We Are Not the Spice Islands

In my garden there are some not very attractive pepper trees that are quite messy, dropping their berries and twigs all over the place. They have to be cut down and trimmed regularly or they get all very sloppy looking.

Today I made the discovery that the berries are really pepper corns. (What can you expect from a gal from the East Coast? No pepper trees in New York.) I had been wondering why they were called pepper trees.

Guess now I'm gonna harvest the "berries", let them dry and dump them into my pepper grinder.

And I always thought that pepper came from various Pacific Islands.

Moles, Bugs, Grubs, Ants and Drought

The grasshoppers along with their friends and relatives ate most of my crops. But still I persevere. What does one have to do to get an eatable tomato? Not merely an eatable fruit but one that is large, firm and juicy and with a flavor so succulent that it will bring back memories of summers long gone. What is it about summer that calls for superb tomatoes? Wonderful flavorfull ones to pluck and devour right off the vine while the sweet tart juice runs down your chin and onto your shirt.