For those who are actively praying for my ministry, I humbly want to thank each one of you!
If you consider this article informative, please consider becoming a Patron to support my work.
If you would like to purchase individual briefings to share with friends and family here is the link
Going where angels fear to tread.
Celeste has worked as a contractor for Homeland Security and FEMA. Her training and activations include the infamous day of 911, flood and earthquake operations, mass casualty exercises, and numerous other activities. Celeste is FEMA certified and has completed the Professional Development Emergency Management Series.
Celeste grew up in military & governmental home with her father working for the Naval Warfare Center, and later as Assistant Director for Public Lands and Natural Resources, in both Washington State and California.
Celeste also has training and expertise in small agricultural lobbying, Integrative/Functional Medicine, asymmetrical and symmetrical warfare, and Organic Farming.
I am inviting you to become a Shepherds Heart Patron and Partner.
My passions are:
Please consider supporting the products that I make and endorse for a healthy life just for you! Or, for as little as $1 a month, you can support the work that God has called me to do while caring for the widow. Get to know me better, stay in touch, and show your support.
We live in a day and age that it is critical to be:
Fair Use Act Disclaimer This site is for educational purposes only. Fair Use Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research.
Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
Fair Use Definition Fair use is a doctrine in the United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching or scholarship. It provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author’s work under a four-factor balancing test.
]]>Shepherdess Celeste
]]>My David died 4 days before he fortified our 3 greenhouses which has caused a plethora of troubles for Shepherdess Celeste.
Last year I had a couple who were my 2017 Garden Angels who helped get my Tomato Greenhouse repaired!
This year, due to the heavy wet snow, I have to repair my pepper house which collapsed in recent snows and I need 2018 fortified.
Once fortified, I will be able to grow 100 different varieties of peppers right here in the Swan Valley, beta testing varieties so you don't have to, and then sharing with you what I learn on my Heirloom Journey!
A pepper friend set this up for me. Even a small contribution would provide me an ability to grow my peppers!
Tomato on Parade only has a couple of tomato varieties left. Today, the Dr. Wyche yellow tomato although I find it more a golden orange. It is another luminous globe lighting up the greenhouse as it ripens.
80 days.
This heirloom was introduced to Seed Savers Exchange by the late Dr. John Wyche, who at one time owned the Cole Brothers Circus and used the manure of elephants to fertilize his terraced heritage gardens. Lion and tiger droppings were scattered to scare off deer! Dr. Wyche originally called this massive tangerine colored tomato "hot yellow" but the name was changed in his honor.
The fruits weight around one-two pound each and glow like lanterns on massively productive vines. The fruits have a tropical fruit flavor, low acid, and make the perfect slicing tomato! Superior flavor and heavy reliable yields make this an excellent market gardeners choice! One of the best heirloom orange types for market, with its smooth texture and tropical, sweet taste. Heavy yields!
Dr. Wyche needs a strong tomato cage and lots of water. It takes some time for the fruit to ripen because they are so large, but I can easily ripen fruit on the vine, even here in the Rockies.
I really have a difficult time in choosing whether I prefer Dr. Wyche or Kellogg Breakfast as my favorite orange tomato.
]]>Pepper Hunter returns! It took awhile. I hope I can faithfully provide you with a 2017 pepper wrap up as a part of my Beta-Test Program.
One of my favorite peppers this year was the very prolific Bishop's Crown. It is also known as the Christmas Bell, Orchid, Flying Saucer, or Joker's Hat. The name comes from it's distinct bell or crown shape.
This pepper is found in Barbados and may be indigenous to South America. It found it's way to Europe probably via a Portuguese merchant in the 18th century.
Reviews say that it is medium hot pepper but in my book it would not be a medium hot but a sweet with a hint of heat.
It grows about 4 feet tall and my plant had probably 300 nice size peppers on it. The plant is very easy to care for and grow. No special requirements other than sun and water. It may require staking or caging because it does get to be a large busy plant.
Each pepper goes from light green to brilliant red. It does ripen very late in the season (100+ days) so when the killer frost was here to stay I pulled it by it's roots and let the peppers ripen slowly.
The flesh is paper thin and it dehydrates nicely.
I have not decided what I am going to do with it as yet. Suggestions?
Prolific Anthrocyanins for Health Complex Flavor
Indigo Apple had a vigorous vine...can you say take over the greenhouse vigorous? It had a hefty stem and was about 8 feet tall, maybe more.
