Of all the types of pepper, Tyumen residents (as well as other Russians) liked the most Bell pepper, which is also called Bulgarian (apparently because it was originally brought from there to our country).
This plant is distinguished by its many bright colors (pepper can be yellow, red, orange, green) and can decorate any dish. In addition, it is juicy, tasty, filled with many vitamins and useful substances.
Most gardeners have already planted peppers in greenhouses, so the remaining seedlings can be safely planted directly into the soil, advises a professor at the State Agrarian University of the Northern Trans-Urals Lyudmila Lyashcheva. - To beneficial features When growing crops, do not lose them, but increase them, adhere to the following rules.
Landing algorithm
Place the seedlings in the holes at the same depth at which the peppers grew in the seedling box, in no case exposing the roots or digging in the root collar.
Pepper is a heat-loving crop. He won't like cold soil, so pamper him: build one for his place of residence. raised beds, which it is advisable to raise 25-55 centimeters above the ground.
An interesting experience is growing pepper in straw bales (as they once did at the Prigorodny state farm).
Don’t forget: peppers are susceptible to cross-pollination, so if you like several varieties to grow on your site, try to place them as far as possible from each other. It’s good if you separate hedge varieties in the form of tall tomatoes, corn or sunflowers.
Pepper care
It includes regular watering, gartering, weeding and fertilizing. The first “feeding” must be carried out in the phase of 1-2 true leaves; for this, 0.5 g of ammonium nitrate, 1 g of potassium fertilizer and 3 g of superphosphate are mixed in a liter of water. The second feeding is two weeks after the first, and the dose of mineral fertilizers in the “recipe” must be doubled.
- Pepper contains much more vitamin C than, for example, lemon. It is also rich in vitamins P, A, and B vitamins. In addition to them, pepper contains quite a lot of minerals, zinc compounds, iron, phosphorus, and even iodine (so necessary for Siberians and northerners) is present in small quantities.
A Bulgarian friend will be very grateful if you pamper him with nettle infusion (for one part of nettle - 10 parts of water, let the infusion stand for a couple of days).
Before harvesting, it is advisable to fertilize peppers three times with chicken manure (1:10), alternating such fertilizing with foliar fertilizing. For the latter, use mineral fertilizers. Nitrophoska (tbsp per bucket of water) is perfect.
If it is hot outside and it rains frequently, pinion the pepper (remove side shoots), especially the lower shoots. And vice versa, if the sun burns relentlessly, but it is dry, the plants do not shoot, since the leaf mass perfectly protects against moisture evaporation.
During the growing season, peppers need to be pruned several times, trying to shorten the longest shoots so that there are no shaded branches. Be sure to remove all pepper shoots below the main fork of its stem, as well as branches inside the crown. Perform pruning once every seven to ten days and after harvesting the fruits. Simultaneously with pruning, soil cultivation is also carried out. Lure pollinating insects into the garden by spraying the peppers with a sugar solution during flowering: per liter hot water take 100 g sugar and 2 g boric acid. Plants also respond well to liquid fertilizing. organic fertilizers.
If you are not happy with frequent watering, you can reduce the amount: mulch the pepper with rotted straw. In this case, you will need a watering can no more than once every 10 days.
Don’t forget about tying up the plants, which is done after hilling and mulching.
Pests and diseases
To drive away the mole cricket, about an hour before placing the pepper seedlings in the holes, fill them with water.
During the season, the vegetable must be pollinated at least 3 times using wood ash - preferably with dew.
Aphids do not tolerate whey: dilute one and a half liters in a bucket of water, then dust the pepper with sifted wood ash.
Sometimes summer residents complain that peppers do not produce buds. This occurs from overfeeding plants with nitrogen fertilizers: not necessarily mineral, but also organic, including manure or infusion of nettles and other weeds. By the way, fresh manure is generally contraindicated for peppers.
workshop
- With a lack of potassium, the pepper leaves curl and a drying border appears on them.
- If a plant lacks nitrogen, its leaves become dull and, acquiring a grayish tint, gradually become smaller.
- When there is little phosphorus, the underside of the pepper leaves turns deep purple, and the leaves themselves are pressed closer to the trunk of the plant and rise up.
- If there is not enough magnesium, the leaves become marbled, and excess nitrogen in the soil leads to the dropping of pepper ovaries and flowers.
Another trouble: the pepper blooms, but does not form ovaries. This most often affects warm-season peppers because heat and high air humidity prevents normal pollination. The same can happen with severe cold weather. In this case, drugs to improve pollination, for example, Bud or Ovary, will help.
Regulate temperature regime: depending on the weather, either ventilate the greenhouse or, conversely, turn on the heating.
