Savage Words: In a stunner, I made a pepper

In my May 22 column for the Journal, I wrote about how I’m not a green thumb.

I am not.

It was proven again this summer, but I must say, I’m thrilled with some results.

Back in May, I wrote about how for the last several years, I’ve planted plenty of vegetables. Like everyone else, I get a bundle of tomatoes. That was the case again this year.

I also took a crack at onions and radishes this year. 

The onions? Eh, not bad. Not huge, but big enough that I’m able to use them in dishes I’ve prepared this summer.

The radishes? Jury is still out on that. I THINK they’re coming in, but every Farmers Market I go to, there are mountains of radishes on every table. Shouldn’t mine be ready by now? I really don’t know, which is why I hold the non-green thumb moniker so proudly. I pulled one out of the ground the other day, and clearly, it was not ready. So, I guess I’ll continue to let them cook in Mother Earth for a while longer.

I also wrote back in May that I was really focused on growing a pepper this year. For the previous five years, I’ve planted pepper plants to zero results. I mean zero.

The actual pepper plants grow ferociously every year. They get tall, look proud, and are vibrant green. Yet each year, nothing. Not a single pepper. That has been perplexing for me every summer.

But this year, I was focused. I had visions in my head from 2021 when I covered a salsa contest at Cherry Rock Farms for the Journal. Several salsa-enthusiasts entered their concoctions, and I was lucky enough to try several. I wasn’t a judge, but I took advantage of being there.

One of the entries – and eventual winner – was David Stensrud. His salsa was a balance of tomatoes and peppers, with a heavy dose of the latter. His booth at the contest was also dotted with every shape and color of peppers that he grew throughout the summer. It was mesmerizing, and since that time, I’ve wanted to replicate what he had grown.

I even reached out to him and asked him if he could help me. He said he would, but I never followed up. Surely it couldn’t be that hard.

But it has been. Never a pepper in my Savage Garden.

I took a bit of a different approach this spring. Instead of getting seedlings at one of the big box stores in Sioux Falls, I bought some in early May at Cherry Rock who were selling pepper, tomato and onion seedlings for home gardeners. 

I told Marco Patzer, one of Cherry Rock’s owners, about my pepper struggles over the years. He went through a list of reasons why that might be, and some solutions. Everything from soil nutrients, proper drainage, ideal pH levels. You know, simple things like that.

As he talked, my eyes glossed over and I was resigned to the fact that I’ll forever be a non-green thumb. I did what I do every year – went home and just watered.

But, with amazement in my eyes and as my bottom jaw hit the floor a couple of weeks ago, I saw a pepper in my garden. 

I made a pepper, and I was proud. And it wasn’t the only one. There’s a couple more brewing in the back of the garden, and like a proud father, I check on them every day.

I actually harvested one already and used it in a chili recipe. Nothing like a nice warm bowl of chili on these 90-degree humid days. But I didn’t care about the weather. I was making chili darn it, with my pepper.

As the remainder of the peppers in my garden continue to grow, I’m not certain what I’ll do with them. I’ve never had this problem before. Perhaps stuffed, or in a salsa.

Who knows? The pepper possibilities are endless. I’m not ready to call myself a green thumb yet, but dang, that chili was good.