Indigo Apple is a very prolific tomato plant with maybe 200 or more 5 ounce fruits, some smaller and some larger. They did ripen a bit on the late side. I had to house ripen them but I was well pleased with the result.
They have a complex very tomato flavor with a hint of sweet. I loved their color packed full with healthy micro-nutrients.
Their size allows a full portion for one person and is delicious in casseroles or sauces. I did dehydrate some for my colorful tomato casserole which I will make for Thanksgiving. They did dehydrate well.
The plant needed average watering, nothing out of the ordinary for tomato connoisseurs.
I highly recommend this lovely and flavorful tomato and I will be adding it to my list of keeps. This was its first successful year and so I will grow it for three years in changing environments to see how she does.
Other than plant size I think this tomato would make an excellent container tomato.
This tomato is perfect for those who live their red, round, medium slicing tomato packed with flavor with the bonus of the anthrocyanins for super health!
If you like Tomatoes on Parade Shepherdess Celeste is going to be interviewed on growing tomatoes from around the world in the Rocky Mountains. Stay tuned.
]]>Easy to Grow Flavorful Abundant
Pepper Hunter goes versatile with the the Poblano! This is Shepherdess Celeste’s favorite all around pepper.
I love the fire breathing peppers, unique peppers, colorful peppers, but the heart-shaped Poblano captures my heart. I love its flavor, how abundant the plants grow with such ease, and how many dishes I can use them in: from slicing them for omelets or pizza to chili rellenos, to Mole. I prefer Poblano's to bell peppers, hands down. Its sturdy walls keep their shape in all my cooking adventures.
The Poblano is a mild chili pepper from the state of Puebla, Mexico. When it is dried it is called an ancho meaning a wide chili.
Most people associate mole with either with Puebla or Oaxaca, but the origin of mole poblano, the thick, rich, chocolate-tinged sauce made so famous in the colonial mountain city of Puebla, Mexico, is still disputed, and generally involves many versions of the legend:
The first says that 16th Century nuns from the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla de los Angeles, upon learning that the Archbishop was coming for a visit, went into a panic because they had nothing to serve him. The nuns started praying desperately and an angel came to inspire them. They began chopping and grinding and roasting, mixing different types of chiles together with spices, day-old bread, nuts, a little chocolate and approximately 20 other ingredients.
This concoction boiled for hours and was reduced to the thick, sweet, rich and fragrant mole sauce we know today. To serve in the mole, they killed the only meat they had, an old turkey, and the strange sauce was poured over it. The archbishop was more than happy with his banquet and the nuns saved face. Little did they know they were creating the Mexican National dish for holidays and feasts, and that today, millions of people worldwide have at least heard of mole poblano.
The other legend states that mole came from pre-hispanic times and that Aztec king, Moctezuma, thinking the conquistadors were gods, served mole to Cortez at a banquet to receive them. This story probably gained credibility because the word mole comes from the Nahuatl word “milli” which means sauce or “concoction”. Another connection could be that chocolate was widely used in pre-columbian mexico, so people jumped to that conclusion.
Diana Kennedy, the famous cookbook author and television chef, adds a third, less plausible version in her book The Cuisines of Mexico, [Harper & Row:New York] 1972, (p.199-200), “This time it was Fray Pascual who was preparing the banquet at the convent where he (the archbishop) was going to eat. Turkeys were cooking in cazuelas on the fire; as Fray Pascual, scolding his assistants for their untidiness, gathered up all the spices they had been using, and putting them together on a tray, a sudden gust of wind swept across the kitchen and they spilled over the cazuelas.” Thus mixing together such an unheard-of combination of ingredients.
Poblanos can vary in heat and if you let it ripened to red it will be warmer than if you use it green.
If you like Poblano try its cousin the mulato which is darker, sweeter in flavor, and comes with a soft texture.
Here in the Rockies, I grow my Poblano in a greenhouse. They get about 4 feet tall and they are loaded with at least 200 emerald pendant 6 inch peppers. If left on the bush Poblano peppers will eventually turn red. I like them green but that is not always advisable for people with inflammatory conditions.
Poblanos like a soil pH of 7.0-8.5. They do like their sunlight, water and require support from their sprawling nature and heavy fruit.
Poblano’s take about 200 days, from seed to harvest, at a mean temperature of 64 degrees. I use heat mats and begin my poblano’s in February from seed. If one starts an earlier additional lighting is needed so they do not become leggy and one might find they are fighting off bugs such as the notorious aphids. February is just about right. I start in cell trays, and then move to a 2 inch pot, and then a 4 inch pot and their last transplant is the heated greenhouse, around May 1.
