Weeds are an issue for nearly every homeowner, but conventional options of ridding your yard of these unwanted plants are not exactly appealing. Pulling them might get you outside in the fresh air and help you burn a few extra calories, but who wants to spend hours pulling weeds in Ojai’s heat? Using chemical-laden herbicides might save time, but they are also not that appealing, particularly if you have children or animals who play in your yard.
 
You will probably never be able to completely avoid pulling the occasional weed, but there are several all-natural weed control methods that can help you kill the weeds you have and limit future weed growth.
 
You can always purchase organic herbicides online or at some garden centers. This is definitely a step in the right direction; however, if you would like to save money and go greener, you can also use some all-natural products you probably already have in your pantry.
 
If weeds are an issue in your yard, try one of these five inexpensive, simple, natural weed killers:
 
1. Vinegar – It’s no secret that vinegar can be used for just about anything, and killing weeds is one of its many talents. Spraying weeds with distilled white vinegar is an effective, chemical-free way to kill them, but it generally requires multiple applications – and at least a few days for them to die.
 
2. Salt – Mixing a little salt into the soil is very effective for wiping out your weeds; however, it cannot be used in areas where you plan on planting desirable plants. Use this one with caution and only in areas like driveway cracks and gravel areas where you do not plan on growing anything. Also, keep an eye on the runoff to make sure it does not make its way to your flower beds.
 
3. Boiling Water – If you can avoid burning yourself or your desirable plants as you pour it on your weeds, boiling water is a simple, inexpensive weed killer.
 
4.  Cornmeal – Cornmeal prevents seed germination, which makes it a perfect choice for all-natural weed control. Because it prevents all seed germination without discrimination, it is best to use this method around mature plants. Using organic cornmeal in your garden also attracts worms, which is great for your soil.
 
5. Non-Living Ground Covers – Natural ground covers, such as gravel, bark, wood chips or mulch increase the visual appeal of your yard while also limiting weed growth. If you use landscaping fabric under your ground cover, you can limit weed growth even more.
 
When using natural weed control methods, it is important to remember that these effective, inexpensive, healthier options do not discriminate between weeds and desirable plants. This means you will need to use these chemical-free weed killers with caution around plants you want to keep and in areas where you plan to plant.

If you haven’t already, it is time to get your vegetable garden going. You can plant seeds directly in the ground now that we are not worried about freezes, so you don’t even have to start your seeds indoors. Just get out there in the sunshine and fresh air and get some food plants planted.
 
Of course, there is the issue of water and how we really do need to be conserving it everywhere we can. Since we are not in an area where we can rely on April showers to bring those May flowers, this means best practices for gardening here include water-saving measures. Fortunately, small changes in how we plan and irrigate our gardens can make a big difference.
 
Let’s go over some options that will allow us to save water while enjoying the benefits of growing our own food.
 
1. Replace your lawn.
I know this sounds like it has nothing to do with your vegetable garden, but if you remove or reduce your natural grass lawn, you will save so much water that it will offset your water usage elsewhere on your property.
 
Water usage studies on community gardens in Denver showed that traditional bluegrass lawns used up to 18 gallons of water per square foot per year, whereas, the community gardens used just 11 gallons. (denverwater.org)
 
California Farm & Garden found that an edible garden in the same space as a lawn reduced water usage by up to 75%. (cafarmandgarden.com)
 
2. Choose lower-water food plants.
There are lots of food plants that are drought-resistant and thrive with less irrigation, including black-eyed peas, summer squashes, tomatoes, sunflowers, pole beans, fava beans, eggplants, peppers, mustard greens, Swiss chard, pomegranates, and grapes. Also, most herbs, as well as some legumes and grains, require less water than other choices.
 
3. Install ollas.
Sometimes it amazes me that we continue to jump on the latest, high-tech trends when our ancestors have been using elegant, effective solutions for centuries. Ollas are a great example of this and show how looking to the past just might help save our future. These low-tech, low-cost irrigation systems are used around the world in dry climates to help gardeners successfully grow bountiful crops in areas where wasting water is not an option. 
 
