How allspice peas grow in a natural environment and how to grow it at home
Allspice, or Jamaican, pepper is grown on plantations and harvested from 50 to 75 kg of fruit from the tree. This healthy spice with a piquant taste can be bought at any grocery store, or you can cultivate it at home and season hot chocolate and various dishes with aromatic ground allspice, grown on your own.
The content of the article
What is allspice and where does it grow
Spice allspice are made from the unripe fruits of the perennial tree of the medicinal pimento. This pepper is also called Jamaican. This tree grows in countries with tropical climates - India, Brazil, Cuba and Jamaica.
The blue-green pimento fruit is harvested by hand before ripening to avoid losing its flavor. After the fruits are dried for 5 to 10 days in the sun or in a special dryer, they are cleaned, sorted and sent to stores as a whole or ground. In the photo, the peppercorns are brown. This is how they become after drying.
Application and taste difference of allspice from black
Black and allspice are two different trees. Black pepper is a vine that belongs to the pepper family and grows in India. Allspice is a large tree up to 10 m high from the myrtle family. Black pepper is finer and darker than allspice and has a sharper taste.
Allspice is softer and tastes like a mixture of cinnamon, black pepper, cloves and nutmeg. Allspice peas are added to marinades, meat sauces and meat soups. They are removed from the dish before use. Allspice powder is added to the dough for gingerbread, muffins and cookies.
Interesting... Pimento oil, which is found in allspice, is used in the production of liqueurs.
The nuances of home growing
Allspice seeds for cultivation are purchased from gardening stores or extracted from dried allspice peas.
Seeds are planted, like other seedlings, in March-April.
If it is colder than 10 degrees in winter, it is better not to plant allspice in open ground. This heat-loving spice is suitable for a winter garden or a glazed loggia.
How sweet peas grow at home
It is necessary to prepare in advance everything that is needed for future plants.
Seed selection and pre-planting
Experienced gardeners advise using large seeds from multiple fruits to increase their chance of germination. To make it easier to transplant plants into soil or a pot, it is better to plant seeds in separate peat glasses. Pour the sand into cups, tamp it slightly, moisten and make small holes for the seeds.
Attention... The seeds have a sufficiently strong peel, therefore, to speed up the emergence of seedlings, before planting, they are soaked in water heated to 40-50 degrees for a day.
Conditions and growing seedlings
After soaking, the seeds are planted for germination in sand, which must be constantly wet. If the indoor air is too dry, the seedlings are sprayed daily with water from a spray bottle.
Potting and care
If the seeds were not originally planted in separate peat cups, the seedlings are transplanted into a container with fertilized soil.
You can buy ready-made soil or mix your garden soil with peat or humus yourself.
Pepper sprouts 3 cm high are planted to a depth of 2-3 cm, the distance between seedlings in one container should be at least 10 cm.
Picking
Plants are transplanted into the ground before the onset of hot weather at an air temperature of at least 20 degrees. Pimenta does not withstand transplanting well due to the special structure of the root system and fragile stems.
For better adaptation, the seedlings are planted together with a clod of earth at a distance of 14 cm from each other.
Humidity level
With insufficient watering of seedlings, the tips of the leaves darken, and with excessive watering, the leaves turn yellow. Water the seedlings every 2-3 days. In the heat, watered daily, without increasing the amount of water.
Temperature and lighting
Jamaican pepper is a tropical plant, so the container with seedlings is placed in a bright, warm place and covered with glass and cellophane to create a greenhouse effect.
The air temperature should be at least 20 degrees, the optimum temperature is 25-28 degrees.
Top dressing
Yellow leaves of seedlings indicate a lack of nutrients in the soil. Seedlings are fed with universal fertilizer for indoor plants every 14 days in spring and summer.
Breeding methods and common mistakes
In addition to propagation by seeds, allspice is bred by cuttings and layering.
Cuttings are separated from the grown plant and rooted in a greenhouse at a temperature of 25 degrees in the ground from one part of leafy earth and two parts of sand. Leafy soil is humus made from the leaves of deciduous trees. The cuttings take root for 20 days, after which they are planted in pots with a mixture of peat, humus, leafy soil and sand in equal proportions.
When propagating by layering, horizontal shoots are attached to the ground with special pins. With sufficient light and humidity, the shoots quickly grow roots. After that, they are seated in separate pots.
The main breeding mistakes and their consequences:
- burns and death of plants from direct sunlight;
- wilting of plants due to dry soil and air;
- wilting and yellowing of plants due to excessive watering;
- death of plants from lack of nutrients in the soil.
Harvesting the first harvest
Allspice bears fruit 6 years after planting.
Little cultivation tricks
With proper care, pimento will yield a harvest of fragrant fruits even at home.
- Seedlings should be pinched on the third leaf, this stimulates the growth of lateral shoots.
- The plant does not like both direct sunlight and full shade. Better to put it in a warm, bright place.
- For quick germination of seeds, a greenhouse effect is created by covering the containers with glass or cellophane. In the morning and in the evening, the cover is briefly removed to allow oxygen access.
- Gardeners recommend replanting mature plants every 3-4 years or replacing the top layer of the earth annually.
Read also:
How to cook whole pickled bell peppers for the winter.
How and where does pink pepper grow and in what areas it is used.
Conclusion
Cultivating Pimento officinalis at home is a feasible task. With proper seed preparation, compliance with the lighting, watering and plant nutrition, you can get your own harvest of allspice.