Volunteer Pepper

[so lucky]

I found a two-foot tall pepper plant growing inside the chicken yard, blooming and seeming very sturdy. Looks about as good as the pepper plant that I bought as a seedling. Of course, the fruit won't have time to mature before frost, but I am amazed at the opportunistic and tenacious qualities of seeds. One of the things I love about nature!
In case you are wondering how a pepper plant could be growing unnoticed in a chicken yard, for some reason this summer the girls have allowed lots of weeds to grow in there. They have about a dozen tall milo plants giving them shade and hiding places, and other various weeds growing up amongst them, including pigweed and foxtail, which I pulled up this morning. Also a tomato plant and a few sassafras.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Maybe they're planning on making some salsa, with the tomato and pepper growing in there??

 

[Ridgerunner]

I had a couple of peppers volunteer in the garden so I transplanted them to where they can grow. They are running later than my other peppers but one is starting to bear. Its always fun to see how they turn out. I also let one tomato volunteer go. It has several set on but has not ripened yet. It will.

Pepper and tomato plants taste bitter to chickens, similar to potato plants. The leaves contain a substance that could harm the chickens if they ate large quantities of it, but with that bitter taste, they just dont eat more than a bite or two. Thats nature taking care of her animals. Now if a pepper sets on, you may find that the pepper disappears.

 

[ninnymary]

Like Ridgerunner, I was thinking if you could move it to a better, warm place and then cover if frost is coming? Maybe adding a milk jugs with water around it? Is there any chance/way it could fruit for you?

Mary

 

[so lucky]

Yeah, I think the chickens are planning on salsa one of these days, lol. The pepper plant is actually blooming, so I might try to pot it up and bring it in before fall.

 

[MontyJ]

Maybe they're planning on making some salsa, with the tomato and pepper growing in there??

 

[Dave2000]

The weather has been crazy here this year so you never know. Frost might wipe it out in a month or it might make it till nearly Christmas. With blooms forming now there is a fair chance you might get some of the pods to full size, then ripen in a paper bag inside when the time comes.

Let a wave of blooms go to pods but if it tries to start a new set of blooms then pick those off so all the energy goes into growing what's already there.

 

[so lucky]

The weather has been crazy here this year so you never know. Frost might wipe it out in a month or it might make it till nearly Christmas. With blooms forming now there is a fair chance you might get some of the pods to full size, then ripen in a paper bag inside when the time comes.

Let a wave of blooms go to pods but if it tries to start a new set of blooms then pick those off so all the energy goes into growing what's already there.

Good idea, Dave. Thanks! I just checked it again yesterday and there are pea-sized little peppers on it already.