Why is the "Spark" pepper variety good and how to grow it properly at home

Hot peppers are the most popular spice that whets the appetite and makes the taste of food richer and more interesting. The popularity of hot pepper is due not only to its wonderful taste. Its fruits are beneficial to the body and are often used for medicinal purposes.

One of the sharpest varieties of this plant is the Ogonyok pepper. It is grown not only by gardeners on their plots, but also by lovers of indoor plants. How to cultivate Ogonyok at home and what it is used for - read on.

General description of the variety

Pepper Spark is a variety that is distinguished by increased pungency of the fruit. It was obtained by crossing the world famous chili and cayenne pepper.

Mexico is considered the birthplace of Ogonyok. It was brought to Europe by Columbus.

Spark is a perennial plant. On the windowsill and in the heated greenhouses it is able to grow for over 8 years.

The fruits of the fire are small, but bright and beautiful. They come in red, brown, yellow, orange, and purple. The taste is very bitter, with a pleasant sweet and sour aftertaste.

Small bushes of this variety look very decorative. A large number of multi-colored peppers are formed on them.

It is interesting that the peppers growing on the same bush differ from each other not only in color, but also in shape. They are oval, round and pointed at the tip.

Spark is not only tasty, but also a healthy seasoning if consumed in moderation. It helps to strengthen the vascular walls, cleanses the body of cholesterol, free radicals, toxins and toxins, improves the functioning of the brain and immune system.

Main characteristics

Pepper Ogonyok is suitable for growing not only in the garden, but also at home. This is possible due to its characteristics:

Advantages and disadvantages

Pepper light - a favorite grade Russian gardeners. It has many benefits:

• suitable for growing in the open field, in greenhouses and at home;
• decorative type of bushes;
• beautiful multi-colored fruits;
• high content of useful microelements;
• able to grow and produce crops for several years in a row;
• easy to plant and maintain;
• tastes great;
• suitable for transportation and long-term storage.

This pepper also has disadvantages. And before you plant it at home, you should familiarize yourself with all the nuances:

• poorly tolerates the sun's rays, despite the fact that it belongs to light-loving crops;
• unstable to temperature extremes;
• in windy weather, the leaves begin to turn yellow and fall off.

How to grow a Spark at home

The light is planted not only in greenhouses and open ground. It is also grown at home on the balcony or windowsill. Thanks to its compact bush and bright fruits, it will play the role of an ornamental indoor plant.

It's easy to grow a Spark at home... If you follow all the rules of care and follow the instructions for planting, then even a novice gardener will cope with the agricultural technology of this culture.

It is convenient to pick bright fruits of this variety from a bush standing on a windowsill. In such conditions, it will yield crops all year round.

What you need to grow pepper

To grow pepper at home, you need a minimum of tools and materials.

They are bought in gardening stores or prepared on their own:

1. Seeds... Suitable as planting material from the factory packaging, and seeds from ripe fruits.
2. The soil... You need a light and nutritious soil.
3. Capacities... If you plan to grow the Fire at home, keep in mind that periodically the plant will have to be transplanted in containers with a larger volume.
4. Drainage... Broken ceramics, expanded clay, brick, small crushed stone and shell rock will do.
5. Tool for loosening the soil. There are miniature indoor plant rakes, but a regular fork will do.
6. Watering can with a thin spout... It is more convenient to water plants from it at the root.
7. Spray.
8. Preparations for feeding and preventive treatment of plants.
9. Fluorescent Lamp. It will be needed in the winter, when natural light is not enough for the pepper.

Optimal conditions and suitable location

Pepper Spark is susceptible to environmental conditions. To get a rich harvest of sharp fruits, such a houseplant needs to find a suitable place.

Peppers are usually grown on a windowsill. It is better if the selected window will face southeast or southwest. In this case, the plant will have enough natural light, but it will not get under the influence of direct sunlight.

For growing peppers, choose a well-lit, but not too warm place. The optimum temperature for this crop is 17-22ºC. In a room that is too hot, the pepper begins to shed its leaves.

Planting material processing

Before you start sowing seeds, the planting material must be processed. This will prevent plant diseases and accelerate the appearance of the first shoots.

How to prepare seeds for planting:

1. Seeds are tested for germination... They are sorted out, removing damaged and darkened specimens. Then they are soaked in a salt solution. It is prepared from a glass of water and a teaspoon of salt. After half an hour, the floating seeds are thrown away, and the dropped seeds are used for planting.
2. The planting material must be treated with a disinfectant solution. To do this, it is immersed for 20 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate prepared from 2 g of potassium permanganate and 200 ml of water.
3. Then the planting material is germinated... The seeds are wrapped in pieces of gauze soaked in warm water, put in a saucer, covered with foil and placed in a warm place. When the planting material swells and germinates, they begin to plant it. A growth stimulant is sometimes used instead of regular water.

The nuances of the choice of containers and soil

For pepper, use a light and nutritious soil. The stores sell universal soil mixtures for growing seedlings and special soil for peppers, eggplants and tomatoes. Both options will work.

Many gardeners prefer to prepare their own soil mixture. To do this, you need to mix in equal proportions peat, humus, black earth and sand.

For sowing seeds, use wide, shallow containers or individual peat tablets. For the first pick of pepper, take pots with a volume of 300 ml. The last time during the season, the plant is transplanted into a container with a volume of at least 1.5 liters.

Drainage is essential for successful cultivation of peppers. Broken bricks, expanded clay, pieces of ceramic dishes, shell rock or small gravel will do.

Tanks, soil and drainage must be disinfected. To do this, it is enough to pour them with a hot dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Planting pepper

The best time to sow seeds is late February or early March. Even at home in the winter season, the germination of planting material is reduced.

