How to plant seedlings of pepper in open ground. When to plant peppers outdoors

Pepper is a rather demanding crop, and it is possible to get a harvest only with appropriate care. Gardeners with experience achieve excellent results no problem, but beginners often have difficulty growing peppers. It often happens that strong healthy bushes give 2-3 fruits not of the very best quality or the ovaries fall off without apparent reason. But you really want to collect pepper in buckets, so that it is juicy, large, fragrant! In fact, achieving a good harvest is not so difficult, you just need to carefully study a few important rules agricultural techniques of this remarkable culture.

If you are going to grow peppers in the open field, first of all you need to choose the right variety. The growing season for pepper is very long, and even for early varieties the first fruits ripen 100 days after germination. Therefore, in order to have time to get a crop, you need to pay attention only to early and mid-ripening varieties. In addition, you should take into account the climatic features of your region. For example, pepper is successfully grown in the south of the country. different terms ripening, since the conditions there are the most favorable, and in the northern and eastern regions, the best results are shown mainly by cold-resistant early ripening varieties.

The shape and size of the fruit also matter. For stuffing and canning, it is worth choosing varieties with cone-shaped small fruits; for fresh use, large thick-walled cube-shaped fruits are more suitable.

If you are going to grow pepper for sale, take a closer look at the hybrids of the Dutch selection: they are cold-resistant, ripen early and amicably, and are less likely to be affected by diseases.

It is difficult for a novice gardener to understand the abundance of varieties, so the following are the most popular and reliable:

Site preparation

Choose and prepare a site for pepper should be in the fall. Qualitatively prepared soil is a guarantee of normal growth and fruiting of plants for the next year. The perfect place- beds on the south side of the house or outbuildings, located in a light shade in the afternoon. This arrangement provides protection from both wind and leaf burns in the July heat. Peppers should not be planted where tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and other nightshade crops have grown in the previous three years. The best predecessors peppers are considered legumes and cucurbits, cabbage, gourds, green manure.

Pepper garden preparation

The soil for pepper should be neutral or slightly acidic. On beds with acidic soil, plants take root for a long time after transplantation, develop poorly, almost do not bloom and do not bear fruit.

Advice! It is very easy to check the acidity at home: you need to take some earth and moisten it with ordinary table vinegar. If no reaction follows, the soil is acidic and needs liming, but if bubbles appear on the surface, this indicates neutral acidity.

So, if the land in the selected area is acidic, when digging, they make slaked lime(1 glass per square meter) or wood ash (1.5-3 kg). If the soil is neutral, it is necessary to introduce rotted organic matter (from 5 to 10 kg per m2) and dig the beds to a depth of 20-25 cm. In spring, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are additionally applied at 40 g per meter of area, the soil is well loosened and leveled.

Growing seedlings

Sow pepper seeds in open ground impractical, the plants will not have time to bear fruit before the cold weather. That is why both sweet and hot varieties of pepper are grown through seedlings. Mid-season and mid-late varieties sown around the beginning of February, early - in early March. Please note that overgrown seedlings adapt for a very long time in open ground, especially if already flowering plants are planted.

Step 1. Seeds are immersed in warm water for 5-6 hours to swell. Then they are laid out on a damp cloth, wrapped and left in a warm place for 2-3 days, until the sprouts hatch.

Step 2 Mix 1 part garden soil, 1 part sand and 2 parts rotted organics, heated in a microwave or conventional oven for disinfection. Then, a tablespoon of wood ash is added to 1 kg of the mixture and mixed thoroughly.

Step 3 Take for sowing peat pots or disposable cups with a capacity of 0.5 liters and fill them with prepared soil. You can sow the seeds in a common container, but as the seedlings grow, it will become crowded, and the pepper does not like picking.

Step 4 The hatched seeds are laid out one by one in each pot, lightly sprinkled with earth, moistened through a spray bottle. Then the containers are covered with glass or film and placed in a warm place. The temperature must be maintained within 22-24 degrees.

Sprouts appear already 2-3 days after sowing. At this time, they need to provide at least 12 hours of lighting, so prepare fitolamps in advance. The film is removed from the pots so that the high humidity does not destroy the tender sprouts. Pepper seedlings are watered very moderately, only when the substrate begins to dry out. Water is used only warm and settled, from cold water seedlings slow down development.

