...remember when I posted about the Man's McMahon pepper...well...that's not what this is...more on that in a bit...but when I was picking the rattlesnake beans for the day...and there were a ton of them ....probably because we've had so much rain...but I noticed that it (this plant) had been eaten...
...and guess who the culprit was...at least he wasn't eating my Rutger tomatoes this time...
...so he got a free ride over to the slough...
...now...about that plant...it's not a McMahon pepper at all...I'd been picking the little berries and putting them in a bowl in the kitchen to dry...thinking they were like a black pepper berry and you'd grind them up when they were dry...
...this is the description of the actual McMahon pepper...
"McMahon's pepper, also known as McMahon's Bird Pepper or Texas McMahon's Bird Pepper, is a small, round, hot, and decorative heirloom pepper variety introduced in 1813 by Bernard McMahon from seeds given by Thomas Jefferson. The fruit has a medium heat level, typically between 50,000 to 100,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), and is prized for its appearance, which allows it to be strung like cranberries for drying and decoration. The plants are well-suited for container gardening and overwintering indoors."
...so when the Man said that the berries I was picking didn't look like what he remembered when he ordered the seeds...I got out the seed packet...and sure enough...
...that was not this...the McMahon pepper is red before it turns black...and it's an individual pepper...not a cluster...
...I went searching the interwebs for what this plant actually is...
...and this is what I found...further research says that the ripe berries are edible but not the green ones...
'the ripe, black berries are generally considered edible in small amounts and can be used in jams and other cooked dishes'...so it's not like 'deadly nightshade' - Belladonna...
...but still...be careful out there in the garden...we thought it was so weird that this imposter pepper wound up growing (possibly planted there by a bird...eeeeuuuwww) in the exact square foot where I had planted McMahon peppers...
...the second mistake was these "bush" beans...and again...that's not what they are...apparently I planted white half runners instead of bush beans...
...I'm totally ok with that...I love WHRs...but they did need strings to support them...we should have a nice crop before frost...
...like I said...I picked a BUNCH of rattlesnake beans...enough for a whole potful...but I'll combine them with the bag that's already in the fridge...
...these were the ones that got left on the plant for too long...that's ok though...I'll save the seeds from them for next year...
...and these are the cow peas that I picked up from the ground...I need to do a little bit of research and see when I need to pick them as some of them are turning brown still on the plant...
...so I shelled them out just to see what they were like...
...and they're like a small black-eyed pea...
...and the final update is an indoor one...we finished the little foyer rehab by painting the baseboard...you can kindof see in the photo what a difference the fresh white paint makes...
~Wishing you a lovely start to your weekend!...
