Thursday, October 24, 2013

The habanero brings the heat to the MVG

habanero peppers
Over the past few months the MVG has not slowed down. The warm month of September was a big month and produced an array of vibrant peppers.

habanero plant
The hot pepper plants took the longest to mature but are finally filling out dishes with spicy flavors. The hottest pepper is the habanero. These little spicy bulbs have made their way into stir fry and pasta dishes. The habanero pepper might look small but they really do pack a punch. I had to cook off most of the heat from the pepper to make most of my dishes edible and digestible.

hot pepper box is overflowing
The long slender red fleshed Thai chili peppers are no comparison to the habanero. The chili peppers were bland in comparison and had little to no heat. In the future, I will plant and grow only habanero peppers. These little orange orbs of hotness have proven themselves deliciously spicy to me and my family.

supersauce tomatoes
The first week of October brought a huge wave of large red SuperSauce tomatoes to our kitchen. My mother made a few batches of salsa but froze most of the tomatoes for use during the winter months. I have also used the tomatoes in many of my curry dishes. The sweet flesh adds a nice layer of sweetness to the the savory taste of the curry. However, nothing beats eating the tomatoes raw with salt and pepper or sliced up in a salad... mmmmm!

last harvest of green beans with
a small harvest of Cherry Stuffer peppers
The Sweet Big Daddy pepper is a favorite with many members in my family. The pepper is very sweet and soft yet the skin is crisp and crunchy. The pepper is excellent when eaten raw. My mother slices them up in salads. I like to cut them up in long strips and add the sweet delight into my veggie springs rolls. Anyway you cut it, the Sweet Big Daddy pepper is a fantastic colorful addition to any garden. This is another items that will be planted in the garden next year.


The MVG is beginning to change and prepare for the winter months. The corn stalks have been cut done and tied into bundles.


A family friend picked up the corn bundles and will be using them in his front yard Halloween themed landscape. Last year, I used the corn as a backdrop for my Halloween photo shoot with my dogs.

2012 corn stalks
The biggest change to the MVG does not have to do with the cleaning up but with the location. My boys and I have recently moved to a new smaller location. This means that the MVG will be moving with us. I have already started a small vertical garden on the small patio we now call our garden.

small green kale sprouts, yeah!
We are going to start small this fall season by planting (from seed) blue kale, brussel sprouts, sugar snaps, spinach, and pok choi. I have also purchased a few herb plants too: oregano, sage, and rosemary. I had lots of fun learning about vertical gardening and trying out a variety of vertical gardening techniques in 2012. I hope this fall season will be just as fun.