Good morning👋!
How's your week going? I hope you're not tired of the road, because today I'm here to talk about the "traffic light of the garden."
It's already been a couple of weeks, so by now you've probably had the chance to try Julio's Italian Peppers.
As their name suggests, these peppers come from Italy, although this doesn't explain why I call them the traffic lights of the garden.
Well, it's not an official name, but I've always found it amusing, because if you let them ripen on the plant, all the peppers go from green to yellow, and finally, red.
What a coincidence, right?
However, being green doesn't mean they're 'unripe,' as each pepper variety has a different optimal harvesting point.
In short, most of this variety of peppers will arrive green, but it's possible some might be yellowing or even have some reddish touches, but it's totally natural.
Although, as I said, most will be green, like this one for example, which is already ready to harvest. Look at this beautiful green pepper:
If it were harvested later, it could still be eaten perfectly fine; however, this variety is characterized by its thin skin and freshness, which are accentuated at this stage.
These characteristics are ideal for enjoying in a salad, although in my family, they are truly a hit when we get together for dinner and grill them.
I'm really looking forward to the next family dinner!
But in the meantime, I'd like to take this opportunity to discuss a more serious matter.
Nowadays, fields are seen as food production factories, and anything that isn't producing must be eliminated.
However, farmers know that these destructive practices are not sustainable in the long term.
The field is an ecosystem; it's alive, and hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny life forms live there, making it possible to harvest the fruits at the end of the season.
By trying to alter this balance with insecticides and other artificial chemicals, the industry has weakened the fields' natural defenses against pests.
Today, peppers in Spain have a terrible problem with aphid pests.
To solve this mess, Julio has tried to restore the ecosystem's balance by introducing local fauna that doesn't harm the plants but regulates pests.
Like ladybugs, for example!
And like these, Julio has a thousand tricks up his sleeve.
And not just Julio; if you recall, last month I told you about a very similar method that Clara uses, albeit with her own implementation, of course.
If you want to keep learning these tricks and curiosities from the field, don't forget to check your email next week!
