Instructions for growing delicious peppers

Surprisingly, the bell peppers are not actually from Bulgaria! This plant is native to South America. It was from there that sweet peppers came to Europe. But it was brought to Russia from Bulgaria in the middle of the 18th century. That is why we call it Bulgarian.

The southern handsome man has adapted well to the temperate climate. However, its cultivation is not easy, because it is a southern plant that loves heat and sun. From the article you will learn about the agricultural technology of growing sweet peppers in the open field and how it grows at home.

Variety selection

How to grow peppers? Before starting to cultivate a crop, you need to decide on a variety... When choosing, it is worth starting not only from taste preferences, but also from the destination of the future harvest.

For fresh consumption choose thick-walled large-fruited varieties. For example, California miracle, Gladiator, Winnie the Pooh, Gift from Moldova.

If you plan to use the crop for harvesting for the winter, give preference to small-fruited varieties, such as Merchant, Ermak, Victoria.

For open ground

For outdoor cultivation choose unpretentious and at the same time fruitful varieties and hybrids. These are Kapitoshka, Vanguard, Boatswain, Hungarian yellow, Orion, Anlita.

If the summer in your region is short and does not spoil with warmth, take a closer look at early ripening undersized hybrids. They are resistant to diseases and give a stable harvest in the climatic conditions of the Urals and Siberia. For example, Zlata Prague F1, Jubilee Semko F1, Quinta F1, Maxim F1, Orange Beauty F1.

At home

For growing on a windowsill, choose compact, undersized varieties... These plants grow no more than half a meter in height and are well suited for window sizes. Let's talk about the best varieties for growing at home:

1. Treasure Island... An early ripening variety, from the moment the shoots appear to harvest, it takes 90-100 days. The fruits are juicy, orange-red. Weight reaches 60 g.
2. Firstborn of Siberia... Mid-season variety. It ripens in 110-115 days from the moment of seed germination. Fruits are bright red, large, up to 100 g.
3. Dwarf... Mid-season variety. It ripens on average 110 days from the time the shoots appear. The fruits are juicy, red, fleshy, cone-shaped. Weight reaches 83 g.
4. Watercolor... Another mid-season variety. From the moment the shoots appear to harvest, an average of 110 days pass. The fruits are small, weighing about 30 g, with a thin skin.
5. Gift from Moldova... Mid-ripening variety, fruits ripen in 125-135 days. The peppers are large, dark red with a rich taste. Weight reaches 90 g.
6. Swallow... Mid-season variety with red juicy fruits, ripening on average in 130 days. Peppers are large - up to 85 g, with thick walls.

Growing pepper seedlings

Heat-loving bell peppers are grown mainly through seedlings... Preparation for planting begins with processing the seed.

Seed preparation

Soaking seeds in a 2% solution of potassium permanganate helps to protect future plants from infections for 20 minutes. Then they are washed with cool water.

After disinfection, the seeds are soaked in a nutrient solution ("Epine" or "Zircon"), natural growth biostimulants. The solution is prepared in accordance with the instructions.

After that, the seeds are wrapped in damp gauze and kept in a warm place for several days before pecking. They are now ready to plant.

Landing

The timing of planting peppers for seedlings depends on the climate of the region.... On average, seeds are sown no later than March 1. Later, only early and ultra-early varieties are planted.

Prepared seeds planted in peat-milling containers filled with loose, fertile soil... The seeds are laid out on the surface and buried by 1-1.5 cm. The earth is compacted, watered and the pots are covered with cling film. Then the containers are transferred to a warm place with a temperature of about + 25 ° C.

Reference. Pepper seeds germinate slowly. The first shoots appear after 1-2 weeks. Germination can be accelerated by increasing the length of daylight hours with lamps.

After the sprouts appear, the film is pierced with a knitting needle in several places.... Finally, the shelter is removed after the regrowth of two or three leaves. Now you can start picking.

Picking

Transplanting seedlings into larger containers favors the development of the root system... The rhizome becomes stronger, wraps around and holds the earthen ball better.

