Weekend updater

Good morning internet!

This weekend I did a whole lot of over-due weeding, especially in my lawn and in the garden beds in the front of our house. I picked my first bright red "mariachi hybrid" pepper, though, I admit, I haven't tasted it yet. It promises to be a mildly hot pepper. What's strange is all the mature peppers seem to be splitting all over. I'll try to take a photo to show what I mean. I believe it's probably due to over-watering and expect that it shouldn't really compromise the taste.

Basil is going MF-ing wild and I realize I need to harvest a bunch and make some pesto.

I have 4 heads of Romaine lettuce that are 'bout ready to eat--they have been growing so well thanks to the afternoon shade provided by the tomato and pepper plants. I'm thinking about direct-sowing a few rows in an empty spot in the garden.

Out of the 8, only one kale plant is growing in those peat pots I started a couple weeks ago. Very disappointing. I'm going to try to start a few more because I know they can survive through overnight frosts.

The grocery store-bought mint I transplanted is doing AWESOME. It freaking exploded and is probably 3x larger than it was when I bought it. I pruned a branching stem of it and crushed some leaves in ice water.

Speaking  of transplanting, the oregano and lamb's ear cuttings I buried both seem to be surviving. Hopefully they'll establish some roots before winter hits.
--
Meanwhile, mornings are getting really chilly and it feels like summer is starting to fade. I wore a winter jacket to walk our dog before work today.

Hopefully I'll get our compost pile turned soon, adding sticks to the bottom and perhaps even a couple sections of PVC pipe with drilled holes to increase aeration. That's a big goal to complete before winter...