During prolonged cold weather (which often characterizes the Siberian summer), sharply reduce watering: then the peppers will not get sick. In addition, in cool weather, foliar feed the plants on the leaves with any available preparation (Rostkom, Epin-extra, Zircon, etc.).
Sweet peppers can also often be found on the plots of Russian summer residents, like tomatoes or cucumbers. Pepper is a heat-loving plant, so residents of the southern regions can fearlessly plant it in open ground, and summer residents whose plots are located to the north are recommended to grow the crop by building a temporary greenhouse. Growing peppers is in many ways similar to the agricultural technology of tomatoes; a novice farmer should know how to properly water and feed plants, pinch shoots and tie stems to supports.
Choosing a site for growing peppers
Culture prefers a lot sunlight, so it is better to place the ridges on the south side of the site. To protect plants from cold winds and drafts, it is recommended to create ridges along buildings or solid fences.
The composition of the soil on the site should be fertile and loose, the optimal pH level is from 6 to 7. Too acidic soils are diluted with lime or dolomite flour. Humus, compost and peat are added to heavy soil.
When choosing a location on a plot, crop rotation is also taken into account. vegetable crops. Pepper belongs to the Solanaceae family, so it cannot be planted after closely related species: tomato, potato, physalis, eggplant. The best predecessors are: carrots, all varieties of cabbage, zucchini, squash, pumpkin. The ridges are dug up in the fall, adding 5 to 8 kg of manure or humus per 1 m², as well as potassium-phosphorus fertilizers, determining the dosage according to the instructions.
Sowing pepper seeds and growing seedlings
Heat-loving pepper - planting and caring for it differ in some features. Depending on the growing method, the farmer selects a variety. The following varieties are suitable for open ground:
- "Carat",
- "Curious"
- "Etude".
They have good endurance and are less demanding on temperature conditions. For residents of southern, arid regions, varieties that are resistant to diseases and pests are recommended:
- "Adler"
- "Ararat"
- "Kazbek".
If necessary, you can even select low-growing varieties recommended for growing on your home windowsill.
Seedlings are planted in the garden at the age of 90 days, so seed sowing begins already on the twentieth of February. Plants do not tolerate picking well, so experienced farmers advise immediately preparing required amount individual pots. You can use cardboard dairy bags or similar containers with a few drainage holes. For sowing, you can buy soil mixture in the store, but it is better to prepare it yourself. It should be very light and loose:
- humus - 2 parts,
- garden soil - 1 part,
- medium-grained sand - 1 part,
- ash – 25 g per 1 kg of soil mixture.
After thoroughly mixing the components, the soil is laid out in containers. The seeds are planted to a depth of 2 cm. You can place 2 seeds in one container, this is done in case one of them does not germinate. Subsequently, if both germinate, the weaker seedling can be cut off at the base.
When growing pepper, like most other vegetable crops, you should not forget about the pre-treatment of the seed material. In order to prevent fungal infections, the seeds are soaked in a pink solution of potassium permanganate, then washed and placed in a “bath” with hot water(+50 °C) for 5 hours. Then the seeds are placed on a damp cloth and wait until the white roots hatch. This procedure allows you to obtain seedlings already on the 2nd or 3rd day after sowing in the ground.
After planting peppers, caring for seedlings consists of maintaining an optimal microclimate. Plants need to be provided with 12 hours of daylight, using backlighting if necessary. The room temperature should be between +25 °C and +27.5 °C. The substrate should not be allowed to dry out, but at the same time, excessive dampness will inevitably lead to a disease such as “black leg”.
After the appearance of the second true leaf, it is recommended to carry out the first fertilizing with complex mineral fertilizer. The second feeding is carried out no earlier than 15 days later. Many farmers note that the growth of peppers is favorably affected by nettle infusion (1:10).
Planting pepper seedlings in a greenhouse or open ground
Growing peppers in open ground- a risky occupation, therefore residents of the central part of Russia are recommended to install a temporary greenhouse over the beds. Planting of seedlings is carried out at the end of May or in the first week of June, the main thing is that the air temperature outside is not below +16 °C, since when it drops to +13 °C, the plants begin to die.
The holes are placed on the ridges in two rows or in a checkerboard pattern. In this case, it is necessary to maintain a distance of 60 cm between the rows, and 50 cm between the plants. The pepper is planted in the hole along with a lump of earth, having previously watered both the bed and the plant. After planting, the soil is compacted a little, and a wooden peg is driven in nearby. As the seedling grows, the stem is tied to a support. It is recommended to mulch the ground around the plants with mown grass or wood chips; this will prevent the growth of weeds and keep the soil moist longer.