Ollas are large, porous, non-glazed pots that are buried among your fruit and vegetable plants with their necks above the soil. Once in place, these water-conserving pots are filled with water about once per week. Plant roots grow towards this water source, and water seeps into the soil only as needed, making this an incredibly efficient irrigation system. Delivering the water directly to the roots beneath the surface also helps you avoid runoff, evaporation, soil compaction and weed growth.
 
4. Install a drip system – or upgrade the one you have.
If you are currently watering your garden by hand, you can save time and water by installing a drip system. This is a far more efficient way to deliver water directly to the roots of your plants. If you already have a drip system, check for leaks, make sure your emitters are working and watering the right spots, and install a smart controller that automatically adjusts your irrigation system according to weather conditions.
 
Using an automated drip system also allows you to more easily adjust timers to save water by irrigating your garden in the early morning or late evening and allows you to water your plants more when they are young, and then reduce water once they are established. Keep in mind that it is best to water food plants in the morning. This helps fortify them to get through hot days while avoiding the diseases and pests that sometimes come with evening watering.
 
5. Add mulch.
A layer of mulch around your food plants will help retain soil moisture and keep soil temperatures cooler. It has the added benefit of limiting weed growth and breaking down over time to add nutrients to the soil.
 
If you pull back on water too much, your plants may wilt, bolt, produce little or no fruit, or die, so be sure to keep an eye on them and adjust the watering schedule accordingly.

Spring is coming, which means it is time to prepare our gardens for this season’s planting. As we flip through seed catalogs, order potting soil for curbside pickup, and put together our garden plan, it can be easy to forget that our gardening tools could use a little prep as well.
 
Since we can grow food and flowers throughout the year here, you probably have been using your garden tools all winter, so they might be dirty, dull, and bit worse for wear. Garden tools that are kept in good repair are safer to use, last longer, and function better, which is better for the environment, your plants, and your wallet.
 
Here are some simple ways you can make sure you get the most out of your gardening tools.

1. Keep Your Tools Clean.

Keeping your tools free of dirt and debris can help prevent rust and helps to ensure that they are ready to go next time you need them. Metal and plastic tools can be cleaned with soap, water, a rag, and a scrub brush. If you are concerned about spreading disease or pest eggs, you can also use vinegar, antibacterial wipes, or an antibacterial soap, and follow that with wiping them down with linseed oil or vegetable oil.

1. Remove Rust.

If your tools are a bit rusty, you can remove the rust with sandpaper or a wire brush. Follow this with a coat of oil or store them in a bucket of sand mixed with oil to prevent further rusting. You have probably read somewhere that mixing sand and motor oil in a bucket for garden tool cleaning and storage is a good idea. It is not. While it is effective in cleaning your tools and keeping them from rusting, it also means introducing motor oil to your garden when you use the tools, so let’s stick to linseed oil or vegetable oil.

1. Oil Wood Handles.

Wood handles on shovels, hoes, rakes, and hand tools do not always age well and can dry out and crack. You can avoid this by oiling them a few times a year. Be sure to use oil that is safe for skin contact and for your plants, such as linseed oil. Apply the linseed oil to the handles, let it sit for about 20 minutes, and then wipe off any excess oil. If your handles are beginning to feel rough or like you might get splinters from them, sand them with sandpaper before oiling them. Make this one of the tasks you complete each time the season changes to make it easier to remember.

1. Sharpen Shovels, Hoes, and Hand Tools.

Regularly sharpening your gardening tools makes them safer and easier to use. If you are comfortable sharpening them yourself, you can do so with a mill file or flat file that you can purchase for less than $20 at a home improvement store or hardware store. If making sharp edges even sharper does not sound fun (or safe) to you, you can always have them professionally sharpened.

