Pepper Starting and Fermentation

46°F, light rain, S 7 mph wind, Rain YTD 19.22”

I saved my indoor seed starting for today, knowing it was going to be rainy and wet.

Now normally, for most of my life I would have started hundreds of peppers and eggplants for the garden and to share/sell.

But this year, in my 18’ home, I have space for very few. A half flat really. That’s a big difference so I have to pick and choose what I want to start more carefully. I asked my pod of course what vegetables they have preferences for. No point in growing a lot or any of what they won’t eat in my limited starting space this year. I’m the only one that likes eggplant, and I don’t even eat it that much so only a couple plants will do. One doesn’t like green sweet bell peppers. So colored ones or other types of sweet peppers are being grown. Nobody really wants a lot of hot peppers. I want cayenne for seasoning powder and its medicinal value. So only a few of those and a jalapeño for anyone who wants some.

It’s going to be weird only growing so few.

But it may be a blessing as I’ve been working so many hours away from the homestead lately. Something I had told myself I wouldn’t do but somehow am anyway.

It won’t be forever because it’s really exhausting me.

But hey, it helped pay my hike off quickly and I will be able to start the remodel soon.

Some of these peppers I hope to collect fresh seeds from. So I will have to cover blossoms to keep them from cross pollinating. Since we have busy bees here (both wild and honey), I can’t use a little space between plants for seed saving isolation.

But whatever seems to do well here will for sure get noted and saved.

Now the plan was to do a little fermenting today, as I ordered this fermentation kit. I used to have one at the farm but sadly didn’t grab it with the few things I managed to before losing everything. But this kit is even nicer than the last. I washed everything up to get ready to do some small snacking peppers and realized I had no large mouth jars available. Guess I won’t be doing any today as I’ve already spent (and over spent a bit) on my self imposed budget for the week. So I will just enjoy the peppers fresh this time and wait until next week to purchase or find for free some wide mouths.