Making peppers magical?

Performing magic on sweet green peppers

When sweet green peppers develop white blooms, it is time to perform a bit of magic on the pepper plants that will cause them to produce larger peppers. Mix three tablespoons of Epsom salts in a one gallon sprinkling can and pour around the base of the pepper plants. Repeat this process every seven days. At harvest time, the peppers will be larger, greener, and sweeter.

Christmas in July

The Christmas cactus are thriving on the front porch after spending autumn, winter, and early spring in the sunny living room. Late spring, summer, and the early autumn will be spent on the back of the front porch. The secret of their blooms in late November and into December is the time they spend in a semi-sunny location on the porch. As the summer sun shines on them, they develop new growth and cascade new foliage over the sides of their containers. A drink of water twice a week and feeding them once a month with Flower-Tone organic flower food promotes their growth.

To keep the foliage from developing a reddish tint, keep the cactus out of direct sunlight. The four o’clock bushes are full of lush green foliage and their blooms of red, white, yellow, and pink resemble Christmas ornaments against the background of thick and dark green foliage. These beautiful annuals will bloom all the way until frost.

The birds are building nests

As we speak of Christmas, now is the time to observe the birds of summer building their nests. When you keep an eye on where they are building their nests, you can spot a sturdy nest. Later in the year when the birds have raised their young and left the nest after the leaves have fallen from the trees, you can carefully remove the nest from the tree. To make the nest a Christmas ornament, spray the nest with several coats of varnish to protect the nest hold it together.

Groundhogs: enemies of summer garden

The groundhog is heard about in February when Groundhog Day is celebrated. They are also commonplace in and around gardens. You do not see much of them because they sleep all day and wander around all night rooting and digging holes and eating from the garden. Most of the groundhogs we see are females and they are searching for food. You can tell where they have been by the deep holes they leave behind. The Epsom salts formula sprayed on blooms of sweet peppers can be sprayed on foliage of vegetables that groundhogs eat. They do not like the smell of Epsom salts.

You can also repel them by sprinkling mothballs under sheds and barns, and around the edge of the garden and near the holes they have rooted.

Preventing birds from pecking tomatoes

As the Dog Days of summer begin, the mud holes are few and far between and birds are searching for alternate water sources as the heat bears down. When there are no evening thunderstorms, the birds will often peck holes in ripe tomatoes to find water. You can avoid this situation and protect the tomato harvest by picking tomatoes and allowing them to ripen on the porch or deck in a sunny location.

Planting a row of cucumbers for a midsummer harvest

Cucumbers planted in the early July garden will produce a harvest in August but they will need a little extra attention during the summer heat of Dog Days. When you sow the cucumber seed, apply a layer of peat moss in the furrow and another layer on top of the seed to retain moisture.

Apply a layer of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food on top of the peat moss before hilling up soil on both sides of the row and tamp down the soil on top of the row for solid soil contact. Use the water wand in spray mode to apply water to the top of the row on evenings when there is no rain or thunderstorms. Side-dress the row with Plant-Tone organic vegetable food every ten days and hill the food into the soil.

Making a summer green iced cake

As we move along with summer’s Dog Days, a dessert that looks and tastes cool is a great summer dessert that the family will enjoy. For this unusual cake, you will need one half cup of Crisco shortening, two cups sugar, three large eggs, one ounce green food coloring, two and a fourth cups plain flour, half teaspoon salt, one cup buttermilk, one teaspoon vanilla extract, one teaspoon baking soda, one tablespoon apple cider vinegar, and three tablespoons Nestles Quick. Cream Crisco shortening and sugar, add eggs, green food coloring and Nestle’s Quick and mix well. Add flour and salt into the mixture, add vanilla extract; add baking soda mixed with apple cider vinegar and mix well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake in two nine-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2 inch baking dish or pan. Line the baking pans or round pans with waxed paper cut to fit pans. Spray bottoms with Pam baking spray, apply waxed paper and spray again, spray sides also. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Frost the cake with frosting made from one stick light margarine, seven tablespoons Crisco shortening, one cup sugar, three tablespoons plain flour, two teaspoons vanilla extract, half cup warm milk and several drops green food coloring. Add all ingredients except the milk and mix them well. Add the milk a little at a time, mixing by hand after each addition. Beat until the frosting has the texture of whipped cream. Makes a smooth and creamy cake.

The flights and fights of hummingbirds

The flights of the humming birds of summer are interesting but so are their fights at the feeders and their aggressiveness in chasing each other. It is difficult to figure out why they fight when there are from four to six feeding ports on the feeders. It must be a part of their behavior or a desire for domination. They could possibly do it for exercise. We don’t think it has anything to do with courting (or maybe it does). Remember that song by Mickey and Sylvia called “Love is Strange”?

Hidden blessings of the Dog Day thunderstorm

As the afternoon wears on, the sun on a Dog Day journey across the Carolina blue sky continues to add plenty of heat to build up the humidity and add plenty of instability to the air aloft. That stirs up the atmosphere and sometimes will generate a bit of relief in the form of a late afternoon supercharged thunderstorm to drench the parched lawn and garden.

The storm brings with it a fresh aroma and an atmosphere of refreshing comfort as the leaves have a breeze of relief, the lawn looks more alive, and the garden has new life. The Dog Days may bring their share of heat and humidity, but the blessing of the gift of a summer thunderstorm brings a welcome comfort to a Dog Day afternoon.

Ripe tomatoes heated by Dog Day sun

One of summer’s gems is a fresh red tomato fresh from the Dog Day sun on it all during the day and harvested while still warm, thickly sliced laid on fresh bread, sprinkled with salt and pepper and smothered with Duke’s mayonnaise on both sides of the bread- a taste of summer’s best!

Hoe hoe hoedown

“Return to Sender.” Ricky: “Do you still have that book I lent you last week? Dicky: “Sorry, I lent it to a friend. Did you want it back?” Ricky: “Not for myself, but for the guy I borrowed it from says the owner is looking for it.”

Mellowing. “The trouble with the younger generation is that too many of us are not a part of it anymore!”

Kiss an Angel good morning. It’s always a good idea to kiss your children goodnight, unless you don’t mind waiting up until they get home.