When to remove peppers from a bush: harvest on time

Pepper is a popular product and is loved both fresh and canned. Thanks to breeders, this vegetable from South America has become known to Russian gardeners. But growing a rich harvest is not all, it is important to collect it on time and prepare it for storage.

When you need to remove peppers in the open field and in greenhouses, what factors affect ripening, how to prepare fruits for storage- you will learn all this from the article.

When to harvest peppers

Gardeners grow mostly sweet peppers on their plots. You can open the season for collecting early varieties in early August. Mass harvesting of vegetables takes place at the end of August - September. But you can pick and eat the fruits when they reach their varietal sizes.

Collection time

There is no single harvest time for peppers. There are nuances on which the degree of fruit ripening depends.

Factors affecting the harvest time:

• variety - early, late;
• variety of culture - bitter or sweet pepper;
• growing region;
• weather.

Harvesting is possible according to biological and technical ripeness. Biological maturity is determined by the achievement of color, size and shape according to the characteristics of the variety. Technical - when the size corresponds to the variety, but the color and taste are insufficient.

Reference. Usually, the harvest time for peppers coincides with the harvest of tomatoes and eggplants.

The variety plays an important role in the ripening and further storage of the vegetable. Early peppers reach biological maturity 70-80 days after planting, late-ripening varieties - after 130 or more days.

Exact calculation

Each variety has its own technical ripeness. You can harvest early pepper in 60-70 days after the growing season, mid-season - after 90 days, late variety - after 4 months. Between technical and biological ripeness, 20-30 days pass, depending on the weather. The higher the air temperature, the faster maturation occurs.

Experienced gardeners harvest during the period of technical and biological ripeness. In this phase, the fruits contain the highest amount of sugars, vitamins and mineral salts. These peppers are suitable for fresh consumption andcanning, however, they are stored worse than immature ones.

The first harvest can be obtained in early August. The latter is removed before the onset of the first frost. For the whole season, 3-5 harvests of fruits are carried out

Lunar collection

Many gardeners are working on the site according to the lunar calendar. The full moon is the best time to harvest fruits that ripen above the ground. It is believed that these days the juices of the plant move to the top, filling the fruits with juiciness and taste.

Cleaning nuances

Environmental conditions play an important role in fruit ripening. Vegetables growing in open beds and in greenhouses have different harvest times.

In the greenhouse

Frosts are not terrible for fruits grown in a greenhouse. In closed beds, vegetable growers often set the timing of harvesting themselves. The season may end with the onset of a stable cold period. However, it is worth considering that a decrease in temperature indicators affects the plant, inhibiting its development and fruit ripening.

In the open field

In open beds, weather conditions play an important role in the ripeness of vegetables.Plants are thermophilic and do not tolerate frost, therefore, the fruits should be removed before the first cold snap.

Important! Delaying the first harvest can cause the plant to stop growing, which will slow down the development of new fruits.

When is the best time to shoot

The varietal characteristics of the pepper determine its ripening period. Bitter and sweet bell peppers differ not only in appearance and taste, but also in nuances in the harvest. If you remove the pepper at the wrong time, it may not pick up the taste.

Bitter pepper

Hot peppers can only be removed when they are fully ripe. If you remove it earlier, the fruit will not be spicy enough, since it acquires this taste quality only on the bush. The more ripe the pepper, the more hot it is.

Sweet (Bulgarian)

Each variety has its own ripening period. Sweet peppers can be removed after reaching technical maturity - the fruit is able to ripen outside the garden during storage.

How to determine the degree of maturity

You can determine the maturity of bell peppers by the characteristic crackle of the fruit when touched. Ripe fruits turn yellow, red, brown or purple depending on the variety.

Hot peppers can be harvested as soon as the pods are formed. Such fruits are suitable for fresh consumption. For canning and long-term storage, only those peppers that have reached biological maturation are used.

Signs of maturity of hot pepper:

• bright color;
• the lower leaves of the plant turn yellow and dry;
• burning sensation when rubbing the pod on the back of the hand.

Rules for harvesting and its further storage

Care must be taken when harvesting peppers, as mistakes will lead to crop loss.

Pepper Harvesting Instructions:

1. With technical ripeness, the fruits are harvested selectively every 6-8 days.
2. Remove the pepper with scissors or pruning shears.
3. For better storage, the fruit is cut along with the stalk.
4. When harvesting, you should be careful not to damage the branches of the bush.
5. Sort peppers according to size and ripeness.

To enjoy fresh vegetables for as long as possible, you need to properly organize their storage. Peppers can last a month longer than tomatoes and eggplants.

Important! With poor storage, the fruits begin to rot after 2 days.

Storage characteristics:

• technical ripeness achieved;
• no mechanical damage;
• no traces of damage, cracks or dents.

Storage conditions

Keep thin-walled peppers in the refrigerator. Before sending it tofreeze, part of the stalk should be cut off from the fruit, leaving its small tip.

For storage in basements and cellars, containers are used - boxes and plastic bags. Gardeners prefer bags, as they do not allow air to pass through, which means that vegetables are stored better. Each fruit can be wrapped in a layer of paper to extend its freshness.

Requirements for polyethylene packaging: thickness - at least 120 microns, presence of a membrane with perforation on the side wall.

The temperature at the storage place for vegetables that have reached technical ripeness should not exceed 8-10 ° C with a humidity of 80-90%. Under these conditions, the pepper will ripen in a month. To speed up maturation, it is moved to a warmer place.

Ripe fruits are stored at 1 ° C. Their ripeness will be reached in 2 months. Green varieties last longer than yellow or red fruits.

Important! Peppers should not be stored with other vegetables, as they easily absorb odors.

Some growers prefer not to pluck the pepper from the bush. The plant is removed from the ground and hung up with its roots. The bushes can be stored in a barn or basement.

Conclusion

Pepper is one of the most popular crops in the garden. The fruits of this plant are consumed fresh and processed, they can be stored for a long time. The harvest time is largely determined by the peculiarity varieties... Choosing the right variety will help increase the fruit's shelf life.

For fresh consumption, it is better to choose early thin-walled fruits, for long-term storage - late varieties that have reached technical ripeness. The last crop outdoors is harvested before the first frosts; in greenhouses and greenhouses, the season may end later.