Hot Pepper "Habanero": the main characteristics and rules of growing pepper

The word "Habanero" can cause associations with Havana, with Cuban dance or song, cigars and beaches ... One can not ignore another famous "havana". Without this hot ingredient, neither the famous Tabasco and Cayenne sauces, nor most Latin American dishes will do. This is Habanero pepper, one of the bitter peppers in the world.

Characteristic variety

Chili is represented by many varieties, of which the sharpest is Habanero. Its name is associated with the name of the city of Havana (pepper was bred in Cuba). Today, most of the industrial production of this pepper falls on Mexico (the Yucatan Peninsula).

Distinguished by this variety of high zhguchestyu and pronounced pepper taste. On the Scoville scale, he ranks from 100 thousand to 475 thousand units.

The second characteristic feature of the vegetable is the external decoration: small fruits resemble hearts. The third feature is high yield (from one bush it is possible to collect up to 90 fruits weighing from 30 to 50 grams). "Habanero" has several varieties: they differ in color and degree of severity:

• Habanero chocolate. This variety of chocolate color was bred in Jamaica and Trinidad, has a specific aftertaste "with smoke" and challenges the primacy in sharpness with Red Savina (300-475 thousand units).

• Habanero Red Savina. Bred in California. Differs richness and sharpness.

• Habanero Red Caribian. Also one of the hottest peppers. Especially popular in Mexican cuisine.

• Habanero Tigerpaw-nr. Bred to the USA. It has a bright orange color. Acuity - from 265 to 368 thousand units. The peculiarity of this species is its high resistance to nematodes.

• Habanero Fataly. Bred in South Africa. It has an orange or chocolate color. Bitterness is moderate (from 125 to 325 thousand units). Differs in lemon and peach aroma.

• Habanero White. This is the rarest variety - very demanding to care. Acuity - from 100 to 350 thousand units.

All varieties of "Habanero" are rich in alkaloids (capsaicin), vitamins C, A, B, D, microelements (iodine, potassium, iron, manganese, copper, calcium, sodium).This may explain its properties such as anesthesia (painful impulses of nerve cells are blocked), antibacterial action, acceleration of metabolism. This is an excellent antioxidant, slows the aging process, increases stress resistance.

Bitter pepper "Habanero" - a strong aphrodisiac (especially for men), is able to stimulate the production of "hormones of happiness."

Conditions for growing the hottest pepper

Pepper "Habanero" - a perennial heat-loving plant, a native inhabitant of the tropics. It depends on how much you manage to create favorable conditions for the plant, how long it will delight you with its crops. In a greenhouse, on a windowsill in an apartment with appropriate temperature conditions, lighting and humidity, Habanero will bear fruit year-round.

The first task is to provide the plant with heat.On the garden plots, it is necessary to pick up places with good lighting for the whole day, without drafts. For indoor growing, windows of the south are best suited.

The second task is humidity. Watering should be regular, but not excessive. The soil for the next watering should dry out.

The third task is to provide good nutrition. Hot peppers prefer subacid soils.

How to plant seedlings

Having one’s own hot pepper “Habanero” can be done by any gardener - it’s not difficult to grow it. Seeds for seedlings can be purchased at specialized online stores. The best option for harvesting seeds is to collect them yourself. To do this, after the fruits have ripened, stand them on the bushes for another 10 days. Then rip and decompose in one layer so that they slightly quenched. After that, they should be cut and remove the seeds, and after drying - decomposed into paper bags. The first stage of reproduction "Habanero" - planting seeds for seedlings.Planting seeds should be carried out 8-10 weeks before planting seedlings at a permanent place - in February.

Seed preparation

Before planting, the seeds must be prepared: they are warmed up a month before planting. If the seeds are from the store, they should be treated with a fungicide. As a rule, they are placed in a solution of potassium permanganate, add a little salt, washed in pure water.