Features of pepper care
Growing pepper on a plot requires the farmer to do something simple, but... regular care: watering and tillage, bush formation.
Watering and fertilizing
When watering, it is necessary to focus on the condition of the soil, upper layer should not dry out to a depth of more than 1 cm. Considering that pepper has a superficial root system, the plant may shed its buds and wither due to lack of moisture. For the same reason, it is not recommended to loosen the soil too deeply. Water for irrigation is taken exclusively warm, standing for some time in a barrel. The procedure is carried out using a watering can after 17:00, when the sun is not so active.
The application of mineral and organic fertilizers is an integral part of pepper care after planting. From organic matter, a solution of mullein (1:10) or bird droppings (1:18) is usually used. However, it should be borne in mind that excess nitrogen leads to the fall of flowers and ovaries, so organic matter must be alternated with complex mineral compositions.
Pinching and tying peppers, harvesting
The bushes are formed into 2 or 3 stems, removing the lower leaves and stepsons. To achieve more high yield professionals recommend pinching the inflorescence located on the central branch. It is believed that this procedure stimulates the formation of many buds.
As the bush grows, it is tied to a previously driven wooden peg. In order not to injure the delicate stems of the plant, it is advisable to use soft pieces of fabric, leaving the loop free.
Harvesting is carried out as the fruits ripen. If ripe specimens are not removed from the bush in a timely manner, the growth of the ovaries will stop. When harvesting, you should act carefully, do not break out the peppers, but cut them off with a sharp knife. The fruits can be eaten fresh, used to make pickles, or cut into small slices, placed in a plastic bag and stored in the freezer.
Video on how to grow sweet peppers
Caring for heat-loving peppers in open ground (especially in our mid-latitudes, where it is not the best for it) favorable conditions) has its own nuances and tricks.
However, many gardeners here manage to harvest quite good harvest pepper
Let's remember together the stages of technology and the secrets of growing pepper in open ground, so that already in August-September you can enjoy the harvest of this useful and delicious vegetable. And at the end of the article, you can download a very concise and useful calendar-plate for caring for peppers in open ground, so that when any questions arise, it will always be at hand.
Prepare the place for planting peppers in the fall. Neutral sandy and loamy soils, on which related nightshades (for example, tomatoes, potatoes or eggplants) have not previously grown, are suitable for it. your plants can “inherit” a number of diseases remaining in the soil. Pepper especially loves small hills, where the soil warms up better. Before the onset of autumn frosts, dig up the soil in the garden bed, adding a bucket of compost mixed with 20 g of superphosphate per 1 sq.m. If you did not have time to fertilize the soil ahead of time, you can do it in the spring (a bucket of humus + 1 cup of ash per 1 sq.m.).
In addition, you must decide in advance on the variety of pepper that you are going to plant - not everyone is suitable for open ground! The variety must be cold-resistant (after all, our climate is not southern), early enough (to have time to fully form the fruits) and “be able” to quickly and amicably increase the yield during a favorable period, which in the middle zone does not last long.
Today, quite a few varieties and hybrids of pepper already meet these requirements. We invite you to familiarize yourself with those that have long been loved by our gardeners and have passed multiple tests.
The seeds of these varieties of sweet peppers should be sown for seedlings in early March.
If you have forgotten how to properly grow healthy and strong seedlings pepper, we'll tell you.
Pepper seedlings are usually planted in open ground at the very beginning of June, when the threat of return frosts has completely disappeared. It is not recommended to bury young pepper plants. But it would be a good idea to sprinkle the soil around them with peat. And don’t forget to water each bush with 0.5 liters of water.
If it suddenly gets colder again, the bed must be covered plastic film or non-woven material.
Only in this case will the plants thank you bountiful harvest sweet colorful fruits. Please note that this can be done in two ways - either build a simple frame of arcs about 70 cm wide over the bed, or cover it closely with material, and then make holes in the flooring in which to plant the peppers. In the latter case, the plants will acclimatize better and suffer less, and the need for regular weeding will disappear.
The film of such an improvised greenhouse can be safely left over the pepper for a couple of weeks, or even until the end of June. All this time, the plantings should be looked after - watered, loosened the soil, applied fertilizers and ventilated shelters in sunny weather. The pepper takes root well under the film, increases its vegetative mass and begins to bloom. With the arrival of stable warm weather, the need for covering material disappears, and it can be safely removed.
To speed up the development of plants in open ground, peppers need to be fed. Do this as needed 2-4 times per season.
The first feeding is carried out two weeks after planting the plants in open ground (15 g of ammonium nitrate, 30 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water). You can also use complex fertilizer or bird droppings, diluted in water (1:20).