If the air in the room is too dry, the seedlings should be sprayed in the morning (also with warm water). When ventilating the room, be sure to cover the seedlings from drafts, avoid sudden changes in temperature. A week after germination, the night temperature is recommended to be reduced to 15 ° C. Grown up and strengthened seedlings should be gradually hardened. On warm days, when the temperature outside the window rises to 13 ° C, the pepper should be exposed to the open air, providing protection from the wind. For the first time, half an hour is enough, then the time spent in the air is increased daily. On cold days, seedlings cannot be taken out, since already at 10 ° C the plants can be damaged.

Landing in the ground

Before planting seedlings, the beds are weeded from weeds, loosened and leveled. Holes are made at a distance of 30 cm in a row, 60-70 cm are left between rows. Pepper should be planted in the evening or in cloudy weather, since the heat of the day is additional stress for the plant. About 5-6 hours before transplanting, seedlings are watered abundantly to root system easier to adapt to new conditions. Water for irrigation is also prepared in advance: they are collected in buckets or a large container and placed in the sun to heat.

Step 1. 2-3 liters of water are poured into each well and allowed to soak a little.

Step 2 The seedlings are carefully removed from the containers so that the earthen ball does not break up. If peat pots were used, pepper is planted with them.

Step 3 Plants are lowered into the hole a little deeper than they grew in cups, sprinkled with earth on all sides, compacted with hands.

Advice! Peppers cross pollinate easily, so if you plan to collect seeds, plant different varieties as far apart as possible. Additionally, you can intersperse them with tall crops, such as corn, sunflower, Jerusalem artichoke and others. spicy and Bell pepper it is also necessary to plant at the maximum distance, otherwise all the fruits will have a sharp taste.

Outdoor Pepper Care

Watering and fertilizing

2 days after planting, water the pepper and sprinkle the ground with fine straw, dry grass or sawdust. In the future, plants should be watered once a week until ovaries form, after which watering is increased - 1 time for 5 days. In order not to water so often, you can increase the layer of mulch to 10 cm.

Plantings are fed three times:

• the first time fertilizer is applied 10 days after planting. For this, bird droppings are used, diluted in a ratio of 1:10, with the addition of 200 g of ash and 40 g of superphosphate per 10 liters of solution. The indicated volume is enough for about 10 bushes;
• the second time the pepper is fed at the beginning of fruiting with a solution of mullein in a ratio of 1:5 or diluted bird droppings (1:10);
• the third time fertilizers are applied during the mass formation of fruits, when the plants most need replenishment of nutrients.

By appearance pepper is easy to determine which substances it lacks. If the leaves dry up along the edge and then curl, this indicates a lack of potassium. The lack of nitrogen is expressed by the dullness of the leaves, the presence of a grayish tint. In addition, the leaves become small. But with an excess of nitrogen, ovaries and flowers begin to fall off. A rich purple color on the back of the leaves indicates a lack of phosphorus, a marbled pattern occurs with a lack of magnesium. The use of mineral fertilizers helps to make up for all this, but do not forget to strictly observe the dosage, otherwise all the excess will fall into the fruits.

If the autumn turned out to be warm, with the help of one more top dressing, you can prolong the fruiting of early varieties. To do this, 50 g of superphosphate, 15 g of ammonium nitrate and potassium chloride are diluted in 10 liters of water.

loosening

The soil between the rows should be loosened regularly to a depth of 10 cm. The formation of a soil crust slows down the development of pepper, causes oxygen starvation of the root system. It is best to loosen the morning after watering, while the ground is still quite wet. If the mulch was not used, loosening is carried out under the very bushes, but very carefully, since the roots are located very close to the surface. During the period of budding and flowering, it is advisable to spud each plant to a height of 10-12 cm.

Bush formation

To get large ripened fruits, excess shoots (stepchildren) should be removed from the plant. All shoots located below the first branch are removed completely, since they only draw the juices from the plant and interfere with fruiting. In addition, the crown should be thinned so that each branch receives enough air and light. Too dense bushes form few ovaries, the fruits grow on them small and thin-walled.

On average, pruning is done once every two weeks, but if the summer is rainy, stepchildren will have to be removed more often - about once every 10 days. It is advisable to combine pruning with loosening the soil in order to disturb the plant less.

Pepper shoots are quite fragile, and any careless movement can damage the stems. To avoid this, it is recommended to tie tall varieties to supports.

Diseases and pests

This culture is susceptible to late blight, white and top rot, tobacco mosaic and some other diseases. in the best way Dealing with them is prevention and proper care. Compliance with the planting pattern, timely thinning and pruning, proper watering, removing diseased plants from the garden will help you keep the planting healthy and get a full crop.

