Peppers For Petra And The Mystery Of Vining Plants

  I am doing the happy dance, symbolically speaking, of course. One of my pepper plants is really prolific and that is encouraging since I have been trying to go Pepperoncini peppers for the past several years without success.

  Pepperoncini peppers are the ones you get in the Pizza box from Papa John's Pizza. I have always envied them since I first saw them, and when I saw the seeds available, I had to have them, but the plants never grew right. That is, until now.

(I would post the picture of the plant that now has several little peppers on it, but the picture I took was too blurry).

Upon further inspection, one of the pepper plants on the balcony has a couple of little peppers on it too. This pepper plant is called a 'Bird's Eye Chili' plant. The peppers will be small, long, and hot. Of course, my initial thought of why I bought the seeds in the first place is in order to grow them for my bird, Petra, who likes peppers (or is supposed to like peppers). I found a recipe for making chili oil and can use the peppers for that as well.

Bird's Eye Chili Pepper plant. You can
see the pepper on this plant. 

     I just found a copy of a picture of the pepperoncini plant and the other plants around it. If you look really hard, I'm sure you can find the peppers although they will be hard to see with all the green around it.

     But what is fascinating are the vining plants. I have two plants that are beginning to trellis and they are looking for a place to trellis on. One of them is a mystery plant, meaning that I have no clue what kind of plant it is, but it is probably something I planted at one time that never germinated until I used the soil it was in to try to germinate another plant. 

See if you can guess what this plant is! The
Bible says that 'by their fruits you will know
them.' I won't know what kind of plant this is
until it bears some kind of fruit.

        But here is my favorite plant, well one of my favorites. It is called a Giant Granadilla which is a Passiflora plant. When it is ready, it will produce beautiful bluish purple flowers and then a fruit. This also is a vining plant and it all of the sudden wants to find a place to trellis to. 

Giant Granadilla Passiflora plant

       The thing that is so neat about this, is to watch the plants look for a place to find to trellis to. You can't tell me that this instinctive trait of certain plants just came by accident over billions of years. You can look at this plant and see the handiwork of God. This plant was wonderfully designed by an Intelligent Designer. 

  I think plants are fascinating to watch as they grow and as the whole culture around the plants come together to work together to make the plants happy and to ultimately serve us by producing food and beauty. 

Take Care Of Your Soil

  This should be a no-brainer, but in case it isn't, here are some thoughts on soil that I have.

  A quote here by one of our presidents in the past, “A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself.” That’s a quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt, who clearly knew something most people, including farmers, have since forgotten.

   The key to good gardening is in the soil. Soil provides the environment for the roots to develop and take in the food the plant needs. Most of our soils are depleted from being overused or they are polluted because of the carelessness we as human beings have put on the ground. Because fluoride is put into our water systems, we now have plants that are taking fluoride in and the fluoride is showing up in the fruit. 

  In the olden days, they had it right. Most yards were like small farms. Many had their own chickens and other livestock kinds of animals. When these animals go to the bathroom, so to speak, they make plant food. Because these animals live on or near the soil, the soil was nourished by the waste products from the animals. But today, we are more concerned with aesthetics than we are with nourishment, so, we remain ignorant of how to garden effectively. 

  Building up our soil is a topic we need to be studying, especially as more and more areas become developed in our country. Much of our soil is now under asphalt and cannot be accessed anyway. 

   The environment of the soil will provide a place for microbes to grow, and microbes are necessary for making plant food for in the soil. The soil must also have the proper amount of moisture and the circulation of air is completely necessary for healthy plants to grow. Earthworms provide aeration as well as other critters in the soil. Placing mulch on top of the soil protects it from the sun and from being eroded. It also helps keep moisture in the soil around the plants. 

  So, while we baby our plants and watch them grow, we need the soil to help them to grow big and strong. This does not negate the benefits of hydroponic gardening though, which does not use soil. The plants in a hydroponic garden are not grown in soil, but receive the nourishment they need by the water they get with the supplements in them. Hydroponic plants grow very well, as long as they get enough sun. 

  So, take care of your soil. Feed it, weed it, and let your plants grow in it. Add any natural ingredients that may be lacking. Check the PH also. Some plants require a soil with a lower PH than others. Make adjustments where necessary.