The second feeding is carried out when ovaries form on the pepper. At the same time, the dosage is reduced (10 g of ammonium nitrate, 25 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water). Subsequent feeding is carried out only if necessary, if the plants’ development has slowed down.
Of course, you should not forget about timely protection of pepper from diseases and pests, especially if you notice that something is going wrong - for example, on the leaves or the fruits are deformed.
In order not to get confused, we suggest that you take note of our table and care for your pepper correctly.
And finally, it’s time to harvest the peppers! The growing season of pepper is about 120 days, so usually these dates in our latitudes fall at the end of August or September - and until the first frost.
The fruits are removed along with the tail, being careful not to damage them. And they keep harvested, placing the peppers in rows in boxes in a cool room with high humidity. In such conditions, the vegetable feels great for a month.
Pepper seedlings will appear in 7-12 days if the temperature under the film is 24-26°C or higher. If it stays below these values, then seedlings will appear later.
Pepper seeds will not germinate at all if the room temperature is below 20°C; the optimal temperature is 25°C. If the seeds have not sprouted from the ground after a certain period of time, they will have to be thrown away. The control period for pepper is 12-13 days.
Every three days you need to open the plantings for a short time for ventilation. With the emergence of seedlings, the seedling boxes must be immediately moved to a lighted place where the temperature is slightly lowered, and the film must be removed. Such a place could be a window sill. Since the pepper does not stretch, a temperature of 20-22°C will be optimal for it. Seedlings need to be ventilated regularly, but avoid drafts.
Pepper seedlings that sprouted in February need to be additionally illuminated from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. During other hours, it is advisable to cover young seedlings up to 30 days of age with light-proof material. This technique helps to increase its resistance to low temperatures. In addition, the seedlings will enter the fruiting phase earlier.
If you sow seeds closer to mid-March, you will have to artificially illuminate the grown seedlings for a whole month from the moment the first shoots appear until they are planted in pots. During the first three days after the emergence of seedlings, it is better to illuminate them around the clock, and then you should switch to a regime of 16-18 hours a day, in the morning and in the evening. Conventional incandescent electric lamps are hung at a distance of 60 cm or more from the sprouts to avoid burns. For illumination, it is best to take economical (fluorescent or energy-saving) fluorescent lamps; they illuminate the seedlings well, but do not overheat the seedlings, so they can be placed close to the plants. Fluorescent lamps (40 or 80 W) should be hung horizontally, so that they are located approximately 8-9 cm above the plants. On a cloudy day, the lamps are turned on from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. On a clear day, use depending on the light conditions in the room.
It is advisable to keep the seedlings in a bright window: pepper is a light-loving plant, and it will develop worse in the shade. For better lighting you can use mirrors or foil; You should also wash the windows as often as possible, then the plants will be better lit.
This light and temperature regime is maintained for 6-7 days so that the seedlings produce strong roots. Then the temperature is gradually increased: during the day in sunny weather - up to 23-25°C, in cloudy weather - up to 19-22°C, at night - up to 16-17°C.
It is important to turn the boxes with seedlings every 2-3 days, first one side or the other, towards the window frame. Then the illumination of the seedlings will be uniform.
⇒ The root system of pepper is located superficially, so it needs frequent and abundant watering. You need to water the plant especially often during flowering: when the soil and air are dry, the flowers and ovaries may fall off.
At first, there is no need to water the seedlings; just lightly sprinkle the dried soil. Irrigation of pepper is carried out once every 3-4 days, only in the morning. For irrigation, use warm, settled water. Watering seedlings with magnetized water is very effective. To do this, water for irrigation must be passed three times through magnetic nozzles, which can be bought in the store.
Pepper seedlings can grow in a box until they have two true leaves. This usually occurs at the age of seedlings 30-35 days. During this time, the seedlings should be watered moderately, no more than once a week. Excessive moisture can cause plants to suffer from blackleg. For irrigation, use only warm, settled water with a temperature of 26-28°C.
Picking pepper seedlings
Pepper seedlings are ready for picking, that is, transplanting from a small container to a large one, as soon as they have 2-3 true leaves. At this age, seedlings take root more easily. When picking, each pepper plant can be transplanted into an individual box or container.
Before picking, the seedlings need to be fed once with a solution of calcium nitrate (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water), and be sure to water them 2-3 hours before picking. When transplanting dry seedlings, the soil will crumble from the roots, which is very harmful.
Seedlings can be planted in any suitable container - hollow peat pots or plastic cups of any size. Optimal size pots - 10 x 10 cm.