1. Store Tools Properly.

Store your tools in the above-mentioned bucket of sand and oil, hanging on a wall, or handle down in a yard tool organizer. Avoid storing tools with the metal end touching the ground, since that can dull the blades and encourage rust.

Winter is a great time to update and upgrade outdoor living areas. With shorter days and colder weather, you likely are not entertaining on your patio quite as much right now, which gives you the opportunity to spruce it up a bit between gatherings.
 
If you have tried to have any type of home improvement completed over the last couple of years, you know how busy contractors are right now and how difficult it is to get on their schedules. If you have something that requires a contractor, call them now to get your job in their queue. Then, while you are waiting your turn, consider some of these upgrades that you can do yourself in the meantime.
 
1. Spread no-water ground covers.
You can quickly increase the visual appeal of your outdoor living areas by covering bare earth with a no-water ground cover like bark, wood chips, or gravel. Spread it around plants, in walkways, and in any spot that needs a little sprucing up. This option is easy to do and easy to maintain, since all you really need to do moving forward is refresh it whenever it starts to look a little sparse.
 
2. Hang string lights.
String lights are inexpensive, easy to hang, and a great way to add soft lighting to outdoor living areas. Add a festive flair to your patio or yard with a few strands of string lights that you can likely hang yourself.
 
3. Add a fresh coat of paint to patio furniture.
If your metal, wicker, synthetic wicker, plastic, or other painted patio furniture is looking a little worse for the wear, head to one of our local hardware stores to pick up some spray paint in fun colors. Watch a couple of videos online to make sure you know what you are doing, and then update the look of your furniture with a fresh coat of paint.
 
4. Add a fire pit.
Fire pits are not necessarily easy to install or inexpensive, but there are certainly options that fit both of these categories. You can pick up a portable fire pit for less than $100, bring it home, and have it set up and ready to go all within a couple of hours.
 
5. Put together a bar cart.
Look around the house for a two-tier table or rolling cart that could be transformed into a portable bar. Stock it with your favorite beverages, outdoor drinkware, and some bar snacks to have a handy bar cart ready to go for impromptu social gatherings.
 
6. Add a rug.
Adding an outdoor rug to your patio décor is a quick and easy way to instantly add color and texture to your outdoor living area. If you are not sure you want to deal with caring for textiles, you can also paint a rug design on your patio.
 
7. Add a shade sail.
Shade sails provide protection from the sun and make your outdoor living areas more comfortable and more functional. As an added benefit, they also happen to be great for blocking the view of your patio if neighboring properties sit higher than yours or if second-story windows overlook your yard.
 
8. Hang a hammock.
Hammocks provide the perfect spot to curl up with a good book or take an afternoon nap. They are easy to hang between two strong trees or sturdy posts, or you can purchase a hammock stand that allows you to place your hammock anywhere you’d like.
 
Things to remember this month:

• If you haven’t already, clean your gutters to prepare for any rain we might receive and to reduce fire risk.
• If you haven’t changed your furnace filters since heater season began, change them now to keep your system functioning as efficiently as possible and to keep your home – and the air in your home – cleaner.
• If you need to call in a professional to help with a home improvement project, choose local contractors and keep your money in the local economy.
  

Over the last few months, I have written about tips for starting a vegetable garden and the basics of growing peppers. This time, I thought it might be nice to expand on this a bit and talk about five other vegetables anyone can grow. So, if you have been wanting to start a garden but are intimidated by the idea of actually having to keep things alive, or if you did start a garden and have not yet had much success, this one is for you.
 
Starting with just a few easy-to-grow options allows you to build your gardening skills and confidence. It allows you to focus on really learning how to grow these few vegetables first before you expand your garden and increase the variety of food plants you grow.
 
So, let’s get started with the first five vegetables you should plant in your garden.
 
