Hiya! I do have some Peter Pepper seeds (not sure how many exactly--not a lot I don't think) that I either received in trade or was gifted with in recent times (2009? 2010?), and I'm certainly willing to send you some. As for a trade,...how about for some Chocolate Cherry Tomato seeds?

The presence of a whitish substance that looks kind of like a spider web might be that beneficial fungal growth, mycorrhizal, that many people spend lots of money trying to get into their soil, or it could be a destructive fungi, it is really difficult to tell without a really good microscope. Depending on what your soil was like when you started and what you have done to date and how your soil has reacted to those changes (what is the Soil Food Web doing) will influence what the problem is. So how much Organic matter is in that soil? What is the soils pH? What is the life in your soil? What does that soil smell like? How well does that soil drain and how well does that soil retain moisture?

AH, yes, the pepper threads begin/resurface! Handy for me, as I've got a small but precious little anaheim harvest this year (4-5 good-sized peppers on each of 4 potted plants), and have been thinking exactly about how to preserve them so as to be able to use them like the little canned Green Chiles, only tastier, of course! (We like to add them to pizza, pasta, etc.) I think I'll try the blister-peel-chop-freeze thing! I've roasted & peeled sweet ones in bulk for the Roasted Red Pepper Spread, and found it worth the trouble (however messy!). It's the least I can do for BF since I was the one who lured him away from New Mexico.... Meanwhile, I'm sure both Linda Lou's and Deanna's daughters have had many more adventures since last year. (My Dad likes to say "The worst thing about raising children is that you work so hard to teach them to be indepdent... and then they are!" But now that we're all well grown, settled, some of us even approaching middle age ourselves, I know it actually gives my folks a lot of satisfaction to see us be mature. When my little sister (the youngest, at 34) last month, all the rest of us (four other siblings) helped out, organizing a BBQ the night before, decorating the venue, etc., and at one point my mom sat back watching us all bustle about and smiled; someone asked her if it was hard to step back and not do anything but let us do things now --- she just retired recently --- and she said, "No, it's wonderful to see them be so competent!" Zabby

I don't peel chilis for most recipes. I used Anaheim in salsa without roasting and they were also good raw. I am making green chile as I type and oven roasted/broiled the typical salsa veggies (onions, tomatillos, garlic, chilis) for the chile. Since I didn't peel the chilis, there are tiny bits of charred chili skin floating in the chile. I can see why some people might find that unappetizing (is that a word?) or perhaps the smoky flavor could be too strong for salsa. I have found that I need to start peppers early. It seems like the more exotic ones grow slower. Last season, a few plants never even flowered until it was too late for fruit. Based on the slow growth/germination from last year (all commercial), I started peppers in mid-December; lat month. Most of these seeds had been trades and sprouted CRAZY fast. I was thinking - uh oh - this is going too fast, but since I planted the seeds, the growth has slowed. If you can't find Holy Mole, email me. Although a hybrid, I planted nursery bought plants last year and was very happy. I can only imagine how wonderful they'll be on my seed started plants!! I am in search of great salsa tomatoes as well and although my search is in it's infancy, my family fell in love with Mama Leone and Giant Valentine. I sent plants to SC and family there loved them as well; and are asking for more next season. Dr. Carolyn Male told me that Mama Leone is not a hybrid, although some catalogs sell it that way. I am currently growing the commercial seeds from both along side seeds that I saved. The plants are about 6' tall, bearing fruit and look great!! My kids are pumped for tomatoes from our indoor plants. (BTW, after eating garden tomatoes and then unsuccessfully trying to find comparable ones in the grocery store, I will ALWAYS start indoor plants from now on - maybe in July since I can't grow a cutting to save my life) I grew Burpee's Salsa (forgot the exact name) and was not impressed. I think there are better roma types out there.