The selected container is filled with the same soil mixture that was used for sowing, then watered with a solution of the nutrient mixture of your choice:
1 tsp wood ash or potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water;
1 tbsp. l. liquid fertilizer "Effecton", or "Agricola Forward", or sodium humate per 10 liters of water.
If after watering the soil has noticeably dropped, then you need to add more soil mixture, make a depression in the middle of the pot and plant the plant to be planted to the cotyledons, i.e. to the two lowest leaves. There should be no bare stem between the soil surface and these leaves. After 3 weeks, the picked plants need to be fed again.
By the way, many gardeners believe that pepper seedlings do not need to be planted; they can grow before being planted in the ground where they were first planted.
Pepper does not tolerate picking very well due to the fact that its roots are located close to the soil surface. They are weak and easily break off, so it is advisable to grow pepper seedlings without picking. It is better to immediately plant it in individual pots. Since pepper roots grow slowly, you can use pots 8 cm in diameter.
Caring for pickled pepper seedlings
After diving, it is preferable to place seedlings in pots on the windowsill, but window glass It is better to cover it with paper for 1-2 days, which will provide moderate lighting.
The entire complex of caring for pickled seedlings consists of watering, fertilizing, hardening and maintaining the correct temperature regime.
At this time, the plants need regular watering: once every 5-6 days they need to be moistened so that the entire soil mixture in the pot is well moistened, but the water does not stagnate. To prevent water stagnation, there should be holes in the bottom of the pot. If pepper seedlings are accidentally overwatered, growth may stop. The plants are usually watered for the first time after picking six days later, using settled water at a temperature of 25°C.
For better rooting of plants after picking for 3-4 days, you need to provide them with moderate warm air: temperature 20-22°C during the day and not lower than 14°C at night. In the following days, you need to maintain a daytime temperature of 23-25°C during the day and not lower than 18-20°C at night.
Feeding pepper seedlings
When growing pepper seedlings, you need to combine watering with fertilizing. As a light feeding you can use this accessible remedy, like stale tea leaves (black tea). To do this, you need to pour 1 glass of this tea leaves into 3 liters of hot water, leave for 5-6 days, then strain the infusion and water the seedlings with it. You can also prepare fertilizer from eggshells: pour crushed shells of 10 eggs with hot water and leave for 5-6 days; During infusion, you need to stir the product regularly, then strain and water the plants. Feeding pepper seedlings with nettle infusion in a ratio of 1:10 gives excellent results.
Since peppers have a great need for potassium-phosphorus nutrition, the seedlings can be watered with water and ash infusion every other time. To prepare it you need 1 tbsp. l. wood ash pour 1 liter of hot water, leave for 24 hours and strain. When the seedlings reach two weeks of age, you can feed them with a solution of complex fertilizer.
It is better to apply mineral fertilizers under pepper seedlings. It is best to fertilize seedlings for the first time when they have 1-2 true leaves. To feed, dilute 0.5 g of ammonium nitrate, 3 g of superphosphate and 1 g of potassium fertilizers in 1 liter of water. After 14 days, carry out a second feeding, doubling the dose of mineral fertilizers.
The last feeding is carried out 2 days before planting the seedlings on permanent place. At the same time, the dose of potassium fertilizers should be increased to 8 g per 1 liter of water.
In cases where seedlings develop slowly and the color of the leaves is light green, the plants need fertilizing that is more effective than nutrient solutions from improvised means. Then you can apply a fertilizer solution made from the following components: 1 tbsp. fertilizer "Leaf" in combination with 2 tbsp. l. Dilute Effekton fertilizers in 10 liters of water.
If beautiful green pepper plants have poor root development, it means they need feeding. In this case, 1 tbsp can be diluted in 10 liters of water. superphosphate or 1 tsp. potassium sulfate. You can prepare a fertilizer from a mixture of Agricola Forward and Effekton-U fertilizers: take 1 tbsp. each product and dilute in 10 liters of water. All liquid fertilizers should be included in the general water norm when watering seedlings so that there is no excess liquid.
❧ It is advisable to carry out all watering and fertilizing of pepper seedlings only in the morning. This routine will help prevent seedlings from getting blackleg disease. If you water the seedlings in the afternoon, the young plants will not have time to absorb moisture.
Pepper seedlings respond very well to wood ash: it can be poured 1-2 times into pots at the rate of 1 tsp. for 2-3 pots. But you need to add ash so that it does not get on the stems and leaves of plants.
Hardening off pepper seedlings
The temperature in the room where pepper seedlings are grown must be maintained at the following level: during the day - 25-27°C, at night - not lower than 11-13°C. Before planting seedlings in a permanent place, they should be hardened off.