After that, the seeds are soaked for 2-3 days in warm soft water (on / in a napkin, cotton pads, etc.).

The seeds must be wet and warm — they must swell and begin to germinate.

Capacity selection and substrate preparation

For planting seeds in indoor conditions it is better to use opaque small containers (light is very bad for the roots). Ordinary plastic cups wrapped in foil will do.In greenhouse conditions, you can use small containers, or you can immediately plant them in wooden boxes (after putting the drainage layer on the bottom - small clay, pieces of foam, broken bricks). Seed should be planted in a specially prepared substrate. You can buy a ready-made mixture, but most gardeners believe that it is safer to make the substrate yourself: add a little soil, vermiculite and perlite to the humus and peat (2 × 1 × 1). The land must be sterilized.

Sowing pepper

Planting seeds should be in a well-heated substrate (25-26 ° C centigrade) to a depth of 0.7-1 cm. If sown in a box, the distance between rows should be 5-6 cm. Seeds should be sprinkled with earth and slightly compacted, then pour with warm water and cover with glass or transparent film (for a slight greenhouse effect). Usually they germinate in a period of 2 to 4 weeks (depending on the amount of heat, soil composition, seed quality). It is desirable that at night the ambient air temperature does not fall below 16 ° C. In the morning and in the evening, the ground should be sprayed with warm water from a spray bottle.

Caring for seedlings and subsequent picks

After the first shoots appear, the glass or film must be removed and lighting provided at least 16 hours a day. For this purpose, a phyto or fluorescent lamp should be used (at a distance of 10 cm). It is also necessary to air the room more often.

The next stage is associated with the appearance of the first true leaves (three or four) - pick out the seedlings in separate containers.

The pick is done in the following order:

• prepare containers (8-10 cm in diameter) and fill them with substrate;
• water the seedlings abundantly and remove them;
• pinch the root (lower third);
• the prepared substrate is watered and dredged;
• place the seedling in the hole to the level of the cotyledonary leaves, sprinkle with soil and slightly compacted;
• pour and grind humus (add a little ash).

How to care for Habanero pepper: watering, feeding, caring for the soil

After picking, watering seedlings should be less, but more abundant. The backlight should be raised to 50 cm above the plant and illuminate for at least 12 hours.

The main signs that the plant is ready for transplanting are 5 leaves and a height of 20 cm. In the open ground, Habanero hot pepper should not be replanted until the air temperature stably exceeds 16 ° C (usually at the end of May). When planting, the soil should be lightened - add peat, humus, perlite.

During the period of growth will be useful nitrogen fertilizer. But in the future, when flowering or fruiting, nitrogen fertilizer will interfere with the ovaries and worsen the taste of pepper. Unlike nitrogen, phosphate supplements are beneficial throughout the season (especially for the root system).

Organic fertilizers will be useful (except for fresh manure). Houseplants should be watered in the morning and in the evening (but not poured). In winter, watering should be reduced. The most abundant watering needed "Habanero" in April.

It is more expedient to remove the first flowers (for the plant to gain strength). Pollination in the open carried out insects. In room conditions it is necessary to use a brush. Habanero may be affected by root nematodes.To get rid of them, the roots of the plant need to arrange a "bath" - lower them into water at a temperature of 50-55 ° C (this will destroy the nematodes, but will not harm the plant).

The advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The advantages of "Habanero" include:

• excellent taste, high degree of sharpness - this allows the variety to be widely used in cooking (seasonings, sauces, preservation, etc.);
• high yield;
• decorative;
• easy cultivation.

The disadvantages include:

• susceptibility to nematode disease (although species that are resistant to them have already been developed);
• heat-loving, frost can easily destroy the plant;
• high bitterness Tear off the fruit should be in medical gloves, otherwise it will be very difficult to wash their hands. Touching the mucous (for example, scratching or rubbing the eyes), they can be very easily burned. You should also reduce the reception of this pepper in the period of acute gastrointestinal diseases.