From pests, dusting the bushes with wood ash effectively works. This should be done at least 5 times per season, preferably in the morning, while the leaves are wet. From spider mite and aphids are also well helped by spraying pepper with garlic infusion. Slugs that do not mind eating fresh leaves are collected using traps or repelled with salt, lime, mustard, pepper powder, scattered along the aisles.

Video - Pepper: cultivation and care in the open field

Video - Planting pepper seedlings

Video - Formation of a pepper bush

Most vegetable growers are engaged in the cultivation of pepper in their summer cottage. Pepper has useful properties which remain even after defrosting. This vegetable crop loves heat very much and therefore it is recommended to determine in advance when it is necessary to plant pepper in open ground for its best growth. After all, if you plant it too early, and the minimum temperature on the street drops below 0-5 degrees, then the frozen seedlings will die.

Before planting pepper in open ground, it is necessary to determine the timing of its landing. The period of planting seedlings depends on two main factors.

Weather

It is no secret that a very important role during planting pepper in the garden is played by optimum temperature. The quality of the seedlings depends on the temperature at which pepper seedlings are grown. Therefore, you should know in advance which minimum temperature seedlings survive. The temperature outside should be at least 15-18 degrees Celsius. It's enough to grow good harvest. The critical temperature for planting a crop is 0-10 degrees. With such indicators, freezing of seedlings may begin.

Optimum temperature indicators in different parts of the country occur at different times. Residents living in the southern regions are recommended to plant bell peppers no earlier than May. This month, even a strong drop in temperature will not affect the planted seedlings. If seedlings are planted in April or March, then night frosts can destroy all the bushes.

In more northern regions it warms up a little later and, therefore, so that the bushes do not freeze at night, they are planted no earlier than the second half of May. Some gardeners from the northern regions of the country prefer to grow peppers in a greenhouse. At the same time, in the greenhouse during the day and in the evening, the temperature is maintained at 20 degrees.

Moon calendar

A considerable part of vegetable growers determines favorable planting days for pepper using a special lunar calendar.

It is known that the phases of the moon can affect the timing of the landing of peppers. With an increase in the size of the Moon, all the power of plants is directed upwards, and with a decrease, downwards, closer to the roots. Peppers have above-ground fruits and therefore their planting in the spring should be carried out during the growing month. This year, the size of the moon will increase during such spring days– from April 25 to May 10. People living in the northern regions must wait for the next phase of the moon, which will begin on May 29 and last until June 10. It is in these numbers that it is better to plant peppers in the shade or in the sun in order to achieve good yields.

Planting seedlings

Having determined the optimal planting date for peppers after frost, you can start transplanting. Planting vegetables in open ground is quite difficult and therefore it is better to familiarize yourself with the features of this process.

Site selection

Before carrying out spring transplants, it is necessary to choose the most suitable site in the garden. The quality and quantity of the crop depends on where the pepper is planted. So that the planted seedlings do not freeze during cultivation, they should be planted only in sunny areas that are constantly warming up.

Also, when choosing, you should take into account the crops that were planted on the site earlier. You can plant this vegetable crop where cabbage, cucumbers, legumes and zucchini were grown. At the same time, sweet peppers will not grow well after potatoes, tomatoes, physalis and eggplant.

In addition, it is necessary to determine which soil is best suited for this vegetable crop. Pepper is recommended to be grown in light and loose soil. In it, they grow best, and their root system almost never freezes. Pepper is afraid of clay and sandy soils located in wet lowland areas. Such soil freezes quickly during a cold snap, so a lower night temperature can harm the bushes. Some gardeners still grow peppers in clay and sandy soils. However, so that the seedlings do not freeze during the day or at night, it is better to plant them in a greenhouse.

Soil preparation

Having determined where the pepper will be planted, you should do the preliminary preparation of the soil. First you need to treat the area with fertilizers that will help normalize the acidity of the earth. To do this, the entire area should be sprayed with a mixture prepared from overripe sawdust and humus. Then a bucket of coarse sand mixed with peat is added to the soil.

So that at night the earth does not freeze and frost does not grab it, it needs to be warmed up a little.

This procedure should be carried out 5-10 days before planting. The soil should be treated with warm overripe manure, which will help not only increase the temperature of the soil, but also restore its fertility. Before spraying the ground with fertilizers, it is necessary to determine the amount of top dressing added to the soil. Spray a square meter of the plot with a bucket of fresh humus mixed with a glass of ash.