Hardening off pepper seedlings should begin no later than 2-4 weeks before planting them in a permanent place in the ground - it all depends on local weather and climatic conditions. The hardening process is expressed in the gradual accustoming of seedlings to natural weather conditions, sunlight, relatively low temperatures (compared to room temperature) and fresh air. Hardening can only begin at above-zero temperatures, when the outside air has already warmed up to 15°C. When carrying out this procedure, it is important to carefully monitor weather conditions so that the seedlings do not fall under frost or a drop in temperature to 13°C, which is biological zero for pepper.
First you need to open a window in the room where the seedlings are located or window frame- depending on the air temperature outside.
As the air temperature outside the window rises, on clear days you can take the plants to the balcony, veranda, or even outside.
The time spent by seedlings in the fresh air should be gradually increased, starting from 20 minutes a day. According to experienced gardeners, hardening off seedlings gives best result compared to hardening heated in warm water pepper seeds.
However, hardening in any form (at home or when taken outside) can only be carried out when there are no drafts in the room and there is no strong, gusty wind outside.
Wind and drafts are detrimental to young plants. A weak warm breeze will only benefit sufficiently grown seedlings.
Signs of good pepper seedlings
Good seedlings can be distinguished by many external signs which indicate the health of young plants. First of all, an indicator of healthy, strong plants is large leaves of rich green color. The total volume of the leaves should visually exceed the volume of the stem, and this difference should be significant.
.jpg)
The stem should be thick, not woody, and fit well into the circle. It should not have a bend in the area of the root collar. A healthy plant always has a strong stem, consisting of compact internodes.
The leaves and stems should be free of spots, any plaque or deformation, as well as signs of starvation or excess individual elements nutrition.
When the plant is ready for planting, you can carefully remove it by turning the pot over and inspect it without harming the roots. In healthy seedlings, before planting in the soil, the roots branch well and have healthy white tips, and also entwine a lump of soil in the pot. If the plant has small and weak roots, the soil easily falls off from them, so you will have to wait before planting it in a permanent place.
At the time of planting seedlings, plants should have approximately 8-12 leaves and single buds. If you plan to get an early pepper harvest, then the seedlings should have 9-12 leaves and buds ready to open. If the pepper harvest is needed in the second half of summer, you can use young seedlings with 7-9 leaves.
Planting seedlings in open ground
Under normal conditions middle zone Peppers ripen normally only in a greenhouse or under a film in open ground. Without the membrane, it can only reach maturity in very hot summers.
The greenhouse where the pepper is planted must be ventilated regularly, but remember that the plant does not tolerate drafts. The best greenhouse neighbor of pepper is the cucumber.
A clear sign that the pepper is ready for planting in a permanent place is the presence of 16-17 true leaves, or at least 10-15, and single buds. The optimal age of seedlings is 55-65 days. Seedlings at two months of age should be at least 20-30 cm tall.
If the deadline for planting in the ground is missed, the overgrown seedlings get sick for a long time. The leaves on it often turn yellow and even fall off, along with them the flowers and first ovaries may fall off.
If the seedlings ready for planting have bloomed, then it is better to remove the first flowers, otherwise not enough ovaries will form on the bush. It happens that plants transplanted into soil do not bloom at all. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that, being in a cramped space in a pot and a small volume of soil, the seedling devoted all its strength to the formation of flowers and ovaries. When the plant, transplanted into open ground, received a large area for nutrition, it directed all its forces to the formation of the underground part, i.e., roots. But there was a delay with the further formation of above-ground organs.
When to plant pepper seedlings in open ground
Peppers that are supposed to be grown in a greenhouse can be planted starting May 10. It is recommended to plant seedlings in open ground from June 1 to June 5. It is quite dangerous to start planting earlier than these dates; it would be wiser to wait until the last frost has passed. Usually this is the beginning of June. Many years of experience growing peppers shows that open ground is intended only for the southern regions of Russia, since the plant develops well at 27°C.
Pepper practically does not tolerate sudden changes in temperature, wind and direct sun rays- these are arguments against growing peppers in open ground. In addition, the required air humidity can only be maintained in a greenhouse.
However, if necessary, you can plant pepper seedlings after May 25, only with the obligatory covering of the plants with film - this is a compromise option. In hot weather, temporary film shelters must be opened slightly. But still, it is better to plant peppers even under film after frost.
Soil preparation
Sweet peppers are very demanding. It prefers light and rich soils. Therefore, the intended place for planting seedlings needs to be well fertilized in the fall with organic matter (compost, peat, humus) and add complex mineral fertilizer. It is advisable to add 5-10 kg of organic matter per 1 m2. It is best if it is introduced under the predecessor of pepper. In the fall, during deep digging, 60 g of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are added to the same area. In the spring, when preparing the soil, add 40 g of ammonium nitrate per 1 m2 to the top layer of soil.
