Not done yet

I've been waiting and waiting to harvest some ancho peppers for another batch of harissa, what with the late rains and work on the front porch.  Around here, anchos are a hit and miss proposition, and if the summer is cool, most of them will still be ripening on the plants when the first frost arrives.  The first half of September was unseasonably cool, and that didn't help, but after that things warmed up quite a bit and the anchos have been ripening slowly.  They were so close to ready when the rain and cloudy weather rolled in about a week ago. This morning I went out to the garden and picked what was ready.  There were actually more than I thought, definitely enough to make and freeze a good sized batch.

Almost 3 pounds of peppers here.  The beautiful chocolate colored peppers in the top 2 rows are Bastan anchos.  The reddish wrinkled pepper on the left and its neighbor are Mosquitero anchos.  This year they are turning red but not brown.  There's also 2 Carmen peppers, a Mama Mia Giallo (the yellow pepper) and some Magyar paprika peppers.  They are roasting on the grill as I write this.

For the heat, some Fish peppers and red ripe Jalapenos.  I tried to pick only the very ripe or over ripe Fish peppers, hoping that the nearly ripe peppers left on the plants will be ready in a week or so.  The red Jalapenos are actually very hot, probably as hot as the Fish peppers.  Some of the Fish may be past their prime, but I like them that way.

Most everything in the garden - tomatoes, eggplant, squash, pole beans, okra - is long since gone but the peppers soldier on.  It seems they never get the fungal diseases that have taken the other plants.  I snapped this picture after picking this harvest, and there are still lots and lots of peppers on the plants, many of which are nearly ready.

As for the front porch, it's framed up and ready for the floor.  The sidewalk is finished, that was the worst of it, and the new siding has been installed.  The floor boards have been drying on saw horses for nearly 2 weeks, but they got soaked over the weekend.  Later this week I expect to have a functioning porch.  Before putting on the railings I hope to paint the deck if the wood has sufficiently dried.   Next spring I'll be replacing the Astilbe that grew on either side of the walk. 

To see what other growers are getting from their gardens, head on over to Our Happy Acres.