Landing

Planting any crop begins with the preparation of the beds. Make two or three small beds on the site. Before that, it is desirable to determine what sizes they will have. The length of one bed should be about three meters, and the width should be 80-90 cm.

You should also decide on the distance between the rows. AT this case It all depends on the varieties being planted. If you prefer low varieties, then the row spacing is at least 30 cm. For tall varieties, the distance between rows increases to 60 cm. The beds should be made higher so that not a single root begins to freeze in severe frosts.

When all the ridges are created, the grown seedlings can be planted in them. In this case, it should be ensured that only the root of the bushes fits into the ground, and their stem remains above the ground. After planting, you can take care of protection from possible night frosts. To do this, it is recommended to cover all seedlings with a film at night. The film is opened only after the temperature rises to 15-18 degrees.

Care

Many gardeners are interested in whether it is possible to get a quality crop without proper care of vegetables. Definitely not, as competent care helps to increase the yield of pepper.

Watering

Not everyone knows what to do so that the pepper does not begin to dry and burn out, and how to save it from this. If, in the absence of rain, sweet pepper burns, then it does not have enough moisture. This vegetable is afraid of drying out of the soil and therefore the bushes will not withstand dry soil for a long time.

After planting the seedlings, it is necessary to carefully consider the irrigation regime and determine what temperature the water will be. I'm afraid that too cold liquid will damage the stems of the peppers. Therefore, I will remain unconvinced and advise you to warm the water to 20-25 degrees before watering. It is necessary to moisten the soil 2-3 times a week on cloudy days. In summer, it is recommended to do this daily.

top dressing

After planting seedlings, you need to take care of regular top dressing. For the first time, it is necessary to restore the nutrients in the soil after the formation of two true leaves on the bushes. During this period, mineral dressing will fade into the background, since only organic matter should be added to the ground. Humus with peat and sawdust is added to the soil. Feeding should be repeated two weeks after the first. During the second top dressing, mineral fertilizers such as superphosphate, ammonium nitrate and potassium are added to the soil.

Planting seedlings of pepper in open ground - very important point, so you need to approach it as responsibly as possible. The further fate of the plants depends on how successfully the seedlings are planted in the ground: whether they take root in a new place or not, whether they get sick, how they adapt to new living conditions, whether they give a good harvest. You have been preparing for this moment for several months, spending time and energy preparing pepper seeds for sowing, planting seeds for seedlings, diving and growing seedlings. Halfway already passed. It remains to plant the seedlings in open ground, provide them with proper care and wait for the cherished pepper to ripen.

When to plant pepper seedlings in the ground?

By the time of planting in the ground, pepper seedlings should have 8 - 12 leaves. Pepper seedlings can be planted in the ground at the stage of formation of the first buds.

By the time of planting, the average daily temperature should be at the level of 15 - 17 °C. The threat of spring frosts should be over by this time. Soil temperature at planting depth should be at least 10 - 12°C. Too early planting of seedlings in open ground is dangerous because at low soil temperatures the growth and development of plants is inhibited, and the likelihood of diseases increases. In addition, pepper does not tolerate frost well.

Pepper seedlings intended for growing in a greenhouse are planted in the ground on May 1-15. Pepper seedlings are planted in open ground on May 10 - 30, while the seedlings must be covered with a film.

Choosing a site for growing peppers

When choosing a plot for pepper in your garden, please note that pepper cannot be planted in the place where it grew in the previous year, as well as where potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, physalis, and tobacco used to grow. It is better to opt for a site where cucumbers, cabbage, legumes, pumpkin crops, root crops, and greens grew last year.

The area under the pepper should be well lit, protected from the wind, cleared of weeds, the soil on it should be sufficiently fertile, well drained and retain moisture.

Preparing the soil for planting pepper seedlings

If the soil on the site loamy, before planting pepper seedlings, it must be fertilized. For 1 m 2 of soil, add 1 bucket of well-rotted manure and peat, as well as half a bucket of half-rotted sawdust.

If the soil in the garden clayey and dense, in addition to humus and peat per 1 m 2 of soil, an additional 1 bucket of coarse-grained sand and 1 bucket of half-rotted sawdust should be added.

For the preparation of peaty plot for seedlings of pepper per 1 m 2 of soil add 1 bucket of humus and 1 bucket of soddy soil (clay can be).