If in the fall it is not possible to prepare the soil intended for planting peppers, in the spring you can dig it up and add a small amount of organic matter in the form of humus and superphosphate. However, before planting the pepper, the soil will need to be dug up again.
Pepper planting technique
The best time to plant sweet peppers is cool weather, preferably evening. To do this, you need to dig holes that are suitable in size, pour a little peat or compost into them, mixed in advance with the fertile layer of soil, and water them with settled warm water.
Immediately before planting, the seedlings need to be well watered so that when they are removed from the pots, the soil lump is preserved. Some gardeners water pepper seedlings with melt water room temperature, which is specially frozen outside or in the freezer. When removing seedlings from boxes, do not shake off the soil so as not to damage the root system.
When planting pepper seedlings in a permanent place, the plant is not deeply buried - deep planting is not suitable for it. But at the same time, peppers do not tolerate shallow planting - their roots die off. Ideal option the peppers will be buried in the ground by half the stem, i.e. from the roots to the first true leaves.
Between plants of medium-sized peppers in a row, you need to maintain a gap of 20-30 cm - in rare plantings, peppers grow and develop poorly. The optimal distance between the beds should be 50-60 cm. When planting peppers in a greenhouse, you should immediately install pegs for garter, so as not to injure delicate plants later.
Experienced vegetable growers believe that to increase the yield when planting on plants, it is necessary to remove the central flower growing from the first branch.
❧ Pepper leaves and stems are fragile and brittle, so special care should be taken when planting seedlings, caring for plants and harvesting. Pepper flowers are located in the fork of the branches, one at a time or in a bouquet, and therefore they are not pruned or pruned.
Caring for planted seedlings
During the growth process, the roots of planted seedlings must receive a sufficient amount of air. Wide row spacing, which should be periodically loosened along with the beds, will help provide the roots with air. However, the roots of the pepper are located close enough to the surface of the earth, so you can loosen the soil to a depth of no more than 7 cm.
Peppers are plants that are very demanding of moisture. They prefer fairly frequent, but not too abundant watering. At any stage of plant growth, watering should be done only at the root and only with warm water.
After watering, the soil surface should be mulched to ensure required level humidity. Therefore, peat or straw, or any other mulching material that will not allow moisture to easily evaporate from the soil, can be poured around the pepper stem.
It is advisable to fertilize the planted seedlings with complex and organic fertilizers once a week or every 10 days. It is optimal to apply fertilizing along with watering. If there are few plants in the garden, you can add fertilizing to the planted pepper seedlings through spraying.
Pepper is a real storehouse of nutrients and vitamins and one of the most beloved vegetables in the whole world. However, if at the height of the summer season it can be bought at any market for literally pennies, then by the beginning of autumn sellers are asking for much more money for it. It is for this reason that all those summer residents and gardeners who have already managed to grow in their own greenhouses delicious cucumbers and juicy tomatoes, they begin to eat with great pleasure. Moreover, there is nothing complicated in this lesson. Of course, planting and caring for peppers has its own characteristics, but after reading the recommendations below, you can easily grow tasty and healthy sweet peppers yourself.
Pepper contains a huge amount of useful vitamins, which is why it is so often found in the gardens of summer residents.
Secrets of growing sweet peppers: choosing a variety
Growing peppers is not such a difficult task as it may seem to unprepared summer residents. However, before you start, it would be useful to familiarize yourself with the variety and characteristics of the varieties of this vegetable.
Pepper different varieties differs quite greatly in the color and shape of the fruit.
Thus, pepper fruits can be elongated or wide, cuboid, cone-shaped, prism-shaped, curved or spherical. The weight of the fruit can also vary (usually from 0.5 to 200 g), as well as the length (usually from 1 to 30 cm). The color of the pepper may vary depending on the ripeness of the fruit: from light green to purple shades, and already ripe fruits can be colored red, brown, yellow and other colors.
Most often, the following varieties of pepper are chosen for growing in a greenhouse:
Before planting peppers in the ground, it should be watered so as not to damage the roots during transplantation.
