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In the climatic conditions of the Moscow region, growing sweet fleshy peppers is quite a feasible task for gardeners. There is a wide selection of seeds on the market that are adapted to this region. There are a large number of varieties that will not only sprout well, but also give a rich harvest. The presence of a greenhouse on a personal plot allows you to grow strong and healthy plants that will bear fruit until frost.
Benefits of growing peppers in a greenhouse
- In protected ground, the plant does not depend on weather conditions.
- An optimal microclimate is created in the soil, which has a beneficial effect on the survival rate of seedlings.
- It is easier to care for plants in a greenhouse – the bushes are less susceptible to diseases and insect attacks.
- In a greenhouse, peppers bear fruit faster and longer.
Only one minus can be noted – a limited space, in which there is often not enough space for growing a large number of plants. Therefore, breeders have bred special varieties of pepper for greenhouses with undersized and compact bushes. You can slightly increase the planting density and save space for other plants.
Varieties of sweet pepper for greenhouses
Not every pepper for a greenhouse in the Moscow region will give a good harvest. Varieties that are intended for growing in greenhouses tolerate the lack of sunlight and excess humidity well.
California miracle
One of the most unpretentious varieties, with good germination and survival. This variety of pepper is ideal for the first experience of growing pepper in a greenhouse. The fruits are large, fleshy, heavy. Pepper ripens 100 days after mass shoots appear. Up to 2 kg of fruit can be harvested from one plant per season.
Arsenal
Mid-season variety with large (up to 200 g) red fruits. Suitable for fresh consumption, well preserved and stored for a long time. The plant is unpretentious, takes root well in the greenhouse.
Ox ear
A large-fruited early ripe variety that begins to bear fruit 90 days after planting the seedlings in the greenhouse. The fruits are red, large, elongated with a small number of shallow folds. Pepper flesh is thick and juicy. The taste is good both fresh and canned.
Hercules
A mid-season variety of pepper cultivated in the Moscow region. It is undemanding in leaving and is steady against diseases. The fruits have the shape of an elongated tetrahedron, with juicy and thick pulp. Good for frying and canning. Well kept. The variety bears fruit until late autumn. The plant is low, with a small number of leaves.
orange king
An early ripe unpretentious variety of pepper, gives a bountiful harvest in greenhouses. The recommended planting density is 5-6 bushes per 1 sq. m. The fruits are large, bright orange. They look beautiful in salads and in jars with homemade preparations. The plant enters fruiting 2 and a half months after the seeds sprout.
Bagheera
Very large fruits are painted in blue almost black color. By the time of full ripening, the pepper acquires a reddish hue. In greenhouse conditions, one bush produces about 2,5 kg of fruit. The palatability is good – the pulp is juicy, thick, with a sweet aftertaste. The plant enters fruiting 100 days after transplanting seedlings into greenhouse soil.
Golden calf
A low plant with a pyramidal crown begins to bear fruit profusely 3 months after the seeds have been sown. The fruits are golden in color, very large – up to 400 g. The pulp is thick and juicy. Well suited for canning and salting.
Pinocchio
Early ripe variety of pepper. In a greenhouse, the plant produces a crop 80-90 days after emergence. The bush is tall, but branches weakly. The bright red fruits can grow up to 17 cm long and 8 cm wide. Pepper flesh is thick, juicy and sweet. This variety is one of the most unpretentious. Seeds sprout quickly and amicably, the plant easily takes root in a new place.
These varieties of pepper are ideal for a greenhouse in the Moscow region. All of them are compact, do not require formation and garters.
How to grow sweet peppers in a greenhouse
Growing pepper begins with soil preparation. The best soil for this plant is a mixture of clay soil with compost, potash and nitrogen fertilizers. In autumn, earth is poured onto the landing site, onto which a mixture of mineral fertilizers is evenly distributed at the rate of 3-4 kg per 1 m2. From above they cover with a layer of humus mixed with dry leaves, sawdust, ash or charcoal. From above you need to properly water and cover with a film until spring. At the same time, you can prepare a nutrient substrate for plant nutrition. Manure and soddy land are mixed in a container. Ash is poured and filled with water. This can also be done in a shallow pit – before feeding the plants, the resulting mixture is simply diluted in water.
Seed preparation
Before sowing greenhouse varieties of pepper, there is no need to additionally process and harden the seeds.
The seed preparation process consists of three stages:
- Calibration;
- Disinfection;
- Germination.
Preparation of seeds for sowing can begin a week before the expected date of sowing seeds, that is, in mid-February.
Calibration or sorting is a necessary procedure by which small and dry seeds are rejected. To do this, the seeds need to be filled with warm water. After an hour, those seeds that remain on the surface of the water must be thrown away, and the remaining ones must be dried. From these seeds, the largest are selected.
Disinfection of pepper seeds is carried out by soaking them in potassium permanganate. The solution should be dark. Seeds are placed in a shallow saucer and poured with a solution. After three hours, they are washed with clean water and dried. Potassium permanganate not only relieves the upper shell of the seeds from the fungus, but also stimulates germination.
Germinating the seeds before sowing will help the plants sprout faster. A damp cotton cloth or gauze folded in several layers is placed on a plate. Seeds are laid out on it and covered with the same cloth. A saucer with seeds is placed in a warm and lit place. You need to keep track of that. Keep the fabric always damp.
Seed sowing
After 3-4 days, as soon as the pepper seeds swell enough and roots appear on them, you can start sowing. Since the seedlings will need to dive in the future, the seeds can be sown in a long narrow box. The height of the sides should not exceed 20 cm.
