Peppers or Paprika, which is a member of the family Solanaceae, known to us as the sweet pepper.
Despite the name, this vegetable has nothing to do with black hot pepper.
Pepper vegetable is a very thermophilic culture, which is considered the birthplace of America.
This vegetable likes moisture and heat, but these obstacles do not prevent domestic gardeners from planting more and more saplings of various varieties of pepper in their greenhouses and greenhouses.
It is because of its capriciousness, the cultivation of pepper seedlings can become a stumbling block, especially for novice gardeners.
The time of planting seeds in the ground you must calculate yourself, since everything depends on the variety.
If the peppers you have chosen are early, then the seedlings should stay in the pots for 65 days. In the case of mid-early or mid-ripening varieties, the “seedling” time increases to 65 - 70 days.
If the peppers are late, then before planting the seedlings should reach 75 days of age.
A sure sign that it is time to transplant bushes is the formation of flowers and even ovaries. There is a chance that you will dig up the seeds too late. In this case, the seedlings will have to wait longer.
When the seeds germinate, then 3 - 4 weeks will need to keep the seedlings under fitolamps that need to be used 10-12 hours a day.
To seeds quickly and accurately germinated, you need provide them comfortable conditions around. For this you need control temperature, that is, at + 28-32 ° C, within 4–7 days after sowing, the first sprouts will appear.
If it is impossible to adhere to such a hot temperature, then 24-26 ° C will be enough to get the shoots after 14-15 days.
As for the amount of sunlight, it is best to do additional lighting of any seedlings. Only in the case of late sowing, the period of such additional illumination is 3–4 weeks, and for the seed planted on time, 2–3 weeks.
Good, high-quality seeds are the key to the strength and health of future seedlings. Therefore, the choice of this material should be taken very seriously.
In order to remove all bad seeds, you need make a saline solutionby adding in 1 liter of water 30-40 g of salt. In this solution will need to put all the seeds, mix and leave alone for 7-10 minutes.
After this time, it will be necessary to remove those seeds that float, and those that remained at the bottom, to be sown.For disinfection of planting material and processing of the fungus, for 10-15 minutes gauze bags with a seed should be dipped in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate.
After disinfecting the seeds right in the bags, rinse well with water. When processing is completed, all seeds must be evenly expanded between two layers of cloth, which should be pre-wet.
Further, all this will need to be put in a place where the temperature is kept at + 25 ° C. About a week later - two seeds will germinate, and then they can be transplanted into the ground.
There is a list of the best varieties that will not disappoint you with their crops.
Variety “Bogatyr”
Mid-season variety, fruits will be ready in 125-160 days after the emergence of the seedlings.
Designed for cultivation in greenhouse conditions.
Bushes are very powerful, gaining a height of 55-60 cm, sprawling.
The fruits are very large, weighs on average 150-160 g, are formed in the form of a cone, with a ribbed surface and walls with average thickness (5 - 5.5 mm).
Unripe fruits are green, ripe - red. This variety is resistant to verticillary wilt, top rot and mosaic.
The pulp contains an increased amount of ascorbic acid, so the fruits of this particular pepper have a special value for humans.
The fruits calmly withstand transportation, and ripen in a garden very amicably. Suitable for food, both fresh and in processed form.
Big Dad Variety
Early variety.
Plants are very compact, unskilled.
The fruits are very fleshy, with thick flesh, cylindrical in shape, weighing 90-100 g, beautiful purple color.
When biological maturity comes, the peppers are colored brown-red.
Crops of this variety are stable, despite the fact that it can be grown both in open ground and in the greenhouse.
Variety “Bugay”
Very early variety, considered the most precocious among the entire list of varieties of large peppers.
Plants grow to 60 cm in height.
The fruits are very large, weighing up to 0.5 kg, with thick walls of 1 cm, cubic shape, sunny yellow color.
The taste of these peppers is neutral, but this vegetable is perfect for assembling dishes.
Variety “California miracle”
Medium early pepper, the fruits of which you can try after 73-75 days after transplanting seedlings into the ground.
Bushes are quite high, up to 70-80 cm.
Fruits are red, weighing up to 250 g, thick-skinned - the fleshy layer forms up to 7 - 8 mm in thickness.
Take root in any soil.
Variety "Atlant"
Medium early variety of pepper, which begins to bear fruit after 70 - 75 days after dropping seedlings.
The fruits of this type of pepper are very large, red in color, 18–20 cm long, 13–14 cm in diameter, with thick fleshy walls 8–10 mm thick, the taste of which is simply amazing.
The bushes of this pepper are also large, about 70 - 75 cm in height, which will take root in the open and in the greenhouse soil.
While you left the seeds to swell, then it's time to prepare the soil. Of course, it can also be purchased, especially now, when the shelves of agricultural stores are full of various packages with a wide variety of soils.
But if you do not trust such manufacturers, then you can independently make the soil for your pepper. The most important thing is not to overburden the earth, to make it so that it is easy.
The most classic version is a mixture of peat, humus and sod land, where the proportion of substances is 3: 2: 1. Instead of sod land, you can take the forest land. When you mix these ingredients, in the bucket with this mixture you need to add another 0.5 kg of sand, 3 - 4 tablespoons of wood ash, 1 hour.spoon of urea, 1 tbsp. spoon superphosphate and mix everything very well.
