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Paging through seed catalogues last summer I was struck by the amazing array of peppers available to the home gardener. While maybe not as popular as their tomato cousins, the variety of peppers available for your vegetable garden boggles my mind.

Peppers were first introduced to the European palate 500 years ago when Christopher Columbus discovered them on his quest to find a route to the Indies. Native to Central and South America, the indigenous people had domesticated four strains of the genus Capsicum. While the nomenclature gets a bit convoluted, this early breeding work gave us the pungent chili peppers, the hot habenero and Thai types, the sweet bells and the non-pungent wax banana type peppers.

After Columbus brought them back to Spain, this humble American fruit traveled the trade routes with the Portuguese as far as Asia, Africa and the Middle East. While so common in Asian and Indian cooking, they are New World natives.

The traditional bell or sweet peppers all start out green and ripen to red, yellow, orange or purple depending on the cultivar. The flavor gets milder as the color matures. These are great for salads, roasting, stuffing, or slicing for stir-frys.

The "heat" in peppers is from the chemical capsaicin. The amount of heat in a given pepper is measured in Scoville units(SU). This peculiar measurement refers to the amount of water needed to dilute the capsaicin to be undetectable by a taste tester. An odd way of measuring, if you ask me, but no one asked me.

The hottest types are the cultivars of Capsicum chinense. These are the small habeneros (200,000 SU), and Scotch bonnet types. These are good in small amounts for sauces, pickling, or stir-frys.

Long, red, spicy cayenne peppers (30,000 SU) are widely dried and used as a spice, but also are good fresh. Poblano peppers, a type of green chili, are relatively mild and are good fried. When dried, they are referred to as anchos and used as a spice.

Jalepenos, a staple of Tex-Mex cooking, are widely used in picante sauces and salsas. They can also be pickled or eaten raw. While less hot than many chilis at 8,000 Scoville units, they still can pack a punch.

If you are going to grow peppers in your garden this year, pick a sunny location. They are in the nightshade family with tomatoes and eggplants. To avoid diseases, don't grow them in the same place the tomatoes were last year. Peppers are slower growing than tomatoes and like warm soil, so wait until Mother's Day to plant them.

My garden is thoroughly enjoying the early arrival of spring except for one thing. Every time it looks at the calendar it has a nervous shutter. The temperature is right, the soil is perfect and the weather report is perfect so what is the problem?

As I am writing, a few seconds of research tells me that the record low for today was 20 degrees set in 1990. Several years ago the band of states eight or ten hours south of here experienced a quick warm up followed by sudden plunges to record temperatures.

A plunge to 20 degrees here now would be equally catastrophic. Before we panic, let's evaluate mitigating factors. If the ten-day forecast holds, the record low then is 27 degrees set in 1999. That would be a problem, but not catastrophic.

Also note that a drop from a nightly low of 60 degrees to 30 degrees in one day is a lot worse than if it went from 60 to 55, 55 to 50, 50 to 45, 45 to 40, 40 to 35 and finally 35 to 30 over six days.

Several days ago I was cautioning a neighbor about planting when he retorted that I was colder than he was. I had to agree. There have been a few times and special weather conditions in memory when I saw a 10-degree difference between my place and his. He lives less than half a mile away.

In my car I have one of those outside temperature monitors. Its fun to watch the wide temperature ranges you can experience in short distances. The bottom line is you will be much more successful if you make yourself aware of the microclimate in your garden.

Am I itching to make some risky plantings of annuals? Sure. How can you help it?

If you buy annuals now, ask the person on the other side of the counter about the risk. If they are risky and you are still buying, hold them a bit. To hold them keep them outside out of the afternoon sun. Keep them moist but NOT WET. If the temperature plunges, take them inside and return them outside as soon as it warms.

Also try to gauge how your annuals were grown. What was the nighttime temperature the day before you bought them? If they were grown at the industry norm of mid 60ies going outside can be a jolt. Grown slower at cooler temperatures and run with reduced heat before selling is a major plus.

Some annuals will handle light frost. They include pansies, calendula, vinca vine, dracaena(spikes), and dianthus.

