The Peppers of May

Cincinnati went from winter to summer with a brief stop for spring in April. With the exception of a few days, It’s been hot here since the beginning of May and the plants are LOVING it—especially the peppers.

And this is the first year, since I started gardening, that I can remember seeing peppers actually forming on my plants in May.

Can you spot the tiny jalapeño pepper just getting started? I still have two large jars of pickled jalapeños from last year but, man, I’m ready for more!

Jalapeño pepper plant

Here are some Chinese 5 color peppers. I love these new-to-me-last-year peppers! They grow all season, don’t need any special attention, are super pretty (yes, there are 5 different colors), and have enough kick to keep things interesting. If I could only grown one hot pepper plant each year, this would be my choice.

Chinese 5 color pepper plant

I’m not a huge fan of bell peppers by themselves but I always grow some for using in recipes and pickling. This karma pepper is growing like a champ…and has me dreaming of gazpacho and salsa!

Karma pepper plant

Hungarian hot wax peppers make pickles that are almost as good as pickled jalapeños.

So, there you have some of the peppers of May.

Up next? The tomatoes of June if I’m lucky.