Autumn peppers, garden

This year has been a record year for my chili peppers, of all varieties. I have discovered the secret to growing them. Buy from a reputable business, Ace Hardware in this case. Plant in a large container with good garden soil. I buy black plastic tubs from my favorite nursery, Plant Ranch. They are the size that trees come in. Before I fill them I duct tape over two of the four drain holes, on the inside. Fill with dirt, put in a little fertilizer and water regularly for three weeks. Then go to Provence for ten weeks with a very kind neighbor watching my garden. Come back to find the plants are four feet tall and covered with fruit. My neighbor tells me that he only watered the week after I left. After that we had enough rain here to keep them going. They have a lovely heat and I have been using them fresh in chilis and soups. Now they are drying off. The skin goes from a typical pepper skin, to a dryer, leathery skin, shown here, with incredible reds to browns, and then to a brown papery skin. They retain the lovely tasty heat even when dry, so I will be set for winter. My only regret is that the markers that told me which exact pepper they are, were lost over the summer, so I don't know what variety they are. Luckily I have a lot of seeds.