Pepper planters

This weekend was beautiful in my upstate New York village. Saturday we planted Tomatoes, Basil, Oregano and Thyme in pots. On Sunday I sat on the porch while my husband built me cider planters for peppers.

Last year we planted peppers in our yard. The deer thought these peppers were a treat for them!

I noticed these planters at Wegmans when I pick up groceries and it gave me the idea to try putting our vegetables into planters on the patio. I am hoping that being close to the house will make my vegetables less desirable to the hungry deer.

In April I planted the following peppers from seed. I will plant 15 pepper plants at home and the rest at Jacob’s parents garden. They are so nice and let us grow stuff there AND share with us. I am so lucky Jacob’s dad has such a green thumb!

We planted:

1. Cherry peppers
2. Pepperoncini peppers
3. Bell peppers
4. Jalapeño peppers
5. Mixed Hot Peppers (not sure what came up here. I wont be buying a mixed packet of seeds again. Even though it will be a surprise!)

Here is how I planted them:

I filled the inside with a layer of pebbled stones to help with drainage.

I picked up some organic soil with Jacob from Lowes. I hope it makes our peppers grow strong and delicious!

I made sure the soil where the peppers were being planted was wet. I spaced them out, made a little hole and planted them.

I can’t wait to have baby peppers to pickle, grill and freeze! 🙂

I am the luckiest girl to have such a smart, talented, generous husband. It’s not everyday I get to brag about the beautiful things he is capable of building. I can’t wait to give Jacob lots of yummy meals, condiments and pickles from these peppers. For many many years to come! 🙂

Quick Radish and Red Onion Refrigerator pickle

Ingredients:
1 cup radishes
1/2 red onion
12 oz cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons salt
1 bay leaf

First I sterilized the jar in the microwave. I just filled up a pint jar with water about 1/3 of the way and set it for 10 minutes.

Next I cut up the radishes and red onion.

Next I put the cider vinegar, black peppercorns and salt in to a small no reactive pot.

Next I cold packed the radishes and onion and bay leaf into the sterilized jar. Once the vinegar was boiling, i poured it over radishes and sealed up the jar and placed it in the fridge. You should let them stay in the fridge for at least one day before enjoying. I’ll let you know tomorrow how they were 🙂

And so it begins….

Today after work I will start my first canning project of the season! (excited!)

First up I will be making a triple batch of my own pickling spices. If you haven’t already, I really recommend picking up the book “food in jars”. My sister purchased a copy for me preorder for Christmas. It arrived (finally) on Saturday and I have been flipping thru it ever since. I think its a beautiful well written book. On page 118, there is a recipe to follow. I am hoping a triple batch can get me thru the first part of the season.

Once I get home I plan on picking up the spices that I need and pricing out how much making my own mix costs. Then I can compare to purchasing a premade one, like the one made by Ball.

Then I want to whip together a pint of radish refrigerator pickles. On Cinco de Mayo I made carnitas out of a pork shoulder I had made in the crockpot. Very yummy. This resulted in left over radishes.

Last year I water bath canned all but one jar of my radish pickles. The ones I processed, in an effort to keep on the shelf, were mushy and gross. The jar I put in the fridge was yummy and crisp with the flavor of coleslaw.

I will post my recipe and a picture tonight when I get home. 🙂