Don’t forget to save your many Poblano seeds. They can be easily dried and then put in a paper or plastic bag/envelope, labeled to enjoy the next year. You will have many seeds that you can share with family and friends.
After being roasted and peeled (which improves the texture by removing the waxy skin), poblano peppers are preserved by either canning or freezing. Roast is easy! Cut the pepper in half, remove the seeds, and place the peppers face down on a cookie sheet under your broiler. Broil until charred. Immediately put the peppers in a ziplock bag for about 5 minutes with a cool towel over the bag. Remove the peppers and then peel off the skin. Storing them in airtight containers keeps them for several months. When dried, the poblano becomes a broad, flat, heart-shaped pod; from this form, it is often ground into a powder used as flavoring in various dishes. http://www.mexonline.com/molepoblano.htm
We will be using Poblano’s in our Mole creation on January 11th. Only 1 week left to reserve your spot for the extraordinary cooking opportunity. This will be your chance to taste the Poblano before cooking so see if it will capture your heart!
]]>With
Shepherdess Celeste
Tomatoes on Parade, the Costoluto Genovese, for my-ah Italian friends...I am saying that with an accent, but you can't tell it when I type away.
I originally grew this for Farmers Market but when the wildfires hit our area I ended up using it spaghetti sauce instead. Such a shame for such a beautiful ribbed tomato.
This is a large flattened globe tomato with deep ribbing which I love because I love the texture look. It is a mid-season tomato about 70-80 days and is an heirloom.
This plant was hardy because it did get 140 degrees a few times in my greenhouses last summer. It tolerated the low humidity but does like it's water. It does resist cracking (even when neglected) and that is always a bonus.
Typically, it is very prolific but due to our hostile weather conditions it didn't perform as well as it usually does.
It has a stellar flavor and is acidic, a bit tart, so is great for canning.
It is indeterminate so the sky is the limit for production.
]]>Pepper Hunter explores the vibrant Kalocsa Paprika Pepper, known as "Red Gold" !
Growing tops are from me and other information is from awesome people growing paprika. In the future, I will reference sources.
The Kalosca comes from the marshlands of Kalosca south of Budapest on the left bank of the Danube River. Kalocsa and Szeged are in the southern part of Hungary are the heart of production in Hungary.
Last year was the first year that I grew the Kalosca Paprika Pepper. I have grand dreams for my over-wintered one plant, of an early harvest and abundant harvest!
The Kalosca is a mild pepper with fruity tones which can be blended with hotter peppers to add complexity and depth to your Hungarian and other dishes.
The plant grows 2-3 feet tall so provide it with ample space to stretch skywards. The Paprika Kalocsa is very close in appearance to the Szegedi 179 Paprika variety, but it is thicker, nearly 3/4 of an inch and can grow to over 4-6 inches in length. Typically it has a medium thin flesh.
The fruits mature from green to brown to red-violet in pendant style pods. Mine definitely had a distinct purple-violet hue with their red. The plant has green leaves. Kalosca is a Mid Season pepper coming in at 70-80 day maybe a tad longer in the Swan..
The heat level is considered medium compared to other chili peppers.
These regions have the highest amount of sunny hours a year, and the plants need lots of sunshine to get ripe and sweet.
Ripe peppers are harvested in September, yes even in the Swan Valley of Montana!
The pepper’s veins and seeds that contain the capsaicin responsible for the peppers pungency. In the mid 1800-ies the Pálfy brothers from Szeged invented an efficient way to remove the veins and seeds thus enabling mass-market production of sweet paprika that has always had a larger market than the hot types, but by all means if you prefer hot leave them in. Ferenc Horváth and Jenő Obermayer form Kalocsa developed the first non-pungent pepper variety in the world through cross-breeding. This pepper type is sweet and there’s no need to remove the veins and seeds.
Kalosca Paprika is an excellent drying pepper and is used in many Hungarian dishes. Paprika Kalocsa also be a seasoning, stuffed, roasted or used to make sauces.
Although many Hungarian dishes use paprika as an ingredient, this colorful, flavorful spice is actually a relative newcomer to Hungarian cuisine.
Pepper cultivation was established in Hungary during the Turkish occupation of that country in the 16th and 17th centuries. Shepherds and herdsmen who had more contact with the invaders started spice their meals with the fiery powder. But it wasn't until the late 18th century that paprika gained widespread acceptance as a spice in Hungarian foods. Formerly found only in peasant dishes, it gradually entered the culinary repertoire of the gentry and the nobility, dispersing throughout all levels of society so thoroughly that today it would be hard to imagine Hungarian cooking without paprika.