New containers are prepared in advance, filled with soil and watered abundantly. The plant is carefully transplanted into a recess in the center of the pot so that the central root does not bend, and the leaves are 2 cm above the soil level. The soil around the seedling is compacted and watered with warm water.

Seedling care

Drafts and low temperatures are harmful for young plants. (below + 13 ° С). As soon as the first shoots appear, containers with seedlings are transferred to the lightest windowsill in the house.

Plants are not watered often, about once a week, but abundantly. Warm, settled water is poured under the root, trying not to get on the shoots. After watering, the topsoil is loosened.

Pepper seedlings are fed according to the following scheme:

1. The first feeding is carried out 10-14 days after the pick. For this, 5 g of urea and 30 g of superphosphate are dissolved in 10 l of water.
2. The second time the plants are fertilized 3-4 days before planting in open ground: 50 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potassium sulfate are dissolved in 10 liters of water.

Landing technology and scheme

Pepper seedlings are planted in open ground or a greenhouse with the arrival of heat... Before planting, the plants are hardened. Hardening begins 10-15 days before planting seedlings.

On the first day, the window leaf on which the plants stand is opened for an hour. Gradually, the hardening time is increased to 6-8 hours a day. Before planting, the pots of peppers are taken out to the balcony or greenhouse.

We determine the timing of disembarkation

Plants are ready for transplanting at the age of 2-2.5 months... As a rule, at this time the first buds are formed on them. Before proceeding to disembarking, you should make sure that the average daily temperature is kept at a level not lower than + 15 ... + 17 ° С.

Important! At air temperatures below + 13 ° C, plant growth stops.

Preparing the soil

Peppers don't like heavy soils... The structure of clay soils is improved by introducing peat and humus.

The area prepared for the peppers is dug up and leveled. Before planting, mineral fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are applied. Mix well so that the fertilizer is evenly distributed.

According to the rules of crop rotation, the best predecessors for pepper are carrots, zucchini, cucumber, squash, pumpkin.

We plant seedlings

In the garden, holes are made at a distance of 50 cm from each other, leave 60 cm between the rows. The depth of the hole is made such that, when planting, the root collar protrudes above the soil surface.

The plant is removed from the container, trying not to destroy the earthen lump, and placed in a hole. Sprinkle a little with earth and pour abundantly with warm water - about a third of a bucket per hole.

When the water is absorbed, the rest of the hole is filled with soil. Plantings are mulched with peat or straw. If it is still cold at night (below + 13 ° C), the plants are protected with a covering material.

Care features

Caring for pepper beds is similar to caring for open field tomato plants.... Plants water, loosen the ground, apply fertilizers, form bushes, removing excess shoots.

Watering and feeding

First time pepper watered immediately after landing in open ground... In the future, watering is carried out about once a week. This regime is maintained until the first mass harvest of fruits. After that, take a short break. Watering is resumed after the appearance of new flowers.

Top dressing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are carried out at least three times per season... The first time fertilizers are applied two weeks after planting the seedlings. The second time is when many fruits are tied at the same time, and then after another 2-3 weeks.

Do not neglect spraying with microfertilizers... This improves the quality and quantity of the crop. Peppers often do not have enough boron, which is why the fruits grow small.

Protection from pests and diseases

Peppers are susceptible to the same diseases as other vegetables in the nightshade family.... The development of diseases is provoked by viruses, bacteria or fungi.

The most common diseases of peppers are fusarium wilting, late blight, bacterial spotting, black leg. From pests, pepper is damaged aphid, scoops, thrips, bears.

Fusarium wilting

Fungal pathology leading to wilting and death of plants... The first symptom is yellowing of the top and foliage.

Disease prevention is observance of the rules of crop rotation, selection of varieties resistant to disease, disinfection of seeds before sowing. If signs of pathology are detected, diseased plants are removed and destroyed. There are no cures.

Late blight

The development of this fungal disease is provoked by a decrease in temperature. air and excess moisture. The disease is recognized by brown spots on the leaves surrounded by pale green rims.