To disinfect such a soil, it must be poured with a hot solution of potassium permanganate with an approximate concentration of a substance of 1%.
Peat pots, plastic cassettes, as well as ordinary cups or trays can be used as containers for seedlings. Before sowing, it is necessary to pour prepared or purchased ground into the container and compact the ground.
After compaction, the ground level should be about 2 cm below the side of the container. Seeds that have swelled or nodded need to be spread out with a forceps with tweezers at 1.5 - 2 cm intervals.
If you work with cassettes, then in each cell you need to dig in 1 seed. Next, the seeds need to fall asleep with a layer of soil up to 1.5 cm and compact a little.
Before the seeds germinate, it is better to put the containers with them in a greenhouse or in a plastic bag. So the water will not evaporate too quickly. Watering seeds should be very careful, as they can be washed to the surface.
The best would be weekly watering with water at room temperature, which took place. It is important that the water does not stagnate in the pan of pots or trays, so you need to closely monitor this.
Before seedlings appear, the air temperature must be at least + 25 ° C.When the seeds have germinated, the temperature will need to be lowered to + 15-17 ° C. Capacity with seeds must be rotated on the windowsill, so that the light evenly falls on all seedlings.
Seedling care rules
- Picking
- Top dressing
- Watering
- Quenching
When seedlings have already formed and grown on 2 true leaves, then it is time for picking, that is, transplanting plants.
In the case of pepper, the pick is aimed not only at increasing the space for the root system of the seedlings, but also at preventing the occurrence of root rot.
Pepper seedlings are very delicate, so you need to minimize damage to the root system. It is better to replant in small pots, as the roots of the pepper grow slowly.
In small containers, the roots will quickly absorb the earthen room, so neither the earth nor the water will stagnate. Seedlings need to take on the leaves, so as not to damage the stem.
In each greater capacity, it is necessary to make a hole, moreover, of such a size that the roots of the seedlings do not bend.
The root neck can be immersed no more than half a centimeter in the ground, so you need to sprinkle each seedling with the appropriate amount of earth, slightly compacting it.
After picking, the seedlings need to be watered, and very carefully. When the water is completely absorbed, it will be possible to rearrange it on the window sill, and it is better to provide shade to the seedlings for the first few days so that there are no burns on the leaves.
The main thing is to monitor the temperature of the ground so that it does not fall below + 15 ° C. When the end of May is nearing, many saplings of other cultures will already need to be instilled. In this case, the space on the windowsill will be more. Therefore, each pepper seedling can, in the literal sense of the word, be thrown into liter pots. Moreover, it is necessary to transfer along with the earth lump to the old soil, but with the addition of double superphosphate and wood ash.
Before transplanting pepper plants to a “permanent place of residence”, it will be necessary to feed the seedlings at least 2 times.
The first time you need to make fertilizer 2 weeks after the pick, and the second such procedure will need to be done 2 weeks after the first feeding.
Fertilizers need to be applied in liquid, so that they more easily pass into the soil.
Today there are many fertilizer complexes that have been developed specifically for seedlings.
That's it you can feed the pepper seedlings with them.
The mode of irrigation before seedlings and adult seedlings will not change, that is, every 5-6 days each seedling will need to be watered with water at room temperature, and you will need to water it at the root so that the whole earth pool on the roots gets wet.
It is impossible to use cold water for irrigation, as it simply injures the root system of young peppers.
Hardening the seedlings before planting in the ground is simply necessary, otherwise the plants will not withstand sudden changes in environmental conditions.
Approximately 2 weeks before transplant you need to start to accustom saplings to the sun, gusts of wind, temperature fluctuations.
To do this, you can take out the boxes with seedlings on the balcony or simply open the window.
It is important in this situation not to freeze the seedlings.
This will happen if the temperature drops below + 15 ° C.
Also, we should not allow the formation of drafts, which can also harm young bushes.
Planting seedlings in the ground
When the first buds start to form at the seedlings, and the average temperature per day will be within + 15 ... + 17 ° С, then it will be possible to transplant the seedlings to the ground.
For peppers, the composition of the soil is important, that is, the land should in no case be heavy. Soil need to dig in well to align.
Between adjacent holes you need to do an interval of at least 50 cm, and between adjacent beds - at least 60 cm.
In each hole, which you need to dig so that the root neck of the seedling stays at ground level, you need to add 1 tablespoon of complex fertilizer and mix. Then you need to carefully remove each seedling from the container, and you cannot break the integrity of the earthy coma.
Roots need to be immersed in the wells, pour water with a volume of about one-third of the bucket, and after completely absorbing the water, fill the remaining space of the well. After you fall asleep every hole, you need to cover the ground around with mulch - peat.
If necessary, you can install a support near the saplings and tie up young bushes. If the night temperature is less than + 13 ... + 14 ° С, then the young pepper should be covered with polyethylene.
Despite all the difficulties with growing seedlings, Bulgarian pepper still remains one of the most beloved vegetables. You can safely buy seeds, grow seedlings and then enjoy bright fruits.