Many different kinds of peppers are cultivated in Hungary, including those grown specifically to be dried and ground into paprika. These include several kinds of long red peppers commonly used for making the milder paprikas, and small round red "cherry peppers" used for some of the hotter varieties of the spice.
Processing
After being picked, the peppers are left to rest for two to three weeks, to let their flavor and color develop even further. Then they're washed, dried, and ground into a powder.
Before the Industrial Revolution, farmers would string all their ripe peppers by hand, hang them up in a protected place to dry, and then complete the drying process in large earthenware ovens. The dried peppers were crushed underfoot, then ground into a fine powder by hand, using a huge mortar with a large pestle. Water mills, windmills and steam engines eventually replaced the hand method for grinding paprika. And today modern automatic machines wash, dry, crush, sort and grind the peppers all in one continuous process.
The Paprika Culture
For three to four weeks every autumn, more than 8,000 acres of fields around Kalocsa are filled with farm workers picking bright red peppers and stacking them in small wooden crates or big plastic mesh bags.
Residents of Kalosca string shiny red peppers to hang from balconies, porches, and eaves, like colorful ribbons on a peasant girl's costume. And on some of the houses, long cylindrical mesh bags full of peppers are suspended from the eaves like giant sausages.
During September the entire town, its population swelled by busloads of tourists, celebrates the pepper harvest with a paprika festival called "Kalocsa Paprika Days," featuring exhibitions of food products, a variety of sports competitions and a cooking contest (with paprika as an ingredient, of course). The highlight of the festival is the Paprika Harvest Parade, complete with local bands and colorful folk-dancing groups, followed that evening by a Paprika Harvest Ball.
Regardless of the time of year, however, the visitor is never far removed from paprika in Kalocsa. In addition to its pepper fields and commercial paprika factories, Kalocsa has a Paprika Street and a Paprika Museum. Strings of dried peppers festoon store windows and roadside stands. Souvenir shops are filled with folk-art gifts adorned with images of bright red peppers, including hand-painted eggs, decorated dishware and embroidered linens. And walls of houses and restaurants are painted with murals depicting traditional floral motifs, often with red peppers incorporated into the design. A sleepy little town that was once just an agricultural center has become a tourist mecca, especially at harvest time, attracting travelers from all over Europe and beyond.
Cooking with Paprika
As the spice that defines many Hungarian dishes, paprika is often in combination with other traditional Hungarian ingredients such as lard, onions and sour cream. Hungarian cooks always have several kinds of paprika in their kitchens, in a whole range of hues and flavors.
Just remember that when cooking with paprika, you should always stir the spice into HOT fat, to dissolve the powder and release its full flavor and aroma. Then quickly stir in the meat or a liquid to lower the temperature, to keep the paprika from burning, or it will turn bitter and ruin the dish.
Once you've tasted true Hungarian paprika—and mastered the simple technique of cooking with it—you'll never again think of paprika as just a pretty spice, good only for garnishing potato salad and devilled eggs.
As the Hungarians say, "Jó étvágyat kívánunk!" ("Enjoy your meal!")
]]>Snowflakes are gently falling and I have the honor and duty to do participate in creation, as in many generations gone by. What do I mean? I am redesigning my garden. I have to do a serious shake up due to last years pests and a mild winter.
It is not as easy as you might think to accomplish as I have raised beds and lots of perennials. For my annual crops any root crops must be changed to above ground beds and vice versa.
Why is this so challenging, just move em? Because I have created many micro-climates in my garden, perfectly balanced like creation itself, with just the right amount of sun and water for certain varieties. That must all change now making me more vulnerable, and the possibility of crop failure. But I have no choice. I received a packet of seeds which contained more than seeds, a pest, the flea beetle that decimated my crops last year. It was akin to a cloud of locusts devouring all that is good and tasty.
And so this week the Great Garden Remodel of 2018 will begin with a garden design or schematic, trying my best to balance all the factors which make an incredible and abundant garden.
The Parade at Shepherds Heart Farm continues...
Gold Medal was Beta tested here in the pristine Rockies this year. As far as I am concerned she does come in with a Gold Medal. She is a beauty, coming in with another sunset color palette, and is one huge tomato. Most of the tomatoes were 1-2 pound each. I love the sweet taste that lingers with that old fashioned tomato flavor.Unlike other blushes, Gold Medal has red veins, which are very unique.
She does like allot of water and needs a study cage. I would have liked production to be a bit higher, but when we hit 100 degrees she developed what she had, and did not recoup.