For fertilizer sandy beds per 1 m 2 of soil, you need to make 2 buckets of peat and clay soil, 2 buckets of humus and 1 bucket of sawdust.

A week before planting pepper seedlings, a garden filled with fertilizers is watered abundantly.

The most favorable time for planting pepper seedlings in the ground is the second half of a cloudy day or a warm evening.

Before planting seedlings, it is necessary to mark the ridges and prepare the holes. The planting scheme for pepper depends largely on the method of irrigation and on the height of the variety.

Undersized varieties peppers are planted at a distance of 30 - 40 cm from each other, tall- at a distance of 60 cm. The distance between the beds should be about 60 cm.

Pepper can be grown in a square-nest way, planting seedlings at the same distance of 60x60 cm and placing 2 plants in each hole at once.

When growing pepper on drip irrigation seedlings are planted in a tape method according to the schemes 90 + 50x35-45 cm or 70 + 70x35-45 cm.

Hole depth should be slightly larger than the height of the seedling cup or pot.

Sweet and hot pepper they are planted on different beds away from each other, as they can pollinate, as a result of which the fruits of sweet pepper become bitter. Hot peppers plant more densely: the distance between plants in a row is 25 cm, the row spacing is 45 - 50 cm.

Instructions for planting pepper seedlings:

• Spill the seedlings with water before planting. To protect against pests, especially aphids, spray the seedlings with the Strela solution (50 g of powder per 10 liters of water). Extracting seedlings from pots or cups must be done very carefully, trying not to disturb the earthen clod.
• In each well, add a handful of rotted compost, half a handful of ash and a teaspoon of superphosphate, then fill to the brim with warm water. When the water is absorbed, immerse the pepper seedling pulled out of the seedling pot into the hole. Pepper does not like strong penetration, so the seedlings are planted in the ground at the level of the upper root. You can not fall asleep the root neck, otherwise the development of a black leg and other diseases is possible.
• Holding the pepper with your hand, fill the hole with water again. Water must be poured onto the walls of the hole so that the washed soil envelops the earth seedling.
• Fill the hole with earth, compact the soil a little and mulch with peat.
• For further garter, place a peg about 60 cm high near each plant.
• After planting pepper seedlings in the ground, the bed should be covered with a film. To do this, at a height of 120 cm, make wire arcs and throw covering material on them. When the seedlings take root and warm weather sets in, the shelter will need to be removed.

In the first 8 - 10 days after planting the seedlings in the ground, the pepper looks sluggish, painful and practically does not grow. This is due to the fact that in the process of transplanting, no matter how hard you try, the root system of the pepper is still slightly damaged. Getting into a new habitat, the plant is under stress. Peppers need some time to adapt to new conditions.

After planting pepper seedlings in the ground, it is very important not to overdo it with watering, as fragile roots can rot. If possible, for the first time after planting, it is advisable to monitor the condition of the seedlings daily and slightly moisten the soil in the area of ​​​​the stem (100 - 150 ml of water per plant every day). First real watering carried out no earlier than a week after planting seedlings in the ground.

To help the pepper seedlings take root faster, you can loosen the soil a little in the root zone. Such surface loosening provides an additional influx of oxygen and helps plants adapt faster.

To have a better understanding of the pepper planting process, we recommend watching a video on this topic.

You will need

• - Seedlings of peppers 30-35 cm tall
• - Air temperature +13-15 degrees
• - Raised bed (or greenhouse)
• - Shovel
• - Watering can and clean water
• - Compost
• - Pegs
• - Twine (bast)
• - Wire arches
• - Film
• - Fertilizer solution (mullein and superphosphate, water)

Instruction

Do not forget to carry out "solar hardening" from time to time - then it will not burn out from direct sun rays after landing on household plot. Best time planted - evening, at a temperature of + 13-15 degrees. Be sure to make a “warm” bed - raise it at least 30 cm from general level soil.

Dig holes and water them. It is advisable to first add compost to the soil, but in no case fresh manure! It should be deepened to the level of the first leaves. You can plant peppers, leaving about half a meter between rows and about 45 cm between each plant. Some gardeners use "nests": one hole is dug for a couple of plants, a square of about 50 by 50 cm (or a little more) is allocated under it. Pepper is a cross-pollinated crop, so (despite the help of insects), planting seedlings in pairs can greatly increase the yield. Keep in mind that sweet and bitter varieties can also pollinate, which will spoil the taste of the fruit. You need to plant peppers of different varieties separately.

