Sept. 10 Column: Jim Gaddy on Growing Peppers

Jim GaddyFor today’s column, I had the pleasure of interviewing retired family practice doctor Jim Gaddy. He is an expert at growing peppers, so you’ll want to read his tips for success. Here’s a link to it: Doctor has just the prescription for growing peppers.

In my column, Jim mentions IRT (infrared transmitting) mulch. This is a type of plastic mulch that he has found very helpful for growing peppers. If you are interested in learning more about it, here’s the University of Vermont’s Plastic Mulch Primer.

When I did a search on “IRT mulch,” I noticed that Territorial Seed and Fedco Seeds sell it, just in case you’re wondering.

Jim Gaddy, peppersWhile walking through Jim’s garden, I was very impressed with how productive his pepper plants are. He told me that no matter what happens during the growing season each year, and no matter how the other vegetable crops are faring, they always get a good crop of peppers.

Jim’s favorite peppers are the Hatch varieties because they like to make chile rellenos, Anaheim peppers and Italian sweet peppers. All of his pepper seeds come from The Pepper Gal, which is based in Ft. Lauderdale.

While we’re on the subject of growing vegetables, it’s time for the next installment of “Everyone Can Grow A Garden!” This will be the third in my series on pruning tomato plants so the tomatoes will ripen before the end of the season. Here it is: