Pepperhead Ed

I realize not everyone knows me by my other name,  “Pepperhead Ed.”   I was crowned as “Pepperhead Ed” back in the 90’s when my father wanted me to put a garden in at the ranch.  Each year, the garden grew bigger in size, soon expanding to a hefty one-acre.    It was a beaut—-most of all,  it was abundant with thriving peppers.  (hence my name!);    I was hooked on gardening.   When I moved back to the city I found myself missing the earthy smells and feels of my garden life and those bounty of peppers.   I couldn’t keep my hands out of the soil, nor the seeds, I cared for and nurtured.

Over the years my friends at Cornflowers Farms have appreciated my seeds, too,  growing my little babies in their greenhouses.   This year, we put up over 100 quarts of fat tomatoes and made this incredible Habanero jam and ate mightily from the earth.  Trust me, there’s nothing better tasting.   Now we’re seriously going green raising chickens naturally,  letting them eat and live in chicken-clucking comfort,  eating their naturally great eggs and shoveling that prized manure right back into the tomato patch….

My friend, Kelly Blue, has come to appreciate the fine benefits of eating from earth , too.   She had an Italian grandmother, Noni, with whom Kelly was very close,  Noni also grew everything in her garden and had lots of chickens.   Kelly and I share this great love of the garden and the harvest it brings us—-and our kinship to special people in our family who guided us to appricate the gifts of the earth in this way.

I’ve meandered long enough now….. time to start ordering seeds, gathering the manure and enjoying the peace that winter brings;  change to slow-down the pace and gather the perspective these cold, rain-filled days offer us.   Talk to you later, my friends.