Place a peg next to each plant (more than half a meter high) and carefully tie the stem with a washcloth or twine. Proceed with caution, as the leaves and shoots of this crop are extremely fragile. Make arcs of wire a meter high and stretch a film over them to keep the necessary moisture and heat for seedlings of peppers. When the weather settles, open the film completely or only from the south side; at night, it is recommended to always close the bed with peppers.

Useful advice

It is good to plant pepper on the soil where cultures of the cruciferous family (turnip, cabbage, mustard and others) used to grow. The soil should always be loose and moist. When the pepper seedlings take root, wait two weeks and feed the plants aqueous solution organic and mineral fertilizers. Dilute ten times the mullein and take a tablespoon of superphosphate in a bucket of water. In total, no more than half a bucket of this mixture is needed per square meter of beds.

Related article

Sources:

• Secrets of growing sweet peppers

Pepper is truly a miracle vegetable. The amount of vitamin C is unmatched. It contains a lot of carotene, nicotinic and folic acid. And it is no wonder that you want to grow such a valuable vegetable on your site. And anyone can get a good harvest of pepper. But at the same time, it is necessary to pay sufficient attention to plants.

Instruction

For sowing, it is necessary to prepare a nutrient mixture from garden humus with the addition of sand and wood ash. Pour this mixture with water and carefully steam over a fire. Seeds are sown hot, at 40-45 degrees, nutrient soil. Seeds are placed in grooves to a depth of 1.5 cm. The distance between them should be 2 cm.

During the growth of seedlings, it is necessary to limit watering to once. Abundant watering at this stage usually causes blackleg disease. The water temperature should be 25-28 degrees. It is advisable to use distilled water.

As soon as the seedlings have two leaves, which will take about 30-35 days, you can start diving them. Water the seedlings a few hours before picking, as when dry, the soil will crumble from the roots. Plants can be transplanted into pots or 10x10 cm in size.

During the growth of seedlings, it is necessary to limit watering to once. Abundant watering at this stage usually causes the black leg disease of the plant. Water temperature for irrigation should be 25-28 degrees. It is advisable to use distilled water.

Within a week after planting, gently loosen the soil - this will improve air access to the root system. You can only feed special drug for growth.

Until the flowering period, it is enough to water the pepper once a week. But in hot weather, you can increase the amount of watering. Remember that plants should never be watered with cold water, otherwise they will stop growing and bearing fruit.

Loosen the soil occasionally. In total, during the summer it is necessary to carry out 3-4 loosening with hilling.

It is also important to feed the plant with various fertilizers. During flowering, you can use slurry at a rate of 1:10 or urea. The next top dressing must be carried out during the fruiting period. Use bird droppings or nitrophoska solution.

In order for the pepper bushes not to grow too much, you need to remove the upper flowers and stepchildren. Also, when the stem of the pepper reaches about 25 cm in height, remove the top of the stem. This procedure will allow the side shoots to develop well.

Pepper is a crop that is best grown from seedlings, as it has a long ripening period. In the southern regions, it is grown by planting seedlings in the ground open type, and in all the rest - in greenhouses.

You will need

• - pepper seeds;
• - seedlings of pepper;
• - greenhouse or open ground.

Instruction

Most the best vegetables grow from seeds, which are designated "F1". This means first-generation hybrids that have taken all varietal characteristics from their high-grade "parents".

Pepper "Viking". Early ripe variety, which is grown in open ground and indoors. The plant is medium. Has fruit cylindrical shape, glossy, with smooth surface. Fruit weight - from 100 to 150 g. Ripe fruits have a bright red color, excellent taste qualities and a faint aroma. Sowing seeds is done with the onset of March. Seedlings are planted in greenhouses or soil after seventy days. The principle of planting is in rows. The distance between rows is 50 cm, between seedlings is 35 cm. Viking pepper needs a trellis for growing, as it forms two stems. It is not necessary to tie plants to it. Pepper is not stored for a long time, it is used fresh and for canning.

Pepper "Hercules". It is one of the varieties most suitable for growing in. "Hercules" refers to mid-season and large-fruited. The fruits ripen ninety days after transplanting. The fruits are cube-shaped, ribbed, elongated. The weight of one fruit is from 200 to 300 g. The pulp of the fruit is dense, juicy and very fragrant. This variety contains a lot of vitamin C. Ripe fruits are dark red. Variety "Hercules" is universal. It is not susceptible to viruses, in particular - tobacco mosaic. Likes to grow in well-lit, warm places. Most big harvest obtained in protected ground. Seedlings are planted in greenhouses fifty days after sowing seeds. Planting seedlings - in rows. Distance between rows - 70 cm, between bushes - 25 cm. Pepper "Hercules" has a high keeping quality and can be stored for up to two months.