Sawdust and a little sand are added to the soil for indoor plants. It is recommended to calcine the finished soil in the oven – this will help get rid of bacteria and harmful microorganisms. The box is filled with moist soil to a depth of 15-16 cm. Shallow (up to 1,5 cm) grooves are made with a knife or finger. Seeds are neatly laid out at a distance of 1-2 cm from each other and covered with earth. From above you need to pour water with a watering can or spray bottle. A box with seedlings is covered with dark opaque polyethylene and placed in a warm place.
Pepper seeds do not need light for the first few days to germinate. The soil has a sufficient level of moisture due to natural condensation.
The film is removed as soon as more seeds have sprouted. Now the pepper sprouts need an additional light source. To do this, you can put the box on the windowsill or hang a fluorescent lamp above it.
Picks
The root system of greenhouse pepper varieties is more sensitive to transplantation than other nightshade crops. Picking will provide more space for the growth of seedlings and roots. This procedure is carried out 15-20 days after germination. During this time, 2-3 leaves will form, and the seedlings become cramped in the box. It is not recommended to wait longer, as the roots of the plants are intertwined, which makes it difficult to transplant seedlings.
Mineral fertilizers (ammonium nitrate, superphosphate, potassium chloride) are added to the disinfected soil for pepper seedlings at the rate of 1 kg of the mixture per 1 cu. m of soil.
The soil mixture is laid out in small pots or cups on a drainage layer of fine gravel. The volume of a separate container should not exceed 200 g. At the picking stage, the root system is superficial and compact. A large amount of soil can turn sour, and this will lead to diseases. The cups should have holes for the outflow of water.
Two days before picking, the seedlings need to be watered so that the sprouts can be easily removed from the box without injuring the roots of the plants.
The technology of picking pepper seedlings
- In the container, you need to compact the soil, make a hole for the plant in the center and pour water into it;
- Using a spoon, carefully remove the pepper seedling from the box. Choose the healthiest and strongest sprouts;
- The seedling is placed in the hole so that the roots are freely located in it. If lateral roots have not formed, then it is necessary to pinch the central root. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain the same planting depth as before picking. Otherwise, stem rot may occur;
- The hole is carefully sprinkled with earth and watered;
- A glass with a seedling of pepper is placed in a common container.
The first days after picking, the plants must be left in the same place where it was sown. Then the process of adaptation for pepper will be quick and painless. After 10 days, the seedlings need to be fed with the mixture that was prepared in the fall in the greenhouse. Pepper sprouts should be watered abundantly before and after feeding. You can fertilize with mineral fertilizers or a growth stimulator. In 10 liters of water, dilute 1 g of potassium permanganate, 2 g of copper sulfate and 1-2 g of boric acid. The solution should stand for at least a day, after which you can water the sprouts.
Transplanting seedlings in the greenhouse
5-7 days after picking, pepper seedlings need to be prepared for greenhouse conditions. In the daytime, a box with plants is taken out to the greenhouse. During this time, the sprouts will get stronger, 10-12 leaves will form, new buds will appear in the sinuses, and it will be possible to start transplanting.
From the area intended for planting pepper, remove the film and dig up the ground. It is necessary to make a bed 50-55 cm wide and, three days before planting seedlings, pour it with a mixture for feeding. To prevent shedding of soil from the edges of the beds, you can make wooden sides. This will eliminate the need for hilling plants in the greenhouse and facilitate crop care. Such a bed will keep its shape well, and will ensure an even distribution of water when watering the plants.
Plant transplantation is best done in the evening, at night. On the morning of planting, the seedlings are watered abundantly.
The technology of planting seedlings in the garden
- A hole is made in the garden with a chopper. Its depth should correspond to the height of the pot with the seedling.
- Pour water into the hole.
- The seedling is carefully removed along with a clod of earth, then moved to a recess in the garden and sprinkled with earth.
- The earth around the sprout needs to be compacted and watered.
Greenhouse varieties of pepper are tolerant of the lack of sunlight. But excessive shading can cause the plant to wither. Therefore, next to the pepper in the greenhouse, it is better not to plant tall or climbing crops. When choosing “neighbors” for bell pepper, keep in mind that their height should be lower. In close proximity to the pepper bed, you can plant greens or root crops.
Watering peppers in the greenhouse
The first 10 days in the greenhouse, pepper seedlings are watered under the root. During this time, they will take root well and new leaves will appear. Now you can feed the plants.
On the 10th day after transplanting the pepper, the ground around the stem is carefully loosened and a feeding solution is poured. This procedure is repeated as soon as the plant blooms.
Caring for plants during the fruiting period
The stem of the bell pepper is strong and stable, and the fruits are light, so it does not need to be tied up. To get a good harvest, it is recommended to remove the first ovary, which is formed at the bottom of the plant. Since the pepper bush is not yet ripe enough to bear fruit, the first fruit of the pepper is a parasite that will draw strength from it. For the same reason, it is necessary to get rid of excess shoots that form before the first fork of the plant in a timely manner.
As soon as 4-5 fruits are formed on the bush, top dressing can be omitted. Pepper has entered the fruiting stage and all it needs at this stage is moisture and warmth.
With a lack of moisture in the soil, brown spots appear on the fruits, which will lead to the development of gray rot. Therefore, watering should be timely. It is impossible to allow stagnation of water in the soil, for this, before each watering, the earth in the aisle must be loosened.
This video tells the main tricks of growing peppers in a greenhouse:
By the time of abundant fruiting, stable warm weather will already be established on the street, and the greenhouse can be ventilated. At this time, you need to make sure that insects do not attack the plants. Plants should be checked regularly. When signs of pests appear in the greenhouse, it is necessary to remove all the fruits and treat the pepper bushes with a soap and tobacco solution. To protect the roots, the soil around the plants is watered with ammonia, which must first be diluted with water in a 1: 1 ratio.