Bell peppers are awesome but $1.00-1.50 per pepper is outrageous. They're expensive because they are input intensive and not hyper productive plants. Naturally, instead of paying for peppers, I wanted to grow my own. This led me to discover a variety of pepper from True Leaf Market, the "Sunset Italian Pepper- sweet". 

I started mine along with my other peppers (cayenne, habanero, and jalapeno)  early April. They grew quickly compared to other varieties. When I potted them up to 3”x3” pots, I sprinkled a small amount of Dr Earth’s organic fertilizer and transplanted them in late May. I used a mix of Dr Earth’s and Tru-Organics fertilizer throughout the season and each plant responded well. The peppers mature into a variety of colors. I got yellow, orange, and red peppers averaging 4-6”. The flesh of the pepper is medium thickness (in between a bell pepper and the small snack peppers) easy to deseed, and has a mild sweet flavor. The 3 plants I have produced 2-3 mature peppers per week which was easily enough to make several batches of stir fry.  If you’re interested in or currently growing bell peppers I’d recommend giving this variety a try. 

Link to TrueLeaf: 

https://www.trueleafmarket.com/products/organic-sweet-sunset-italian-pepper-mix

A few things to start. There are two broad types of tomato plants, determinate and indeterminate. Determinant tomatoes grow to a certain size and then stop growing. Indeterminate tomatoes will grow continuously throughout the season (FR FR no cap). Determinant tomatoes generally should not be pruned. I select indeterminate varieties because I want to maximize production.The downside to this is they get massive. If you’re low on space, they can easily overrun other plants and crush weak support structures. We don’t play that weak tomato game out here. If you’re wanting to bump your rookie numbers, try out the following with your indeterminates:

Prune lower leaves and allow the wound to heal: Below you will see a close up of my current tomato plants. Several weeks ago they were potted up into 2”x2” pots with a potting mix and dusting of organic fertilizer. They have doubled in size, I’ve rotated them outside to harden them off (acclimate them to the sun and outdoor temp shifts), and they are ALMOST ready to go in the ground. The last thing I do before I plant is prune the lower leaves. This allows me to plant the tomatoes several inches deeper in their permanent home. In red you can see several places where I have clipped leaves. The wounds will scab over in a few days. In green you can see the hairlike fibers above the soil line. These, if planted below the soil line, will become roots. In their current pots, these plants have about 2.5” of root system below the ground. Trimming the lower shoots and planting deep will effectively double the area of the root system. Since these plants will grow continuously through the season, it's a small setback that will pay serious dividends later on. 

What is life without potatoes? Pain. If you feel the same let me share with you this simple technique for growing your own spuds at home. Traditionally, you would plant seed potatoes directly in the soil, hilling or mounding the soil around the plant as it grows, then digging them out of the dirt after the tops die in the fall. Digging potatoes is a pain in the ass and you run the risk of damaging the potato's skin rendering it worthless for long term storage. Many homesteaders have turned to this deep mulch bedding for several reasons. First, deep straw or hay bedding is easy to apply and remove. Instead of heavy digging with sharp tools, you can dig your spuds with your hands. This is less labor and fewer damaged potatoes that won't be able to be stored. Second, the mulch holds moisture and resists weeds. This means after mounding, there is little to no maintence that needs to be done. Scale this method up and you can have hundreds of pounds of potatoes with a very small labor input. Finally, at the end of the season, you have a significant quantity of decomposing carbon that can be returned to the garden. My plan is this year is to mix my remaining hay mulch with cow manure and allow it to compost through winter. 

The steps to this method are very simple:

1. Clear the ground of vegitation. 
2. Prep the soil, can be with a rototiller or as simple as turning it with a shovel and raking it smooth.
3. Lay down your seed potatoes at the desired interval (I shoot for 12-18 inch spacing).
4. Top with a thick layer of hay or staw mulch (Make sure the mulch hasn't been sprayed with any sort of herbicide or you're going to have a bad time.)
5. As the potatoes emerge, keep mounding additional mulch until you reach 18-24 inches.
6. Dream of potatoes.
7. When the tops die off, dig your spuds, cure them, and enjoy.

A few additional notes on potatoes:

This method can also be applied to sweet potatoes which are very different from regular potatoes. The only thing I do differently is adding a trellis for them to vine up. 

Do NOT wash the spuds if you want to keep them in storage. They develop a film that helps them stay fresh longer. As always, keep them in a cool dark place. Wash them only when you're ready to use them. 

Cure potatoes for 10-14 days in a dry dark place @ around 60 degrees. Cure sweet potatoes for 10-14 days in high humidity 85% @ 80-85 degrees. 

If you need seed potatoes: In my area its cheaper to buy organic potatoes by the lb at the local hippy store than it is to buy the seed potato packs at the hardware store.