Master Gardener Sale Features New Peppers Plus Familiar Favorites
The veggie/herb plant sale is a spring tradition for the Texas Master Gardeners of Fort Bend County. This year's sale will be on March 9 at the Bud O'Shieles Community Center, located at 1330 Band Road in Rosenberg, from 9 a.m. to noon, or until sold out.
Two peppers will be making their first appearance at this year's sale: Sugar Rush Peach and Emerald Giant, said Barbara Buckley, sale co-chair. She describes Sugar Rush Peach as a "sweet, hot pepper." It is reported to have a sweet, citrusy, smokey flavor. The Sugar Rush Pepper averages between 50,000 and 100,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), placing it between Thai, Pequin and Habanero peppers. The 3-inch long peppers start off green and change to a peach color as they ripen. The plants themselves can reach 5 feet in height and under ideal conditions can produce nearly 40 large peppers.
"Emerald Giant is a big green pepper that ripens to red," said Buckley, "and it's sweet." The large thick-walled peppers are great for stuffing and are easy to grow.
This year's sale also marks the reappearance of several plants that weren't included in recent sales: Lemon Balm and Bush Basil. Lemon Balm is an evergreen perennial that will attract pollinators to the garden. It is a good companion plant with other herbs such as rosemary, mint and basil.
Bush Basil has smaller leaves than the common Genovese basil. Aggie Horticulture says basil is an easy to grow annual herb, which produces tiny white flowers. Basil also is a good companion plant for tomatoes which will be available at the sale.
Visit fbmg.org/vegetable-herb-sale-2 for more information about the sale. All FBMG fundraisers, courses, and events are brought to you by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension - Fort Bend County.
Source: FBMG