Annuals that will tolerate temperatures near but above freezing include osteopermum, verbena, snapdragons, salvia, alyssum, and petunias.

Some annuals want it to stay above 40 degrees. They include coleus, marigolds, zinnias and geraniums.

Then there are those who will not tolerate temperatures below 50 degrees. They are the tropicals: impatiens, vinca(flowering), begonias, celosia, mandevilla and the like.

Know your site. Know your plants. Know how to hold plants in their greenhouse containers. Know the risks of planting annuals in April. After that, you have my permission to get dirty.

If people think you might know anything about gardening, you will soon be the target of questions. Two that top the list are as follows: I did, or am about to, rip out the aging, shabby or the "I'm tired of" plants around my house. Everything goes. What should I plant?

Or some of my plants aren't happy. Why? A few dying twigs or several leaves that look like they have lost their zest for living usually accompany this question.

If you get a quick, simple answer to either of these questions, my advice is that you should ask someone else. Let's tackle the first one first.

No one can deny that individual plants acquire one or all three or more undesirable traits listed in paragraph two and need to removed and replaced. What I will quickly challenge someone on is if every plant there must go.

Starting with a clean slate is a serious question of time or money or both. To be specific, your choice is to start with smaller, affordable plants and wait several years or shell out significant bucks to buy plants that give you the immediate look seconds after someone puts the shovel down.

Transplant shock on larger plants often mitigate the difference between these two approaches in several years. What you are buying with larger plants is now, not the future.

My suggestion before you rip is to spend some time looking and decide each plants fate individually. In all honesty, I have never viewed a landscape that suggested a total rip out and a total new beginning.

The second question should be answered with a barrage of questions. Sun, shade, moisture, wind, proximity to structures, watering, fertilizer, lime, insects, fungus, pruning...? I'd probably have more if I weren't writing this just after I jumped out of bed in the morning while it was too dark to go outside and get dirty.

For starters, let's talk about the evil stepbrothers that lurk in almost every garden. I am talking about afternoon sun and winter wind. Let it suffice to say that there are plenty of plants that easily tolerate afternoon sun and winter wind and there are plenty of plants that won't. Avoid disappointment with a few questions or a little research.

Fertilizer, water and ph (lime) all affect a plants growth. The first two will encourage growth. Getting too rapid growth brings insects and diseases. Excessive amounts of water and fertilizer will destroy roots and the plant. Most of us use too much water and too much fertilizer, increasing the problems in our gardens.

Proximity to structures might surprise you. There are at least three issues here. First walls, especially walls that reflect the sunlight, create microclimates. Almost always they are warmer-and you guessed it, insects migrate and thrive where it is warmer. There are plants that will be wonderful in the center of your yard and yet be difficult insect magnets by your house wall.

Another question about structures is the age of the building. New construction may suggest two issues. What was the ground disturbance or fill situation in the area you wish to plant? Even worse is what might the final grading has buried.

Finally, new masonry work will often bleed calcium, raising the soil ph and making it next to impossible to grow acid loving plants in that area.

Now before I instill enough fear that you are afraid to venture into the gardens, let me assure you that gardening is not that tough. Asking the right questions from the right people makes it even simpler.

Near the end of day three of the soggy ending of March a rather dispirited version of myself was staring out my office window when an adult bald eagle swept by. He was on the house side of a line of trees less than 150 feet away and well below the treetops. My original stare was toward the muddy, slightly swollen, west branch of the Octoraro Creek.

The eagle is a regular sighting in my valley so I wondered if he was thinking of or had set up housekeeping nearby. The expansion of the eagle population in our area is creating a shortage of prime nesting sites. Research suggests they are more successful on rivers than on open bodies of water. Is the Octoraro Creek ready to be a river? I hope so.

My thoughts then turned to other garden residents on my small farm. Two years ago, I began to realize that several fruit trees I planted when I left the orchard in 1991 were beginning to flag with age. So I planted some replacements.

As of now I have three wounded stragglers remaining from the 20 trees I planted. That's right. The score is deer 17 and me a tattered thee. With a few more trees ordered, I conclude that exclusion is the only answer, as I have little to show for the one hundred plus dollars I spent on deer repellent each of the last several years.

