Plants get sunburned too! I thought my sweet pepper plant had enough leafy branches to protect all the peppers I left on the plant to turn sweet and red. But as I continued to check their progress I noticed they were getting brown on the side that faced the sky!
At first I thought it was perhaps Blossom End Rot, a condition that affects peppers and tomatoes and eggplants. Blossom end rot usually occurs when there is a lack of calcium in the soil and poor watering practices, letting the plant get to dry before watering again. But as the name suggests, this condition appears on the bottom, or the end of the 'fruit' that was once the flower blossom before the fruit started to form.
I went back and looked again and sure enough it was on all of the same sides of the sweet peppers. I snipped them all off the plant and brought them into the kitchen to cool down (yes, they were warm from the sun and 105 temps). I trimmed off the burned areas and tossed it into my compost container and put the rest into a big to use later in a meal.
I ate some of them fresh and chilled yesterday with grilled chicken. They tasted sweet and crisp and filled with sunshine - just like all fresh vegetables grown from my own garden!
Doreen Pollack is the Garden Goddess and owner of Down 2 Earth Gardens, providing garden consultations and coaching. To find a get monthly tips delivered into your email inbox, visit www.down2earthgardens.com or call 623.217.6038