Drainage is poured into the bottom of the containers. Pour soil on top and moisten with warm water.

When sowing seeds in a common container, grooves are made in the soil with a depth of 1 cm.The planting material is laid in them at a distance of 2 cm from each other. The depressions are sprinkled with soil. The containers are covered with foil and placed in a warm place.

If you plan to grow 1-2 plants on the windowsill, then it is most convenient to sow seeds in peat tablets. In this case, you will only need one pick, in which you will not need to remove the tomato from the container.

Peat tablets must be prepared by soaking in boiling water for several hours. During this time, they will absorb water and swell. In the resulting bags, 1 seeds are planted.

Fire Care

To grow pepper on your windowsill and not run into problems, you need to properly care for it:

1. When the first shoots appear, the film is removed. The pepper is moved to a well-lit place. This plant needs a minimum of 12 hours of daylight hours. In winter and autumn, a fluorescent lamp is used.
2. Water the pepper under the root as the soil dries. 2-3 times a week it is sprayed with water from a spray bottle.
3. After each watering, the soil is loosened. To do this, use a special tool or a regular plug.
4. When 2 real leaves appear, the peppers dive into separate pots. At the end of spring, the plant is transplanted into a container with a volume of 1.5 liters. At the bottom of the pot, soil must be poured.
5. Home-grown peppers are fed once a month. Fertilizers are "Nitrofoska", "Solution", "Kemira", chicken droppings and mullein. Organic and mineral fertilizers alternate. Before applying fertilizers, the soil is moistened with plain water.
6. Shaping the pepper growing in the pot is not necessary. Even if you do not pinch it, it will not grow more than 35 cm.
7. The fruits of the Fire are tied without artificial pollination. But artificial pollination will significantly increase the yield of the variety. To do this, use a soft dry brush to go over each flower on the bush.
8. Once every two years, the pepper is transplanted into a container that will be 1 liter larger than the previous pot. In a cramped container, the plant will stop growing.

Diseases and pests

In the process of growing pepper, you need to regularly inspect the bushes for suspicious changes. They indicate that the plants were infected with diseases and pests:

1. Leaves peppers turn yellow and crumble, and the stems lose their turgor. Often this sign indicates root rot. This problem occurs when using ice water or excessive moisture in the soil. To remedy the situation, you need to dig out the bush, wait for its roots to dry and transplant it into new soil.
2. Spider mites and aphids usually get on peppers from outside or from other indoor plants. To get rid of insects, you need to prepare an infusion of 3 hot peppers, a liter of water and 1/5 of a bar of laundry soap. The composition is insisted for 3 days, shaking occasionally. Then the liquid is filtered and sprinkled with pepper, and neighboring plants.
3. If the leaves begin to turn red and fall off, then the pepper does not have enough light. Use a fluorescent lamp to remedy the situation.
4. If the bush does not bloom, it may be suffering from an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers.

Harvesting and storage

The first fruits of the Ogonyok ripen 3 months after sowing the seeds. They do not need to be picked immediately after ripening. They are stored on the bush for a long time.

After collecting, the Spark is stored in a dry dark place or in the refrigerator. In both cases, it will last more than 2 months.

How to grow a fire in the open field

Pepper light is also grown in the open field. In this case, its seedlings are prepared at home and planted in the garden when the height of the bush reaches 20 cm. This is done in early June or late May.

In the open ground, the height of the pepper sometimes reaches 1 m. The bush is tied up only if the plant is leaning to the ground.

Water the pepper early in the morning or at sunset. They feed him every 2 weeks. Chicken manure is used as fertilizer.

It is important to regularly weed the beds of pepper, while the weeds have not yet grown and their root has not matured. Mature weeds will damage the roots of cultivated plants.

The beds are mulching. Straw, hay or humus are used as mulch. This measure is necessary to protect the pepper from frost, diseases and pests.

Cooking use

Pepper Ogonyok is a wonderful spice that makes many dishes more savory. There are many homemade recipes with this ingredient. Below are the most popular ones.

Recipes with Fire:

1. Pickled pepper. The pepper is washed, pierced in several places and put in a half-liter jar. 2/3 glasses of sugar and 2 tbsp are poured into the same jar. l with a slide of salt. The rest of the volume is poured with table vinegar. The jar is closed with a screw cap and placed in the refrigerator or closet. After a month, the pepper will acquire an interesting taste and become less pungent, and the brine will be saturated with aroma and pungency. Such a blank is stored for several years.
2. Dried peppers... The fruits of the light are washed, wiped with a paper towel and placed in a warm place for 2-3 days. Then the pepper is placed on a string, which is tied up in a dry, dark place. This pepper is crushed and used as a condiment or to make a flavored oil.

Reviews

The light is liked by all housewives who love spicy food. Reviews about him are mostly positive.

Julia, Dnepropetrovsk: “I have been growing Ogonyok at home for several years. In the winter on the windowsill, and in the summer on the balcony. Very spicy but tasty. During fruiting and flowering, the bushes look beautiful. I add peppers to food, pickle and eat them raw. "

Igor, Krasnoyarsk:“Last year I planted Ogonyok at my home. I grow in a large pot on the windowsill. The plant does not require special care. I feed only 2 times a month. The peppers are small but very spicy. Just 1-2 things will make your meal spicy. I like".

Conclusion

Pepper Ogonyok is a great option for all spicy lovers. It is suitable for growing not only in the open field, but also on the windowsill. In the second case, he also pleases with a high yield.

Growing a Spark is not difficult. Observing all the rules and following the instructions, any amateur florist will cope with this task.