It’s always amazing to have a garden that produces. Finding a plant that you didn’t even put seeds into the ground for is even better! Volunteer produce is an amazing surprise for every gardener.
An Amazing Plant Discovery
The roof is being redone at our current home. My husband and I decided to clear away the extra bushes and weeds to allow for a clear path for the workers. While in the process of clearing things away we stumbled upon a two foot tall plant, producing jalapenos!
The best part about this plant is that it is producing and I didn’t plant it. Blossoms are still coming in and I expect, if the weather holds, to get a few more peppers from our surprise plant.
This is my first time having a volunteer plant. I was shocked to see how many jalapenos are already on it. We were able to pick off four large peppers right away which felt pretty amazing considering I did nothing to nurture or protect this plant.
Luck of Gardening
Having a garden is a lot like having volunteer plants.
Sometimes you can put all of the work and effort into your garden but weather, blight or pests will come along and it’s gone in the blink of an eye.
Other years you experience the bounty of produce. You have so many different veggies coming out of the garden that you can’t even give them away. All of your days are spent harvesting and preserving as much as you can while the season is ‘hot’.
This is the joy and the challenge of gardening. It’s risky game that we plan every year. We don’t need to gamble because we have a garden.
Happy gardening!
Photo Credit: Jan Kaluza and Markus Spiske.