1. Bell Peppers – Most peppers are easy to grow, but to help ensure your success even more, start with bell peppers and start with seedlings from a local nursery. You can start peppers from seeds, but bell pepper seedlings are inexpensive and easy to find, so get a jumpstart on your garden with starter plants instead. Pick a sunny spot, plant them about 18 inches apart, place cages to help support them as they grow, and water frequently until established. Once established, you can back off to watering once per week in most conditions. The plant tag will let you know when they will be about ready to harvest. For a more detailed guide to growing peppers, check out my column in the May issue, which is available online.
 
2. Radishes – Radishes are, hands down, the easiest vegetable to grow. They are great for beginner gardeners or for teaching kids about growing food, since some varieties go from seed to harvest in just three weeks. Plant your seeds one-half inch deep in rows that are about four inches apart. Once you begin to see growth, thin them to about two inches apart in each row. Water once or twice a week, and simply pull them up when it is time to harvest.
 
Radishes are also great for practicing succession planting for a longer harvest.
 
3. Kale or Chard – Kale and chard are equally easy to grow, so choose whichever you like best and think you will use most. Either of these options can be grown from seed or from starter plants from a nursery. Plant your seeds or plants about one foot apart, water frequently until established, and then water once or twice a week depending on how hot and dry it is. Once the plants are producing well, you can start harvesting the outer leaves to use in soups and salads and to encourage the plant to continue producing leaves for later harvests.
 
4. Carrots – Carrots are just as easy to grow as radishes; they just take longer to go from seed to harvest. Plant seeds a few inches apart in rows about four inches apart – or, to make it even easier, lightly scatter the seeds in the area where you want your carrots to grow, and then thin them out to about three inches apart once they start growing. Water frequently at first, and then once or twice per week once they are growing well. The seed packet will tell you about how many days it will be from the time you plant them until it is time to harvest. When it is time to harvest, gently pull them out of the ground.
 
This is another crop that is ideal for succession planting, so consider planting one row per week over several weeks to enjoy fresh carrots from your garden longer.
 
5. Green Onions – Green onions are easy to grow in containers, in raised garden beds, or in the ground. You can even grow them from the scraps of old green onions in a jar of water in your kitchen. If starting form seeds, plant the seeds about one-half inch deep and about one-inch apart. If you are starting from onion sets from a nursery, plant them about two inches apart. When planted in the ground or raised beds, you will usually need to water them once or twice per week. When it is particularly hot or dry, you will need to water them more often. You will also need to water them more often if you grow them in containers. They will be ready to harvest when the greens are about eight inches tall.  

Fall brings colder evenings and chilly mornings, so if you plan on continuing to enjoy your outdoor living areas once the days start getting shorter, you may need to make a few adjustments to keep you and your guests comfortable.
 
Here are five tips to help you prepare for outdoor entertaining this fall.
 
1. Clear the Summer Clutter
 
Sure, folks lucky enough to live in SoCal can enjoy swimming pools and summer activities any month of the year. However, now that the kids are back in school, you probably won't be hosting quite as many pool parties in your backyard. This means you can go ahead and put away the pool toys and other summer clutter to make way for grown-up gatherings.
 
2. Prepare for Inclement Weather
 
Fall festivities can quickly become much less festive if rain, wind or chilly weather forces you to take the party inside. It might be time to finally get that canopy you have been considering or invest in covering your patio, particularly since it sounds like we are in for some serious storms this year. If you do not yet have a fire feature, it is definitely time to consider installing a fire pit or patio fireplace, either of which can significantly increase your ability to enjoy your outdoor living areas. If you are not quite ready for a fire feature, you might want to at least look into inexpensive patio heaters to keep your guests warm. If you already have a heater, fireplace or fire pit, now is a good time to give it a good cleaning, check for safety concerns  and stock up on fuel.
 
3. Check Your Landscape Lighting
 
As the days grow shorter, gatherings are more likely to take place after the sun goes down. So it is definitely time to check your landscape lighting for bulbs that need replacing or fixtures that need repair. A little maintenance now will pay off later when you are not rushing around trying to fix your lighting before your next party. If your lighting is a bit lackluster, this is also a good time to finally install those pathway lights or hang some festive string lights.
 