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homeland of sweet bell pepper is Central America. Having got to us, the vegetable took root without any problems and began to be popular. Rich bright colors and a special taste of pepper will make any dish unique and festive.

You can plant and grow pepper in summer cottages, greenhouses, vegetable gardens. Planting this vegetable is not a difficult process, but it has its own characteristics and nuances. So if you have country cottage area, you can try growing this vitamin-rich vegetable yourself.

Pepper bush in the garden

Preparing seeds for sowing

Acquired sweet pepper seeds require special preparation before sowing. This will make it possible in the future to get strong seedlings that will be less susceptible to disease and death.

1. They begin to sow the seeds of bell pepper at the end of winter - in February, when the daylight hours are not yet long. Planting seedlings in open ground is advised after 95-100 days. During this time, they will get stronger and will be prepared for planting and further growth and development in the fresh air.
2. Transplantation (dive) of this vegetable is undesirable, it does not tolerate it well. Therefore, it is recommended to initially sow the seeds in individual containers, and then plant them in the ground. Their diameter should be no more than 10 cm. It is not advisable to use deep and wide containers.
3. Pepper loves the soil light and loosened. To plant in such a soil, mix one part of sand and peat soil with two parts of humus soil. For 1 kg of the resulting substrate, add 1 tbsp. wood ash.

Soaking pepper seeds

Before planting, the seeds are properly processed:

• To begin with, the seeds are disinfected in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 20-30 minutes. After this time, they are washed with water.
• Then the seeds are treated with special stimulants for active growth and proper development root system. Such preparations can be purchased at specialized stores for gardeners.
• Final treatment of seeds - antifungal agents. They will protect future seedlings from diseases, primarily fungal ones.

When seeds are properly processed, experienced gardeners stratify them. This process consists in the fact that the prepared seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth and kept in this state for 2 days. The fabric should be constantly wet, and the location of the seeds should be warm, 25-30 degrees. So the seeds of the plant "wake up" and it will be possible to plant them in pots.

When the seeds have hatched, you can start planting them. Each seed is sown in a separate container at a depth of 6 to 12 mm.

The sown pepper is poured from a spray bottle with warm water and the containers are covered plastic wrap or glass. Seedlings are placed in a dark place.

The temperature for seedling germination should be about 25 degrees. If the seeds were germinated, then the first shoots can be seen already on the 3-4th day after sowing. After the appearance of the first shoots, it is advised to lower the temperature by 5-7 days. This will prevent the plants from stretching up and losing the necessary further development strength. After a week, the temperature can be raised again, but only slightly.

When the first shoots appeared, the plants are rearranged closer to the light source. During this period they need special care: Particular attention should be paid to watering seedlings. Do not allow waterlogging of the soil and its drying. Watering is done with warm water. If produce cold watering, this will badly affect young sprouts - they will become lethargic and unviable and planting them on open area will be meaningless.

Quality pepper seedlings

The humidity in the room where the seedlings are grown should be moderate. The drier it is, the more often the plants will have to be sprayed. This is also done with warm water. Ventilate the room itself daily, but try to protect the seedlings from drafts - they do not like them.

If possible, carry out additional lighting of young seedlings. The end of February is not characterized by sufficient daylight hours, so artificial lighting is required.

Before transplanting plants into open ground, it is recommended to harden them. This will make her hardy and resistant to weather conditions and diseases. To do this, the plants begin to take out into the air. The first day the seedlings stay there should be 5-10 minutes. Every day the time will increase. However, young seedlings should not be allowed to freeze, or be at a temperature below 13 degrees.