The other exclusion project will be the vegetable garden, because my rabbits and groundhogs seem to be unappreciative that I have left ample white clover crowding out my lawn grass for them to eat. Please note I have no complaints with the squirrels frequently seen from the windows on the woods side of my house.

Then there are my good friends. Remember that a chemical free landscape creates a diverse environment that will let good insects fight most of your battles. I know that but confess it is often too tempting to grab the sprayer. Don't get me wrong. There are times when the judicious use of chemicals is maybe a wise and necessary choice.

When we create that diverse environment, more birds will come and further balance our landscapes.

If you feed the birds, now is not the time to stop. The ranks of many of the birds that stop their fall migration here are thinning as they return to colder areas. The northern movement of songbirds is at hand. Who knows what a stocked feeder might draw in the next month or so. I have already seen Eastern Phoebe and tree swallows in my meadow.

Hummingbirds are just a few states south of here now, so April 1 is a good time to put out the hummingbird feeders. Leave them out until November 15. Although our common ruby-throated hummingbird leaves about October 1, unusual hummingbirds from the western part of the country are often seen here in October and early November.

April 1 is also a good date to put up the purple martin houses, as the males will soon be scouting for nesting locations.

I moved my bird feeders last fall to an open new area with great success. Now I am staring at a blank slate that I hope to turn into a hummingbird garden. In my dreams I also see an old watering can suspended above the birdbath with a new cube of ice inserted every morning. What else can you do with an empty 12-ounce plastic cool whip container?

Will we have a resident eagle? Will I get all this done? Will I narrow the score with the deer? Who knows? At my age I can at least dream. What better cure for a string of soggy days?

Being asked for carrot plants last spring prompted me to think about vegetable gardening in a different way. I'll start with three plant specific approaches that are consistent in my garden.

First there are plants that I always grow from seed. This long list includes carrots, beans, peas, sweet corn, beets, radishes, leaf lettuce, turnips and potatoes. Potatoes made this list because you do buy seed potatoes.

Next are plants that I always use transplants. Cabbage, broccoli cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, peppers, eggplants, sweet potatoes, onion sets and tomatoes highlight this list.

Finally there are the "I don't cares". Seeds or transplants whichever are easiest or available. These include squash, cucumbers, any melon, and pumpkins. All these have large seeds and will germinate quickly if tucked just under the soil surface. Started plants in peat pots work equally well if the whole pot is buried.

Now I'll start with potatoes, peas, leaf lettuce, spinach and onions. I'm happiest if they are in the ground near the anniversary of my wife and my first date, which is April Fools Day.

By mid-April I think about string beans, sweet corn, carrots, radishes, beets and the other Cole crops. (broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts). I'll stop here and state that the spring prospects for cabbage is great, good for broccoli, a maybe for cauliflower and rather dim for Brussels sprouts. The cabbage family is better in the fall when they can mature with cooler temperatures.

By late April I glance at the weather forecasts and will quickly risk planting a few tomatoes if the forecast suggests a warming trend. I would also plant lima beans about now.

Mother's Day might be a good target for peppers, sweet potatoes, eggplants, squash, melons and the other vine crops. If you want Halloween pumpkins for October rather than August, I suggest planting the first week in June.

Now a few summary thoughts.

Sweet corn seed will always offer the number of days to maturity. Using an 80-day corn I have planted at near weekly intervals from mid April until July 4 and have had corn all season.

By planting one summer squash, two cantaloupes, and one or two cucumber plants every two weeks from early May to July, 1 get a season-long supply.

For fall Cole crops I would plant any of them starting July 1. For cabbage and Brussels sprouts July 25 is getting late, for broccoli and 55-day cauliflower my cut off is August 15.

My cutoff date for planting peppers, watermelons and eggplants is June 15, tomatoes are June 30 and string beans are August 1. Again, multiple plantings will extend your harvest season.

These observations span a lot of years living at a cold spot in southern Lancaster County.

Hopefully, there is a tidbit of information you can use in there besides knowing the date my wife and I will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of our first date in 2011.