Prevent the development of pathology pre-sowing seed treatment, as well as spraying plants with infusions of onions or garlic, helps. The disease is treated by spraying the plants with Bordeaux liquid.

Bacterial spot

Fungal disease can destroy up to half of the crop... Symptoms are cloudy white spots on the leaves surrounded by a dark border. Then, darker dots appear on the surface of the spots, which contain spores. The affected parts of the plants dry out. The infection gradually spreads to the stem and fruit.

Prevention consists in observance of the rules of crop rotation and seed dressing before sowing. Diseased plants are treated with drugs such as Trichodermin and Fitosporin. Damaged bushes are removed from the beds and destroyed.

Blackleg

This is a pepper seedling disease... Compliance with the temperature regime and maintaining the humidity at a normal level helps to prevent its development.

Aphid

Harmful to both seedlings and adult plants... It sucks out juices from leaves and stems, leading to curling of leaves, drying of flowers, underdevelopment of fruits. Spraying plants with infusions of wormwood and yarrow, as well as the chemical Phosbecid, helps to fight the pest.

Scoops

Butterfly caterpillars do harmeating foliage and flowers and eating fruits from the inside. Setting up traps with light or pheromones helps to fight the pest.

Thrips

Small elongated insects feeding on plant cell sap... Affected leaves and stems turn yellow, discolor and die off. Infected plants are sprayed with Fitoverm biopreparation or Actellik pesticide.

Medvedki

Large insects that destroy plant roots... Deep plowing of the soil in spring and autumn, as well as regular loosening of row spacings, helps to combat them. Of the pesticides, Medvetox is effective.

Loosening the soil and forming a bush

The soil in the bed with peppers is loosened after each watering... Loosening is carried out to a shallow depth (no more than 5 cm), because the root system of the pepper is located close to the surface of the earth. Along the way, the plants are spud and weeded.

Spreading mulch on the pepper bed reduces watering, and, accordingly, loosening, which makes it easier to care for the plantings. Straw, humus, dry grass are used as mulch.

Pepper bushes need shaping... This is especially important in a short and cool summer. 3-5 strongest shoots are left on the bush, formed from the fork. On each successive branch, approximately the same number of shoots are left. The rest are removed.

As a result, lush neat bushes are formed. After the formation of a sufficient number of fruits, the skeletal branches are pinched, and the top of the bush is cut off. This technique speeds up the ripening of the peppers and allows them to grow larger.

Important nuances

When cultivated in regions with hot summers peppers need extra protection from the scorching sun. Especially if the blooming of plants coincided with the onset of heat.

At air temperatures above + 30 ° С, the activity of pollen decreases or it completely loses its viability. In this case, installing shade screens over the beds helps.

Besides, it is worth considering that the peppers are very fragile and break easily from strong wind... Therefore, they are tied to pegs. It is also useful to plant tall plants around the pepper bed, cleaning the delicate peppers from the winds.

Experienced agronomist tips

Following the recommendations of experienced agronomists will help avoid problems when growing bell peppers:

1. Different varieties of pepper are planted at a distance from each other to avoid cross-pollination. If this happens, the taste of one variety can overpower the taste of another. This is especially important when planting sweet and bitter varieties of culture.
2. If the leaves of the plants curl, and a dry edge appears at the edges, then they do not have enough potassium. Top dressing with potassium sulfate or potassium nitrate will solve the problem.
3. When grown on a windowsill, peppers are watered with settled warm water and additionally sprayed. To prevent the plants from overheating in winter, cover the battery with a damp cloth.
4. Periodically, the pots are turned by different sides to the window.
5. They feed the peppers on the windowsill with nitrogen fertilizers for indoor flowers or use an ash solution (3 liters of water and 6 tablespoons of ash), a decoction of nettle, plantain, clover.
6. Pepper on the windowsill is transplanted once a year. The plant is changed every two years.

Conclusion

Growing and caring for bell peppers outdoors is not the easiest thing to do. Getting a stable harvest of tasty fleshy fruits is impossible without following the rules of care. It is also important to choose the right variety, grow strong, healthy seedlings, protect plantings from diseases and pests.