4. Refresh Your Patio
 
Make your outdoor living areas more inviting with new textiles to bring color, texture and warmth to the space. Cozy cushions and comfy throw blankets will make your patio a particularly welcoming spot for hanging out on chilly nights. Look for end-of-summer sales on deck boxes and outdoor cabinets to ensure you have a storage option to keep your cushions, pillows and blankets clean and dry when not in use.
 
5. Stock Up on Seasonal Party Supplies
 
Make party planning more convenient and less time consuming by stocking up on the supplies you are sure to need throughout the season. Depending on the type of soiree you like to throw, this might include apple cider and cinnamon sticks, kids' craft projects and natural charcoal, festive harvest decor, or your favorite wine or beer. 

If mandatory water use restrictions looming yet again are not enough to convince you we all need to be conserving water, all you need to do is take a drive around Lake Casitas to see just how serious the situation is.  Many folks in Ojai have already taken significant steps to save water, such as replacing lawns with drought-tolerant landscaping options, installing rain barrels to catch our infrequent rain, and choosing high-efficiency appliances.
 
If you would like to continue to grow food for your family but are looking for ways to save water in your vegetable garden, you might consider growing low-water vegetables and herbs. While deciding what to plant, consider this list of drought-tolerant herbs for inspiration.
 
1. Rosemary: This versatile herb is best known for its culinary and medicinal qualities and is often grown as a hedge in Southern California. It is also a great topiary option, a good addition to your container garden, an effective privacy screen, and a natural way to keep snails and slugs out of your vegetable garden.
 
2. Feverfew: Feverfew is probably best known for its use as a headache and migraine remedy, but throughout history it has been used for a variety of medicinal purposes. This drought-tolerant herb with white flowers reminiscent of tiny daisies has been used to treat anemia, allergies, fever, arthritis, and the common cold.
 
3. Oregano: This popular herb garden option is generally grown for culinary purposes, but oregano also has medicinal qualities and can be grown as an ornamental plant. Oregano can thrive with little water grown in the ground or in containers and can be particularly appealing for its ability to repel a variety of insects when planted around your outdoor living areas.
 
4. Echinacea: Echinacea is a member of the daisy family and can be found in all sorts of herbal and over-the-counter remedies for preventing and treating the flu and the common cold. It can be grown in your garden for use in making home remedies and teas or can simply be used as an ornamental plant. Pink flowers are the most common, but you can also find Echinacea with red, white, or orange blooms.
 
5. Thyme: Thyme is available in taller varieties that can be grown for culinary and medicinal use and low-growing varieties that can be used as a low-water ground cover. Ground cover varieties can handle foot traffic, so you can even grow them between stepping stones in walkways. Historically, thyme grown for medicinal purposes has been used to treat sore throat, bronchitis, fatigue, muscle pain, anxiety, parasites, and several other ailments.
 
Herbs, in particular, can also be grown as a low-water border along a walkway or patio or can be used as a ground cover for larger areas. You can see examples of this with the varieties of lavender and sage commonly found in Ojai landscapes, but there are lots of other options from which to choose as well. 

Backyard chickens have always been popular in Ojai, but even more folks got small flocks during the pandemic. Some folks finally had time to build a coop and start the flock they had always wanted. Some were looking for a fun, family-friendly, outdoor hobby with the added benefit of fresh eggs. And some set up their henhouse as part of the simpler, small-town lifestyle they sought when they fled the city to join us in our little village.
 
Your hens give you fresh eggs, help keep the insect population down, provide manure to spread in your garden, till the soil, and offer hours of entertainment. In return, it is our responsibility to take care of them the best we can and to keep them healthy, well, and comfortable. Chickens cannot handle heat well, so one of the biggest challenges you may face as steward of your flock is keeping them safe and comfortable when the temperature is regularly in the 80s and 90s -- or over 100.
 