But for those who do not know, we had intense wildfire smoke and heat, so it was a brutal year for any garden much less, new Beta testing crops.
I did find that our lack of humidity really impacted the flowers on all my plants this year. No matter how much I watered, they still dehydrated.
]]>Pepper Hunter now delves into one of Shepherdess Celeste’s favorite spices and that is Paprika. If you have never tasted freshly ground paprika in your culinary experiences you are missing a treat! Paprika comes in sweet, medium and hot depending upon the peppers that you grow or find in specialty stores. If you purchase your peppers they will not be as flavorful as when you grow them.
Paprika Peppers are easy to grow, even in the Rockies and they always, did I say always, provide a bountiful harvest. To grow these magnificent peppers all you need is sunlight, water, and a good soil. You can grow them in containers, greenhouses or under the blue sky.
We will begin exploring the World of the Paprkia with one I love and that is the Leutschauer Paprika. It originated in Leutschau (Slovakia) and from there was taken to the Matra mountains of northern Hungary in the 1800s, where it is still widely grown today, and then from there to here, if you choose to grow them. It is considered a rare pepper.
It is the perfect drying pepper and almost looks like a ruby jewel when completely dried. It is a medium to a twang of hot.
I grow my Leutchauer Paprika in my greenhouses because I want to ensure that I have some for the coming year.
Leutschauer Paprika pepper plants are short, erect 2 foot high plants that grow fast and very productive. These peppers will require staking or some type of support as they become heavy leaden with fruit. The green peppers mature to a bright red and average nearly three inches long and one and a half inches wide. Leutschauer peppers are very uniform in shape and have thin walls, which are ideal for a drying pepper. Inside, the pepper has a very large seed ball, and quite a few seeds. They take at least 80 days.
Leutschauer Paprika peppers grow abundantly in a wide variety of conditions though they do prefer temperate climates (of course I grow mine in the Rockies and they do excellently). The Hungarian peppers have a longer season, with fruits in various stages of maturity on the plant at one time which is why I grow mine in the greenhouses.
The heirloom plant is disease and drought resistant and is a favorite of home gardeners.
Leutschauer Paprika has a smoky and spicy sweet taste. Fresh peppers are considered very flavorful and have a sweet aroma and crisp texture. The heat level of the Leutschauer Paprika pepper is under 1,000 Scoville Heat Units, which is roughly equivalent to a cubanelle or banana pepper. Paprika peppers are traditionally dried and used to make a spicy chile powder, or ‘paprika’. Most of the time this pepper is dried and then ground into a fine powder for cooking. I put mine in glass and keep it away from heat and light for maximum storage. Dry Leutschauer Paprika peppers to preserve them for up to six months. Fresh peppers will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.
The Leutschauer Paprika pepper is a rare heirloom variety of paprika pepper, botanically classified as Capsicum annuum.
All members of Capsicum annuum contain high amounts of vitamin C, as well as vitamins A and B-complex. The bright red color of the Leutschauer Paprika peppers comes from phytonutrients in the fruits called carotenoids, which provide strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. The presence of capsaicin in the peppers also provides potential cancer-fighting and anti-inflammatory properties.
When fresh, the small peppers can be stuffed, or sliced and sautéed. The mild spice is well-suited for making a pepper jelly. Roast and puree Leutschauer Paprika peppers for a spicier version of red pepper coulis. Roasting or drying the pepper brings out the spiciness and the smoky flavor.
Peppers of the Capsicum annuum variety were brought to Hungary by the Ottoman or Turkish soldiers. The first peppers grown for the spice Hungary is famous for, were first grown in 1529 by the Turks in what is now Budapest. The first use of the English word “paprika” was in 1896, which came from Hungary and was a derivative of the Slovakian or Croatian word "papar."
These are the Paprika types that have some heat. When I use the word hot it means has heat. Not hot like other hot peppers. The heat will range from barely detectable to above a hot jalapeno. The one type that does have a good kick to it is the Targu Mures from Transylvania. These peppers range from Eastern Europe to Western Russia and some are found as far south as Turkey. Some of the Hot Paprika peppers are large enough to stuff like the Alma Paprika but most are dried to make powders for cooking in traditional dishes.
To Make Shepherds Heart Farm Paprika I dry my peppers thoroughly. Usually I store them until mid-winter when I catch up and have time to process them. I remove the seeds from each pod and then blend in my coffee grinder going from mild peppers to hot peppers so that I do not mix hot and sweet. If I want that combination of hot-sweet I add it when I prepare my dish. Then I store the paprika in glass, with a little prayer that I have enough paprika until the next season.