Planting bell pepper seedlings in the ground

1. Planting pepper seedlings requires the right place for this. Pepper is recommended to be planted in those areas where there used to be onions, carrots, pumpkin crops or cucumbers. It is highly undesirable to plant it after potatoes, tomatoes or peppers.
2. Soil for bell pepper should be chosen light and fertilized. organic matter under the pepper are brought in a year or two before planting, and all the rest - in the fall. 4-5 days before planting pepper seedlings in open ground, gardeners recommend disinfecting it. For this, a special solution is made at the rate of 1/2 tbsp. copper sulphate for 5 liters of water. The area is treated with this solution.
3. Prepared plants are planted in open ground after three months from the date of sowing the seeds. This happens in April or May. In April, this is done only if the seeds were sown at the beginning of winter.
4. Landing has a 40x50 landing pattern. It depends on the type of pepper. The larger the plants are supposed to be, the greater the distance between them should be.
5. Seedlings, which are in separate containers, are carefully removed from them. The depth of the holes in the soil should be the same as the depth of the seedling container. It is not recommended to plant plants with exposed roots or sprinkle the basal neck of seedlings. Planting pepper should be carried out in the morning or evening.

Hot and sweet peppers must be grown separately

Planting several varieties of bell pepper should take into account the fact that this vegetable is subjected to the process of pollination. Therefore, it is desirable to have different varieties at some distance. It is advisable to separate them among themselves with other plantings: corn, tomatoes, sunflowers, etc.

The nuances of proper care for bell pepper

Plant care includes proper watering, weeding and timely feeding. Spend the first top dressing during the period when the plants have acquired two real leaves. The fertilizer mixture consists of the following preparations: ammonium nitrate (0.5 g), potassium (1 g), superphosphate (3 g). These funds are diluted in 1 liter of warm water, and seedlings are watered with this solution.

The second feeding is done exactly two weeks later. All fertilizer components are doubled.

Fertilizer seedlings with nettle infusion are popular. To do this, 1 part of dry nettle is placed in 10 liters of water and insisted for two days. The resulting solution is watered seedlings.

The last feeding is done 2-3 days before planting seedlings in open ground.

Care also consists in observing plants:

• If you notice that the leaves of the peppers have begun to curl and dry out at the edges, this means that there is not enough potassium in the soil. But with its excess, you should also be careful - the pepper may die.
• With a lack of nitrogen in the soil, the leaves of the plants become dull with a grayish tint and are crushed over time.
• With a lack of phosphorus, the leaves on the underside acquire purple hue, are pressed against the trunk, stretching up.
• With a lack of magnesium, pepper leaves become marbled.
• With an excess of nitrogen in the soil, plants will drop leaves, flowers and ovaries.

During the period high humidity care consists in removing lateral shoots from plants (stepping). In dry and hot weather, pinching plants is not advised. This is related to the fact that lower leaves serve as a barrier for the rapid weathering of moisture from the soil and protect it from drying out.

Central flower on pepper experienced gardeners advised to remove. This will help increase productivity.

During the growing season, care means that the plants must be prunable. Its essence lies in the fact that the longest shoots are shortened, the plant should not have shaded branches. Pruning is recommended every 10 days, the last - after harvesting.

The first flower of pepper is advised to be removed

In order for pepper pollination to take place more actively, experienced gardeners spray it with a sugar solution.

Among useful tips relating to the care of pepper distinguish:

• it is recommended to plant pepper, taking into account the advice of experienced gardeners;
• pepper does not tolerate overheating and requires abundant watering;
• regular loosening of the soil - required condition growing bell peppers;
• to protect pepper from diseases, it is advised to provide plants with calcium and potassium;
• pepper mulching is when the soil is protected from excessive loss of moisture and nutrients (it is done using overripe straw, which is laid out between the rows of plants);
• pepper plants need timely garter and hilling;
• carry out natural seed replacements annually (this will increase the yield).

Watering peppers is of particular importance.

When the soil is too dry, it can lead to diseases and death of plants. Insufficient watering can provoke the dropping of flowers and ovaries. Before the flowering period, pepper is watered once every 7 days. After the beginning of flowering and the formation of fruits, pepper requires watering 2 times a week. It is recommended to water the pepper with warm settled water using a rain watering can. After watering, the soil between the plants should be loosened. Proper care for pepper will get a good result.

California pepper variety

Diseases and pests of bell pepper

Pepper care involves the prevention and treatment of this plant from diseases and getting rid of pests.

process pepper chemicals Not recommended. This is due to the fact that pepper is able to accumulate all the substances that fall on it in fruits. This can adversely affect human health when consuming plant fruits. Properly caring, observing the basic agrotechnical rules, it is not necessary to treat pepper with additional preparations.

If it happens that the plants are sick, then this can be solved with the help of safe means and ways

Growing bell pepper is an exciting and rewarding activity. When creating for this plant all necessary conditions, it will thank you with a rich harvest of large, juicy and vitamin fruits.