Some of the signs that your ladies may be too hot include reduced appetite, reduced egg production, standing or laying with their wings spread out, panting with their beaks open, and signs of general stress. If you do not take measures to keep your chickens cool, things can go bad quickly. You need to know these signs, and you need to be ready to act immediately when one of your hens is in distress.
 
To try to avoid getting to that point, here are nine ways you can help your chicken beat the heat this summer.
 
1. Provide shade.
 First and foremost, your coop and run should be at least partially in the shade. If you did not build your coop under a tree, consider adding shade sails to provide plenty of shade for your girls.
 
2. Build a bigger run.
Crowding is not helpful when the temperature rises. Your hens need to be able to spread out and there needs to be plenty of airflow to help keep the run cooler. If your flock is a bit big for the run, build them a bigger one.
 
3. Bring them inside.
If you have the space, let your ladies ride out the heat in a dog crate or playpen in the house or some other climate-controlled structure on your property.
 
4. Improve ventilation.
Create a breeze by setting up a fan near the coop to keep the air moving. Be sure your fan and its cord are a safe distance from the chickens.
 
5. Make sure they always have cool water.
Cool water plays an important role in keeping chickens safe when it is hot. You can add ice cubes to their water to keep it cool longer, put a frozen water bottle in their waterer, or simply refill their waterer with cool water throughout the day.
 
6. Place frozen water bottles or jars of ice in their coop or run.
When I was younger, we filled mason jars with ice cubes to help keep chickens and rabbits cool on hot days. This is one way to provide cooling stations in their coop, but you can also just freeze water bottles or jugs and set them around the coop for them to stand or lay near.
 
7. Create puddles or get a pool.
Your girls might take advantage of a kiddie pool or a shallow pan with a couple of inches of cold water in the bottom. Some chickens are fine with wading to cool off, but others will want nothing to do with it. For those hens, you can make some puddles in their run (but don’t flood it) so that they have an option to walk in water and cool off.
 
8. Install misters.
A gentle mist of water can make a big difference in your hens’ comfort. One of my clients had their caretaker install a misting system similar to what you might see in line at an amusement park. This has been great and her hens love it. If you are not quite ready to install this type of mister, you can also use the mist setting on your hose nozzle or you can get a plastic mister that attaches to your hose. I found these at Home Depot for about $10 when I was looking for options to cool off some clients’ chickens during the first heatwave this year.
 
9. Give them frozen treats.
Just like humans, chickens love a cool treat on a hot day. Freeze chopped fruits and vegetables, such as watermelon, strawberries, peas, or corn, and keep them on hand to give your hens throughout the summer. 

A low crime rate is just one of the many reasons folks are drawn to the Ojai Valley. Feeling safer at home and being able to walk around the village after dark are nice perks of living in a small town. But even if you live in a low-crime area, it never hurts to take a few measures to make you and your family feel even more secure at home.
 
To help keep you, your family, and your guests safe, here is a checklist of easy steps you can take to increase security, as well as a couple of suggestions that take a little more effort but that are well worth it.
 
1. Check existing hardware.
The first step is just making sure what you already have is working. Check all of your doors and windows to make sure they close, latch, and lock properly. Keep in mind that window and door locks are for keeping people out and keeping people in, so this is important to keep intruders out, but it is even more important to keep your little ones from accessing a pool or the street without you.
 
2. Add additional security measures to windows.
Even if your windows close and lock properly, you can likely make them even more secure by adding a dowel in the track to keep the window from opening when locked or by purchasing window locks designed to attach to the track to allow the window to open only as far as you would like.
 
3. Add a video doorbell.
Video doorbells are ubiquitous at this point and take almost no skills to install or set up. Rechargeable options mean you don’t even have to run wiring, and there are plenty of options available, including ones that allow you to have a conversation with someone who is at your door or gate or sending the video to police if a package is stolen from your porch. At the very least, the most basic models record who comes within range of the doorbell and allow you to see who is at your door before you answer it.
 