]]>Pepper Hunter returns this week inquisitively for a peek at Pimentos. The lowly pimento’s mission in life is as a bright garnish in culinary use. The Sheepnose Pimento shape can either be expressed as resembling a spaceship of waxed mahogany floating in the ether or if you have ever seen the nose of a sheep, and not many of us have, their shape looks the like a sheep nose. The Sheepnose Pimento Pepper or cherry pepper is a large, heart shaped, modestly ribbed, red pepper. They have a thick wall which is easy to peel off with broiling and then your red beauties are ready to can!
Sheepnose Pimento is an heirloom pepper from the family of Nick Rini, named after the ovine proboscis. Sheepnose Pimento matures in seventy to eighty days from transplant. They are considered an early pepper, and they are, yea!
I grow my Sheepnose and Szentes peppers in containers on my deck so that I can frequently admire their beauty and blushing throughout the summer months.
According to Wikipedia, the flesh of the pimiento is sweet, succulent , and more aromatic than that of the red bell pepper. Some varieties of the pimiento type are hot, including the Floral Gem and Santa Fe Grande varieties, while the Sheepnose is a very sweet pepper. The fruits are typically used fresh or pickled. The pimiento has one of the Pimiento is originally a Spanish term that was added to English
Pimento vary around the world, in Portugal and Portuguese-speaking Africa and Asia, the word pimenta refers to peppercorns and chili peppers (also known as "piri-piri" or malagueta), while in Brazil, the word pimenta alone conveys chili (with malaguenta being a particularly hot, small variety). Pimenta-do-reino (i.e. [Portuguese] Kingdom's pepper) is used to refer to peppercorns. For those who do not like the heat you will be delighted to know that the pimento in English corresponds to a variety named in Brazil as "pimenta pitanga." Which has the lowest Scoville ratings of any chili pepper.
Growing the Sheepnose Pimento in the Swan Valley is easily accomplished as they grow fast, produce abundantly, and ripen quickly! All necessities to grow pimentos in the Rockies!
As mentioned I do grow my Sheepnose in containers so they need a consistent watering to make those delicious large fruits. I fertilize my peppers about every two weeks. The winds of summer pretty much keep the Sheepnose Pimento pest free.
Sheepnose Pimento plants rarely reach over 2 feet and most of mine are 1 foot but they are loaded with fruits. I could over-winter them but I reserved my over-wintering space for my super-hots which have a longer growing season. These are easy growers with not much fussing.
Traditionally one sees pimentos in green olives, cheese, and casseroles. I can my pimentos in small jars for easy use in casseroles and salads. I must say that fresh or frozen they are wonderful on pizzas and pastas. I love my pimentos much better than red bells that sometimes have that bitter taste. With the Sheepnose Pimento you experience a crisp, sweet taste sensation! This heirloom keeps well in the refrigerator for fresh eating.
The Sheepnose Pimento is getting rare so if you want to save your own seeds isolate some flowers to save seeds. I accomplish this by putting organza bags over the flowers that I want to save seeds from. That way you are ensured no cross over through bee pollination!
Plan to add Sheepnose peppers to your garden next year. I’ll bet you’ll never look back and you’ll never be sorry.
Some simple ways to use sweet red peppers:
• Chop and add to tuna salad or chicken salad
• Slice and pile on your pizza
• Saute and top off your hamburger
• Chop will other vegetables and put in a pita pockets
• Chop and add to rice (with other veggies if you wish)
• Chop and pile onto a baked potato
• Chop and add to pasta salad
• Slice and snack
• Makes an elegant hors d’oeuvre
• Make stuffed peppers
• Great with omelets
• Bruschetta – wonderful with roasted sweet red peppers
Pepper Hunter examines Alma Paprika today. I love these prolific heart-shaped sweet peppers for paprika which remind me of Valentie's on a bush. They begin as ivory as old parchment and change to a bright shiny red.
The pepper measures 3 to 4 inches long and about 2 to 3 inches wide. Alma paprika peppers are thick-walled with a sweet and succulent flesh when young and white.
As the pepper matures and changes colors, the spiciness develops and when fully mature and red, the Alma paprika pepper has a Scoville rating of 1000-2000.
The Alma paprika pepper, a pimento-type pepper, is an heirloom variety known best for drying and grinding. There is a more spicy or hot version of the Alma paprika.
