Friday, June 3, 2011

Pepper Shortage

 

Peter Piper picked more than a peck of pickled peppers... I think he stole them all.

I never dreamed that it would be so hard to find a pack of green bell peppers. But this year there evidently seems to be a major shortage of the blocky fruit. I searched high and low at several places before finally finding one small four pack of spindly Big Bertha bell peppers.

I came across chili peppers, jalapeno peppers, and ornamental peppers, but it seems that the regular bell peppers are becoming harder and harder to find. Or it could be that others have noticed the trend in trendier  peppers and snatched up all of the bell peppers in their glee for the familiar.

I have grown other peppers before. In fact I even had better yields with some other varieties. Hungarian wax peppers left the other peppers in the dust with their proliferation. But when it comes to fond remembrances, it's just hard to stuff any other pepper but the lowly bell pepper. I wasn't picky about my peppers either, I was more than willing to take them in any other color than green. In fact, I would have preferred an assortment of red and yellow with the traditional green peppers, but there were none to be found.

Has the bell pepper gone by the wayside? Do growers and suppliers go for what is fashionable and neglect the older tried and trued varieties? For some plants I think they do, and yet for other plants I think they are woefully behind.

Shopping at my local businesses, it is nearly impossible to find a lot of the more newer varieties of annuals and perennials. The trusty petunias and impatients line the shelves and a smattering of stella de oro daylilies are inter mixed with blue rug junipers and halcyon hostas. Living in this small rural area, I know that in order to get anything half way new in the perennial world I have to order my plants. With the demise of the local garden nursery, garden seed is either by order as well or subject to the small selection at Wally world.

I am a hard to please gardener...I want everything.

I want the best of both worlds. I want the newest of new varieties and yet the comfort and dependability of old favorites.

I want my California Wonder Bell Peppers....

 

 

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17 comments:

  1. Vero MJune 3, 2011 at 9:18 AM

    Ahhhh California Wonders, the queen/king of peppers. My mother grew them and for years that was the only pepper I ever planted.

    I wish you were closer to me. I have about two dozen pepper plants that I have no use for.

    I always grow my own and usually buy Park's Seed... "Sweet Rainbow Blend...Orange, yellow, chocolate, purple, ivory, lime green and red. The plants are really vigorous, reaching shoulder height by late summer.

    Last year I tried "Flavorburst", a yellow bell that is exceptionally sweet when ripe. I liked it so well that I chose to grow it this year instead of the mix.

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  2. Vero MJune 3, 2011 at 9:19 AM

    I just love the way that pepper is floating on your blog. Really cool effect!

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  3. Sharon KitleyJune 3, 2011 at 10:20 AM

    Leroy planted one pepper plant...green bell pepper. And he has it in a flower bed. It sure is a pretty plant. He bought it at Home Depot. No groundhogs sighted so far this year...so maybe he should have planted more peppers....I really like how it looks in that bed. Maters are in the topsy turvy...well one is also in the ground at the end of that flowerbed and doing well. I wish I could have a day with Vero and Vic in our yard teaching Leroy and me more about gardens. And I think the actual green bell pepper is lovely to look at.

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  4. Misty ShadowsJune 3, 2011 at 11:13 AM

    If she has a floating pepper floating around this blog I'll be a monkey's Auntie!!!

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  5. Misty ShadowsJune 3, 2011 at 11:21 AM

    Everything of late seems to be dictated by trends...Watch HGTV House Hunters...Everyone that is buying/looking all want stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, hardwood flooring...by the way homes built in the 40's and 50's all had hardwood....and huge decks for ENTERTAINING...
    Makes you wonder what the appliance industry will come up with next to set a new trend...Will they revise the old???and make like it is the newest???
    NOT to mention what use to be the one and only main family bathroom "they" are now calling them guest bathrooms?????and instead of having one or two bathrooms it is essential/must to have a master bedroom with an ensuite....
    SO Vic keep looking...maybe the farmers will be setting up roadside stalls and you'll get your good old fashion Bell Pepper. xoxo

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  6. John MontaigneJune 3, 2011 at 12:08 PM

    Omg.. I just bought 2 4in pots of Cal wonder peppers from a roadside stand, a few days ago.
    The question is if the stupid rain will stop long enough to let them grow. It looks like it will be one of those wierd weather years for gardening.. Again.
    The plants were 1 dollar ea.

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  7. * *June 3, 2011 at 2:45 PM

    It is expensive! One for 88 cents.

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  8. raymond klunJune 3, 2011 at 5:32 PM

    poooof toss's magic vic wants dust all over her -

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  9. Vic WhatshernameJune 3, 2011 at 7:47 PM

    Lol Yar, I still not getting all I want, just feel dusty ;)

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  10. Glendajoy3 CJune 4, 2011 at 1:21 AM

    Bell peppers easy to find and grow here..... cant see a floating pepper on the blog...

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  11. zee zeeJune 4, 2011 at 2:47 AM

    We get them here for 40 rupees a kilo..thats less than 1us$. We call them capsicums..and they make you burp.

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  12. Vero MJune 4, 2011 at 4:40 AM

    Upon closer inspection, Glenda, it isn't really floating. It is on a white background on the white blog background so it appears to float. The crisp, green color really pops out at you.

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  13. * *June 4, 2011 at 7:49 AM

    A Kilo for $1???????? I am going to write a letter to congress!!!

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  14. Mac lllJune 4, 2011 at 8:10 AM

    A few years ago there was a tomato blight caused by plants people purchased from Lowes and The Home Depot. I had started all my plants from seed and lost my plants because the blight was spread from one garden to another through the wind. I think that was the year I tried to grow the Mortgage Lifters. If ever buy plants now or recommended to others, I try to use local sources and have found many nurseries/green houses that sell just about anything one would want to grow. If people in the area have a demand for a certain type of tomato, or pepper or flowers, the mom and pops grow those starter plants. I also find that the plants are much healthier than if buying them from a box store.

    I agree with you on the stuffed peppers Vic, I prefer to have them in the bell peppers too. I actually like the sauce after the peppers have leached into it the best. I always wondered why none of the sauce companies never put out a sauce with that flavor.

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  15. zee zeeJune 4, 2011 at 2:47 PM

    We get a capsicum sauce here called Capsico.

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  16. Mac lllJune 4, 2011 at 5:58 PM

    We do have a few Capsicum sauces here too Zee, They are usually the really spicy types. I see Capsico is made from Cayennes so I'm thinking it is a bit spicy too, lol.

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  17. Oz the Great and PowerfulJune 6, 2011 at 9:03 PM

    You must really live in the middle of nowhere! ;-o

    ReplyDelete

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