During the last month, while we have had some of the coldest temperatures in Gainesville, we’ve been able to harvest some beautiful basil and peppers from the greenhouses. The basil was clipped back just before Thanksgiving and was frozen for future use (our district chef is working on some recipes that include pesto!).
This week, some of the sweet banana peppers were ready. We tried these out as a substitute for bell peppers and were pleased with the results. This first batch will be snacks (served with dip) for 300 students at Lake Forest Elementary. Our students will be running variety trials in the spring to learn more about the productivity and sweetness of different types of peppers and then will conduct taste tests with the elementary school students at the schools we are serving. They will also plant these varieties in the shade house to learn where they grow best during the warmer months.
There is a lot of learning (and a fair amount of eating … or “taste testing” going on here). It’s surprising how good things taste when you’ve known them since they were a seed.