 'ACE' F1 Hybrid Peppers I stopped by my local greenhouse yesterday looking for ACE (F1) Hybrid pepper seedlings. I asked the owner if she had any 'ACE' Pepper seedlings. She said I'd have to look through them and directed me to the pepper seedlings. I found flat after flat of 'Bell Boy' pepper seedlings. After some searching, I discovered several of the 'Bell Boy' plant markers had 'Ace' penned in beside the name.
Thinking that perhaps the F1 Hybrid has been sold under the name of 'Bell Boy' (I found it sold under several names, depending on the seed company, this spring.) I decided to ask the nice lady if they were the same variety. The reaction I got was not what I expected. She quickly told me that they were all Bell Peppers! I, of course, explained that I was aware of that, but just wanted to know if the variety 'Bell Boy' was another name being used for the ACE (F1) Hybrid. I even explained that I grew the F1 Hybrid last year and loved them, but forgot to order my seeds this spring and needed to buy seedlings.She informed me that she wrote ACE on them so people would know - but that they were all bell peppers! She did not explain whether these 'ACE' peppers were the F1 Hybrid, or how they differed from the 'Bell Boy' variety. I'm not sure if she didn't know whether they were the same variety or whether she thought all peppers were the same, but it was clear to me that she didn't think I should be asking. Unfortunately when you live in a rural area with limited resources you sometimes need to do business with those who you would likely avoid if there were other alternatives. I bought a dozen pepper seedlings with the commercial label 'Bell Boy' with 'ACE' penned in. I'm not sure exactly which variety I purchased, but I am hoping they are the 'ACE' F1 hybrid pepper, as these do amazingly well here in my part of Maine. A quick search online revealed that the two pepper varieties are very different. 'ACE' F1 is best for northern, short season gardens and produces a elongated pepper, while 'Bell Boy' is a blocky bell pepper. The ACE pepper produces green peppers in approximately 50 days, while the 'Bell Boy' is listed as 70 days to maturity. Next year, I certainly won't forget to order my seeds and start my own pepper seedlings. Then I can be sure of what I am growing and won't need to put up with a condescending attitude if I ask a question about the variety I am purchasing. Until next time . . . HAPPY GARDENING!
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 Fiddleheads by Emma Richford We are in the midst of fiddlehead season here in Maine. Although they have gone by in southern parts of the state, they can still be found in central and northern Maine. The fiddlehead is the coiled head of the Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) and is harvested in early spring before the tiny head unfurls.
This Maine delicacy is often boiled or steamed and eaten with a little melted butter and seasoned with salt and pepper. But, that's not the only way to enjoy fiddleheads. They can also be added to creamy soups, stews and sauces, cooked up in casseroles and pasta dishes, or even as a tasty and healthy addition to dips. If you've never tried fiddleheads, you owe it to yourself to give them a try. Vegans, vegetarians and wild food enthusiasts add fiddleheads to the menu because of their versatility, mild flavor and high vitamin and mineral content. If you are looking for new ways to cook fiddleheads, check out my new book Fiddleheads and Fairies for over 75 fiddlehead recipes, along with everything you need to know to harvest, clean and cook fiddleheads. Until Next Time . . . HAPPY GARDENING!  Gardeners can seem like a strange breed, especially in the spring when they obsess over their garden soil. I know. I do it every year. I've been trying to garden in sandy soil for a couple of years now. To be honest, calling it sandy is a bit misleading - gravel is a better description. If you look at the image to the right, my garden soil falls all the way to the left in the yellow.
I'm accustomed to soil that falls in the center of the chart in the loam section. For nearly 20 years I was blessed with rich, dark soil that I had built up with organic matter. Then I moved. The new soil presented a challenge and I built raised beds. Don't get me wrong. I love raised beds, but it's not the same as growing veggies in the ground. I'm happy to to say that I now have a load of loam. It was a Mother's Day present that will bring me years of pleasure. I don't know the exact composition, yet. I'm doing the jar test for Testing Garden Soil while writing this post. This simple test will tell me how much sand, silt and clay the soil contains. I intend to mix some of it into my raised beds - they already contain peat moss and rotted manure - and use the rest to build up my garden soil and fill in some areas that need extra soil. My family thinks it way more soil than I will ever use - but that's just because they don't understand this gardener's obsession with soil. Until next time . . . HAPPY GARDENING!  ©Nannette Richford It's hard to believe that after the long, snowy winter we've had here in Maine that it can actually be time to hang the hummingbird feeders and get ready for summer.
I'll be honest with you, I felt a little silly hanging my hummingbird feeders yesterday. There is, after all, patches of snow along the roadsides here. But then, it is May and the hummingbirds traditionally wing their way to my little corner of Maine in the first week of May. I checked the hummingbird migration map this morning and sure enough, hummingbirds have already been sighted in Maine. Some arrived in mid-April along the southern coast of Maine - but there is one reported sighting for today that is further inland and a bit further north. I don't know when the hummingbirds will make their way to my yard, but I'm ready for them and I'm sure they will appreciate a sweet treat when they arrive. You can find more information about Hummingbirds on my Hummingbird Page. Until Next Time . . . HAPPY GARDENING! |