exist, because a friend of mine ate one on live radio and cried for hours. The good thing about the heat from peppers is that it does not really damage tissue, it just feels like it does.

I would never eat anything that hot, but for a novelty some were started in the greenhouse. They did not do really well, so when time to plant came a plant was purchased at the farmer’s market. A friend also purchased a few at the farmer’s market. His plants were planted in pots at his condo, and have grown well, but not produced even a blossom.

Both the plants from the greenhouse and the plant from the farmer’s market have grown well in the garden, but of about 30 pepper plants, these are the only ones that are getting munched by critters. In India the ghost peppers are said to keep elephants out of the garden. I believe in ghosts. I just don’t think my garden is haunted. The guy at the farmer’s market probably bought his seed at the same place I did and got screwed.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

I’m No Groundhog (again)

Last year Paxatawny Phil and I disagreed. I was right. This year we agreed. Neither one of us saw his shadow. Sir Walter Wally, in Raleigh NC saw his shadow and went back in his hole. It may be wishful thinking, but I feel spring in my blood. Good Friday is not until April 22 this year so that would call for a late spring.

Almost everything in the greenhouse has germinated. Even a few of the ghost peppers and cherry peppers have come up. The new greens that were planted under plastic have come up as well. They are mighty tiny, but they should grow fast. The spinach has been fairly productive and the mesclun is almost ready to pick again. It has not been harvested since the hard freeze.

If the weather is not too un-cooperative, another bed will be covered with plastic this weekend and collards, kale and onions will go into the ground. The bed for the greens did not quite collapse with the rain, but it is damaged and will require repairs. It should have been opened up yesterday.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Pepper Seeds

The name won’t be shared yet until the seeds are tried, but an internet search this morning found a new source of pepper seeds. They even had the seeds for the “ghost pepper”. The seeds were extremely reasonably priced. The “ghost peppers” were the most expensive thing I saw and they were only $4. Shipping is free on orders over $7.50.

My order included California Wonder Bell peppers, ghost peppers, cayenne peppers, jalapeños and cherry peppers. Other vegetables were available, but those were purchased before the planting season ended, because they have not been available when the greenhouse needs planting.

The snow has kept me out of the garden and the yard. My laziness has kept me out of the greenhouse. Today the weather is really beautiful, but the snow is still thick upon the ground. There is no excuse for the greenhouse, so maybe I will spend some time there this afternoon.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/