Pepper: planting and care
Today, sweet peppers are found on almost every table. It is very often used to prepare a variety of dishes. Anyone can grow sweet peppers; it is only important to choose the right variety and properly care for the vegetable.
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Pepper varieties
Sweet peppers of the Big Mama variety are suitable for growing both in open ground and in a variety of greenhouses. The bush of this variety has a semi-spreading shape and grows up to 1 meter in height. The fruits of this variety gain weight up to 200 g, and the wall thickness can be 1.3 cm. The peppers are rectangular in shape and are smooth. Fruit ripening time is 120 days. Delicious fruits can be eaten both fresh and canned.
To mid-season varieties refers to pepper of the Bogatyr variety. The ripening time of pepper from the moment of emergence is about 4 months. The bush of this variety is spreading and grows up to 60 cm in height. The fruits have the shape of a large prism. The skin of the fruit is slightly lumpy; during ripening it becomes light green, and then turns red. The fruits of this variety weigh up to 180 g. They can be used fresh, cooked into hot dishes, canned and frozen.
The Lastochka variety is an early ripening variety. It is suitable for growing in a greenhouse or outdoor garden. The bush of this variety can reach a height of 60 cm. The fruits grow in the form of a cone and are formed only on the side branches. During ripeness, the fruits acquire a light green color. The weight of ripe fruits is about 70 g with a wall thickness of up to 0.5 cm. These peppers can be eaten raw, canned or cooked as hot dishes.
In open ground, as well as in greenhouses, you can grow variety Merchant. Its ripening speed is from 100 days. The fruits are formed in the form of a pyramid, and the height of the bush is about 1 meter. When ripe, the fruits turn red, but they can be eaten already in the light green stage. The weight of the fruits of this variety is up to 130 g. They can be used for preparing various dishes, canning or eating raw.
Growing Homemade Peppers
First you need to grow seedlings. Before planting, you need to prepare the seeds. They are disinfected in a pinkish solution of potassium permanganate. Then they are washed with cool water and soaked in a nutrient solution for better germination.
Prepare in advance the containers in which you will plant the seeds. Be sure to place a layer of drainage at the bottom of the pot, and then fill the pot with soil. It is best to use ready-made soil for garden plants. Plant the seeds prepared in advance in loose soil, several at a time, sprinkle with soil, water and cover with film on top. Keep containers with seedlings at a temperature of +25 degrees until the first shoots appear.
When the peppers hatch, the film covering the pots with seedlings, pierce in several places. After two leaves appear on the seedlings, remove the film. Now you can pick out strong plants into separate small pots for further cultivation.
Picking is done like this:
- Water the soil in the new pot thoroughly within 24 hours.
- Make a hole in the center of the pot.
- Carefully remove the sprout from the ground, shaking off the soil as you do so.
- Pinch the tip of the root to a third of its length. This will allow the formation of a stronger root system.
- Place the sprout in a new place so that the leaves protrude 2 cm from the soil.
- Compact the soil around the seedling and water it with water.
Planting peppers in a greenhouse
After the seedlings reach the age of 60 days, they can be planted in a permanent place in the greenhouse. Greenhouses made from polycarbonate are excellent. They maintain the optimal temperature for plants. The average daily air temperature during planting in the greenhouse should be at least +10 degrees.
Before planting seedlings, the bed must be dug up and fertilized with a mixture of saltpeter, humus, double superphosphate and ash. After this, the soil must be dug up and loosened again.
Before transplanting, seedlings must be watered well. It is best to transplant seedlings at a time when there is no strong solar activity, namely in the evening. Please note that peppers can cross-pollinate, so do not plant sweet and bitter varieties together.
To prevent plant growth from slowing down, leave only the roots of the plant in the soil. If you grew seedlings in peat pots, then transplant the seedlings into them. Maintain the optimal interval between seedlings. It should be approximately 25 cm, taking into account that the pepper will need to be tied up as it grows. If you are planting low-growing peppers, then this distance can be reduced to 20 cm. Leave a gap of 80 cm between the beds. This will create a convenient approach to the beds and allow the formation of a strong root system.
Caring for peppers in a greenhouse
When the plant reaches a height of 20 cm, it must be tied to a support and pinned. To do this, it is necessary to tear off all the first flowers and remove additional shoots, except for 2 or 3 lateral ones. This will allow the correct crown to form and stimulate the formation of ovaries.
Correct water plants. The soil should be constantly moderately moist. On hot days, the greenhouse must be shaded to keep the fruits strong. To form large fruits, feed the plant once every two weeks. Urea and complex fertilizers are suitable for feeding.
Planting peppers in the ground
If you do not plan to grow peppers in a greenhouse, then plant grown seedlings when the air temperature does not drop below 15 degrees. This is usually done in the last ten days of May or early June.
It is better to prepare the soil where peppers will grow in advance. To do this, the site is dug up in the fall and fertilizers are applied for each square meter of 50 g of potassium and phosphorus fertilizers. In the spring, ammonium nitrate is added and the area is watered with a disinfecting solution.
Before planting, make holes, keeping a distance of 50 cm between them in a row, and maintaining a distance of 60 cm between rows. The holes should have a depth equal to the length of the root system. Place a spoonful of mineral fertilizers in each hole. Now remove the seedlings from the pot along with a lump of earth and place them in the hole. Fill the hole halfway with soil and water. After complete absorption of moisture, add soil on top and mulch the hole with peat.
Caring for peppers in the ground
After planting seedlings, water the plants every week. First, use one and a half liters of water for each plant, and then increase this amount to two liters. A couple of weeks before the end of the harvest, watering must be stopped. After watering and rain, the soil near the plant must be loosened so that a crust does not form.
First time deposit feeding it is necessary two weeks after transplantation, using bird droppings or slurry. In addition, wood ash, superphosphate and potassium chloride are used for fertilizing.
During frosts, it is better to protect peppers with special shelters made from scrap materials. Every week after harvesting the fruits, it is necessary to prune the bush.