My Alma Paprika always are heavy produces and need their light and water. I grow them in raised beds in my greenhouse because I want them to ripen as far as they can on the vine in the greenhouse. I then bring them in for the final dramatic color by pulling up the whole plant and hanging it upside down. During fall one will see thousands of colorful peppers of all types, colors and shapes finishing off inside at Shepherds Heart Farm. This year I will string them on fishing line.
It the Alma gets stressed by to much heat or lack or water or to much water she will get the typical aphid attack. This year I will let loose some lady bugs and let them feast, Otherwise, I deal with aphids by way the hose nozzle, or a soapy water with peppermint. I make my soap concoction.
Alma’s are fairly early taking 80 days to ripen and I always reduce the water at the end of the season to encourage blushing.
It is also commonly known as the Sweet Apple paprika pepper; the name ‘Alma’ in Hungarian means “apple.” Botanically, the sweet yet slightly spicy peppers are classified as Capsicum annuum ‘Alma Paprika’. The term ‘paprika’ is synonymous with the Spanish word ‘pimento’ or the English ‘cherry pepper.’
Paprika is also the name for the spice made from dried and ground peppers, most often using pimento varieties. Fresh pimento, or paprika, peppers have yet to gain popularity as a fresh market pepper and are most often grown for grinding into spice. This is how I prefer to use my sweetheart’s.
Alma paprika peppers, like other pimento peppers, contain vitamins A and C, folate, and high amounts of vitamin K. The creamy white immature Alma paprika peppers, don’t contain nearly the amount of vitamin A as the fully mature, red peppers.
Alma paprika peppers can be used fresh or they can be dried and ground to make a slightly sweeter paprika spice. Stuff Alma paprika peppers can also be stuffed. The bite-sized peppers can be added whole to anti-pasta salads or deseeded and sliced in green salads. The cream-colored peppers can be roasted to enhance the flavor and soften the pepper. Use Alma paprika peppers in place of red peppers for pimento cheese, the popular Southern American spread and dip.
Alma paprika peppers can be stored for up to a week in the refrigerator when loosely wrapped in plastic. The peppers can also be preserved in vinegar brine or canned.
The spice commonly known as ‘paprika’ is made from dried, ground pimento peppers, namely the Alma paprika pepper. Paprika is predominantly made in Spain, Hungary, California and South America. Hungarian paprika is considered to be the best in the world. In Hungary, paprika is a staple in the kitchen and is an essential ingredient in the traditional Hungarian goulash, or gulyás, as well as pörkölt, a meat stew, and paprikás, which translates to chicken with paprika. I love my paprika in my Armenian Cassarole.
Also known as the Hungarian Hot Apple Pepper, the Alma Spicy Paprika Pepper is a thick-walled cherry type pepper that is perfect for drying and grinding. Fruits start out creamy white, then to orange and are red when fully mature.
Fresh is best so try these sweethearts, the Alma Paprika for your sweet paprika.
]]>One of the things I miss during the winter months is the fragrance of the garden. It is heavenly!
So...I began to inquire what is the fragrance of heaven?
In the Legends of the Jews, Vol. 1 Paradise, the Third Heaven, is filled with all the trees of beautiful colors, and their fruits, ripe a luscious, and all kinds of foods which they produced (certainly not fast food-my insert), springing up with delightful fragrance. In the midst of Paradise Enoch saw the tree of life, in that place in which God rests when He comes to Paradise. This tree cannot be described for its excellence and sweet fragrance, and its beauty, more than any created created thing, and on all sides it is like gold and crimson in appearance, and transparent as fire, and it covers everything. From its root in the garden there go forth streams which pour out honey, milk, oil, wine and they go down to the Paradise of Eden, that lies on the confines between the earthly region of corruptibility and the heavenly realm.
Other accounts from the Legends of the Jews state that as we attend a Godly person as they die, Patriarchs also Adam and Eve, one can smell the fragrance of Paradise, even in the burial cave.
]]>Shepherdess Celeste grows a whole citrus orchard in the Rocky Mountains! Yes, it's true! Lemons, limes, and oranges. I have not tried grapefruit yet. Right now we have a blizzard, sometimes it is -50 degrees Fahrenheit but my citrus trees don't care. They are loving it!
My citrus trees stay inside until May and come back inside when the killer frost is imminent.
Citrus trees bring allot of joy to ones life, the fragrant blossoms, the green foliage, the tempting fruits. How many people do you know that are picking their own Mandarin Oranges off their trees in December?
That said, they do need care on occasion but overall they are not a fussy plant.