For a low-tech alternative, you can install a peephole in your door, but this will not let you check out who is on your porch while you are traveling out of state.
 
4. Make your home a little smarter.
Converting your house into a fully automated smart home might seem like a bit much, but you can increase security by making your home just a little smarter. For example, smart plugs placed in one or more rooms allow you to control lamps or other items plugged into them from your phone.
 
For a lower-tech option, you can also just put some lights on timers, but controlling lights from an app on your phone is nice, especially when you are coming home unexpectedly late.
 
5. Install a security system and cameras.
Advances in home security technology have made it possible to install a security system in a single afternoon without the help of professionals. This means that some kind of security system is accessible for most renters and homeowners. For intricate camera systems, you are better off hiring a professional who can help you choose the right system to fit your needs and advise you on camera placement.
 
6. Keep your family and guests safer with outdoor lighting.
Adequate lighting makes your home and yards safer by guiding traffic, illuminating walking paths, reducing tripping hazards, and making sure first responders can see your address. Creative placement of landscape lighting and motion detector lights is also a great way to avoid shadowy corners and potential hiding spots for intruders.
 
7. Add landscaping features that enhance security.
You can increase your home’s security with how you design and maintain your landscaping. For example, planting thorny bushes under windows and keeping tree branches trimmed to reduce access to second-story points of entry are helpful deterrents. Make sure you keep bushes and trees pruned to allow for a clear line of sight to your main entry and to avoid creating hiding spots in your yard. 

Peppers are incredibly easy to grow, which makes them a good choice for beginner gardeners and seasoned gardeners alike. You can grow them in the ground, in raised beds, or in containers on your patio. I even have some growing in my dining room in a hydroponic system. If you were inspired to start or expand your vegetable garden after last month’s column, now might be the time to consider adding peppers to your garden plan.
 
Now is the perfect time to plant peppers, which can be grown as perennials in this area. This means that if you are not growing them in containers that you can move around, make sure you pick a spot where they can stay and provide you with fresh peppers for years to come. To make sure your pepper plants will be happy, choose a spot that receives at least six hours of sun per day.
 
Once you have picked a sunny spot for your peppers, the next step is choosing which varieties to grow. Do you prefer sweet peppers like bell peppers, cherry peppers, or banana peppers? Or do you prefer hot peppers like habaneros, jalapeños, or serranos? You may want to grow a combination of sweet peppers and hot peppers to better suit your tastes. It might sound fun to grow a super-hot variety – like Carolina reapers or ghost peppers – but I don’t recommend these for folks new to growing peppers, since you need to adhere to safety protocols when growing some peppers that fall high on the Scoville scale.
 
Peppers can be easily grown from seeds or seedlings. Seedlings are always a good idea for beginner gardeners, since you get a head start on growth and can find varieties that you know will thrive in your area by purchasing them from a local garden center.
 
If you are starting from seeds right now, you can plant them directly in your garden. If you live in an area that freezes, you will need to wait until after the last frost in future years. Alternatively, you can start the seeds indoors, and then transplant them to your garden in late spring.
 
To plant your peppers, mix compost into the soil and space the plants about 18 inches apart. I like to support my peppers with stakes or tomato cages, but this is not absolutely necessary. After planting, keep the soil moist while your plants get established. Once established, you should be able to give your plants one good watering per week in most cases. Peppers grown in containers will need more frequent watering, and you will need to provide your plants with supplemental watering during the hotter weeks of summer.
 
You can help your peppers thrive by adding a few inches of mulch around each plant. This will help with soil moisture retention and blocking weeds that will compete with your peppers for water and nutrients.
 
When it is time to harvest, use garden or kitchen shears to cut the peppers from the plant. You can then store them in the refrigerator for about a week, or you can freeze chopped peppers for a few months.