- "Orange Miracle" is an early ripening hybrid. Characterized by cube-shaped fruits, bright yellow;
- "Alyonushka" is a mid-early hybrid. It has truncated pyramidal red fruits;
- "Winnie the Pooh" is one of the early ripening varieties of pepper. The fruits are red in color and have a short, cone-shaped shape;
- "Pinocchio" is an early ripening hybrid. The fruits are smooth, slightly ribbed, distinguished by their elongated cone-shaped shape and red color;
- “Swallow” is a mid-early pepper variety. The fruits are red, cone-shaped;
- “California miracle” - refers to mid-early varieties with prismatic, large bright red fruits;
- "Tenderness" - early ripening variety pepper with very tender flesh. The fruits are red, truncated pyramidal in shape;
- "Negociant" is an early ripening hybrid. The fruits are red and prism-shaped;
- “Nochka” is a mid-season pepper hybrid. The fruits are bright red, truncated pyramidal;
- “Elephant trunk” is a mid-season variety of pepper. Trunk-shaped and elongated cone-shaped fruits;
- "Astrakhan" - refers to mid-season varieties. It has drooping, cone-shaped fruits with rough pulp.
Return to contents
Growing and caring for pepper seedlings
Seeds for growing pepper seedlings must be sown at the end of February. Before sowing in prepared soil, pepper seeds must undergo the following treatment:
- disinfection in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for about 30 minutes, then rinsing with water;
- treatment with special growth stimulants, which can be bought in gardening stores;
- treatment with an appropriate antifungal agent to protect future pepper seedlings from fungus.
After the seeds have been processed, they are sown in small separate pots to a depth of 6-12 mm. It is necessary to germinate seeds at a temperature of about +25-30°C. The shoots themselves usually appear on the 4th day. After this, it will be possible to lower the temperature to +15-18°C for a whole week. This is done to prevent the plants from stretching out. A week later, the temperature rises again to +22-28°C.
As for feeding, peppers grown in a greenhouse need to be fed for the first time only when 3 true leaves appear on the seedlings. To do this, you need to take the following: 30 g of potassium salt, 125 g of superphosphate and 50 g of urea. Mix all ingredients and dissolve in 10 liters of water. After feeding, immediately water the seedlings with clean water.
Experienced gardeners It is recommended that after the seedlings have 2-5 true leaves, they begin to additionally illuminate them so that the plants are exposed to radiation with a large proportion of the blue spectrum. The duration of such illumination is 12 hours a day.
The second feeding should be done after the pepper has 4 true leaves. And when the seedlings already have 7-8 leaves, their nutrition and care should be especially good - it is at this stage that the flower organs develop, invisible to the human eye, on which the quality of the entire future harvest directly depends. In total, during the growing of seedlings, soil will need to be added to the pots 2 times.
Return to contents
Growing greenhouse peppers involves performing a procedure such as hardening. Pepper seedlings are hardened off 2 weeks before they are planted in the ground. To do this, if the weather is warm outside, you need to take the pots with seedlings to the terrace or balcony. At night, the seedlings are brought indoors again.
7-8 days before planting, for greater stability, seedlings can be fed with potassium salt. Experienced gardeners recommend spraying the seedlings with a solution of a natural plant growth stimulator a day before planting. This will allow the pepper to produce its own hormones that are necessary for one or another growth phase. Such care will make the plant more resistant to various diseases. Pepper treated with a special solution is much more resistant to various adverse factors and has better fruiting. As a result, the yield of peppers increases by approximately 40%, and the nitrate content is reduced by more than 2 times.
Return to contents
Planting and growing peppers in a greenhouse
Pepper seedlings can be considered ready for planting in greenhouse soil if they already have 12-14 leaves and bud development is observed in the leaf axils. As a result healthy seedlings has a fairly thick stem about 25 cm high and a characteristic smooth green color. Moreover, it is necessary to plant pepper seedlings in an unheated film greenhouse when the soil in it warms up to +15°C - usually not earlier than mid-May. Moreover, the age of the pepper seedlings itself must be at least 55 days.
The soil itself in which pepper will be grown must be properly prepared. To do this, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are added to it, 40 g/m², as well as nitrogen fertilizers, 30 g/m². Do not fertilize the soil for peppers with fresh manure. Such treatment can lead to strong growth of bushes and falling off of flowers. It is better to use compost or humus - 1 bucket for every 1 m² is enough.
It is necessary to plant seedlings in a greenhouse on ridges 1 m wide with a row spacing of 50 cm. Planting density in the case of pepper depends on the characteristics of the selected variety. Thus, for vigorous varieties of peppers and hybrids, the distance between plants in 1 row is usually 35 cm, and for medium-growing varieties - 25 cm. For early ripening varieties low-growing varieties- every 15 cm, that is, for every 1 m² there will be 10 plants. Seedlings must be grown in holes pre-watered with water - 2 liters of water per hole. After planting, the soil must be thoroughly compacted by hand and mulched with humus or peat.
