Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Roots on the Roof: The Sunscald Conspiracy





Alas, we've run into one more snag... our little pepper plants, which are decidedly dwarfy but producing lots of veggies, have been getting mysterious brown patches on otherwise perfect looking specimens of young pepperdom.

I found this fact sheet on "pepper disorders" online from The World Vegetable Center, which I was most drawn to because their logo suggests some sort of Dharma Initiative creepiness. I'd like to think that there is some sort of massive conspiracy behind the brown spots on my peppers, and that by pushing a button every 108 minutes or so I can vent whatever electromagnetic buildup is causing them to spontaneously rot on the vine. But alas, the
World Vegetable Center would have me believe that this is actually a phenomenon called sunscald, in which our peppers are essentially getting sunburned from exposure to intense sunlight and temperatures. Again, the roof is a frying pan! Our peppers are getting destroyed by their leathery tans, aging prematurely. We may try to introduce a little artificial shade up there, or perhaps more sunblock and visors.

On a side note, I was so taken with the logo for the World Vegetable Center that I did a little research on other logos connected to international vegetable initiatives, and found that they generally are suggestive of global creepiness! Here are just a few, for your paranoiac viewing pleasure... Just another reason to grow your own.









Tune in next week when I try to get to the bottom of the real difference between a fruit and a vegetable!

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