Everyone including your citrus and plants love TLC! Babying your citrus trees:
Any house plant loves to have their leaves polished with a damp cloth to get off the dust. In that way they can breathe easy. if you let the dust build up is like asthma to a plant.
This is a nail biter....my citrus (one) has dull pale leaves and so I need to treat it, fertilizer of magnesium or iron. Not really sure which. They are heavy magnesium feeders so I will being with that. Epsom salts to the rescue!.
Yellowing leaves
Citrus are gluttons for food. When nutrients are in short supply, their leaves turn yellow and they crop poorly. Feeding with a complete citrus fertiliser will fix most of the problems – or help you to avoid them in the first place – as they provide the nutrients that your citrus trees need. But if you're experiencing problems, take a closer look at the leaves.
With a magnesium deficiency, for example, mature leaves turn yellow, with an inverted green V shape at the base of the leaf, and green on the tips. It's often seen on acidic soils. Applying Epsom salts will correct the deficiency. Dissolve 2 tablespoons in 10 litres of water and water into damp soil.
An iron deficiency occurs on young leaves. Light yellow/white leaves and green veins are the signs. It's common on alkaline soil. Treat with iron chelates applied to the soil.
A zinc deficiency occurs on new growth and remains on the leaves as they mature. It results in small, narrow leaves, yellow mottling and twig die-back. It's most prevalent on alkaline soil. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of zinc sulphate in 10 litres of water, with a wetting agent, and spray foliage in spring.
Manganese deficiency shows a dark midrib, dark green veins and light green interveinal areas, which give a mottled appearance. Use a foliar spray of manganese sulphate.
An overall yellowing of leaves indicates a nitrogen deficiency. It occurs on older leaves first. Leaves may eventually drop. Feeding with a citrus fertiliser should fix the problem.
Lemon scab
Lemon scab, or verrucosis, is a common sight on lemons. Tiny lumps, or wart-like protrusions, appear on the skin of the fruit and leaves. It does not affect the inside of the fruit, and many people just leave it alone. In severe cases it may reduce the vigour of your trees. To control it, regular spraying of copper is necessary. Remove infected fruit, leaves and twigs and spray before, during and after flowering.
Fruit drop
Fruit drop is a common occurrence among citrus trees. A part of that is normal – it happens when a tree sets more fruit than it can support (often youngtrees). First, blossoms drop without setting fruit, then pea-size fruit falls from the tree, then fruit the size of golf balls may fall off. This can all be normal.
Continuous fruit drop, however, is not. This can be brought on by many factors, though typically it's a result of environmental stress (cold wind, sudden changes in temperature, inadequate nutrition, lack of moisture, etc) or poor pollination.
Adequate moisture during the early stages of fruit development is crucial. If rain is scarce, regular watering should is necessary. Apply a layer of mulch to conserve moisture in the soil, though keep the mulch away from the trunk or it may rot. Clear away any weeds too as these compete for water and nutrients. In cooler areas, keep your plants sheltered from cold winds. If moving them into a protected spot over winter, do so gradually to give the plant time to adjust.
Leaf drop
Citrus trees naturally shed leaves from time to time. The leaves have a life span of around 3-4 years, so they will simply drop off after that. That's natural. But if a lot drop off all at once, or over a period of time, then something's not right. Leaves will drop after a sharp drop in temperature, when frosts hit, if plants are water stressed (not enough or too much), or if they're given too much food. Plants that are root-bound may also drop their leaves.
Sooty Mold
Sooty mould is common on citrus. It's a black fungus that grows and feeds on the sugary wastes (honeydew) excreted by sucking insects such as whiteflies, scale insects and aphids. Ants are often present too, but they are not the cause of the mould – they feed on the sugary honeydew. In small amounts it does not overly harm plants, but a large covering of the mould blocks light from the leaf surface and reduces photosynthesis. You can simply wash off the mould with soap and water, but you also need to deal to the pests as well to stop the mould reoccurring.
]]>
Shepherds Heart Farm raises organic goats and features moisturizing goat milk products. We have gentle goat, the Kinder Goat. They are easy to manage, produce lots of raw milk, and are very entertaining!
You may have a preconceived idea about goats. These ideas may be right or wrong.
Contrary to popular belief belief goats do not eat everything.
Goats are very curious creatures.
Goats can fly! No kidding! I once had Queen Esther the Flying Goat who flew into a hay feeder and it took super powers to get her out.
Goats are very sensitive to your mood.
Goat love routine.
Nothing pleases a goat more than a lush field, quality grain, pure water, and lots of love.