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The birthplace of this wonderful vegetable is called Central America, and the number of its varieties today reaches 2 thousand. Despite its thermophilicity and increased demands on the conditions of care, pepper has a lot of positive qualities, for which we are very fond of gardeners in our country. We will tell you about how to choose the right variety for planting, prepare seedlings, plant a vegetable on your site, and also about growing pepper in this article.
Variety choice
Green, orange, red, yellow, oval, cone-shaped – it is so different, but at the same time it is a real storehouse of vitamins and microelements. There is a division of varieties according to the ripening period, but almost all of them are adapted to our area, and can be grown even in the Urals and Siberia. They are early, mid-season and late. Early varieties ripen perfectly in open ground not only in the Urals, Siberia, but also in other regions of our country. But later ones can grow normally only in greenhouse conditions, but with some effort, they can also be grown in Siberia, the Urals and other areas.
The best varieties of pepper with an early term can be called Hercules, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Health, Dobrynya Nikitich, Orange Miracle F1, Denis F1. Hercules can be tried after 70 days. It has fruits up to 11 cm long, which can weigh about 250 grams. Hercules has a sweet taste, it comes in green and red. Also, Hercules peppers are highly productive, disease resistant, well stored and transported. In addition to the Hercules variety, the rest of the above species also have excellent characteristics.
Among the mid-season varieties, it is worth choosing the California miracle, Marconi, Gift of Moldova, Belozerka, Prometheus, Vitamin F1, Maxim F1, Ilya Muromets. The California miracle vegetable takes 100 to 130 days to ripen. The California miracle has an average bush size up to 0 meters high. Its bush produces up to 7 fruits that are cuboid in shape and rich red in color. The California miracle has a pleasant taste, sometimes there is a slight bitterness. The California Miracle can be consumed fresh, as well as marinated and processed. Variety California miracle today is very popular.
In addition to the California miracle pepper and other mid-season species, gardeners also prefer to grow late varieties. Such as Black Cardinal, Aristotle, Red Bull, Gold Medal, Night F1. Pepper Black Cardinal comes from distant sunny Italy. Variety Black cardinal has fruits that have an unusual color. Vegetables of the type Black cardinal during the period of technical ripeness are black, and in biological from black they turn into amazing bright red. The black cardinal is also distinguished by an interesting fruit shape – a truncated pyramid. The height of a standard fruit bush of the Black Cardinal variety reaches 60 cm. The Black Cardinal Pepper has a dense and pleasant center. And the yield of the Black Cardinal variety reaches 10 kg per square meter.
Also, a vegetable is distinguished by its shape and its inherent size. Among the varieties of long sweet pepper, you can choose such as Ramiro, Zdorovye, Sweet banana, Roman, Rhapsody F1. For example, Ramiro pepper has a beautiful oblong shape. Outwardly, Ramiro is very reminiscent of a large chili pepper. Ramiro has a sweet taste and thin skin. Ramiro is also very rich in vitamin C. Ramiro peppers are loved to be added to all sorts of delicious and healthy salads, but also stuffed, stewed and grilled.
Pepper varieties called large-fruited are Atlant, Bogatyr, Cow’s ear, “Maradona F1. Modern thick-walled varieties of pepper are represented by such species as Big Papa, Gingerbread Man, Eskimo F1, Gemini F1. Our video will tell you more about the choice of varieties.
You can grow peppers at home. Decorative, he is indoor pepper can decorate any kitchen interior. Decorative pepper can have a different shape – from oval to cylindrical, depending on what kind it will be. In order for decorative pepper to have good fruits, you need to know what components make up its care at home. A houseplant will definitely need a well-lit place with light ventilation at home. It is recommended to sow seeds of ornamental pepper in the period from February to early March.
At home, for full growth and harmonious development of culture in the room during the day should be up to 28, and at night – at least 20 degrees Celsius. The decorative type of vegetable crop will also require frequent watering, carried out directly under the root. During the growth period, fertilizers are important for indoor pepper. When keeping ornamental pepper at home, do not forget about the formation of its magnificent bush. You can see all the nuances of growing on the video.
For keeping pepper at home, undersized varieties of ornamental pepper are chosen. Blau – a bush up to 16 cm high, producing cone-shaped fruits from dark blue to dark red, and Roth – a bush up to 25 cm high, giving cone-shaped fruits about 4 cm, the color of which is from yellow to bright red. Edible varieties of indoor pepper are Bride, Troll, Salute, Black Prince, Carmen, Bouquet of the East F1, Masquerade F1, and inedible varieties are Clown, Orange, Goldfinger, Pepperoni, Red Rocket, Goldfinger.
Video “Tips for Growing Peppers”
seedling preparation
The seeds of this vegetable, like eggplant, in the absence of a greenhouse, should be sown in February. It would be correct to place pepper seeds, like eggplants, in pots of peat, the diameter of which will be no more than 10 cm. For future seedlings, they take light soil with a loose structure, which usually consists of two parts of humus, 1 part of sand and 1 part of earth. A tablespoon of ash should be added per kilogram of such a mixture.
Before planting, the seeds of our vegetable crop, like eggplant, are kept for about five hours to swell in water. After that, they put it in a piece of cloth soaked in water for pecking for a couple of days.
This will allow you to get the first shoots the next day after sowing. The sown seeds are well watered, and then covered with glass or film. Placed in a well-lit place where the temperature reaches about 22 degrees. After you see the first fragile shoots, it should be 26 – 28 degrees during the day and up to 15 at night. For irrigation, it is advised to use warm water and not to carry it out too often. Air for peppers, like eggplants, should not be overdried. Our video will tell you how to grow seedlings correctly.
Landing
The best precursors for pepper are cucumbers, onions, pumpkins, cabbage after green manure, zucchini, carrots. Bad, as experience shows, are eggplant, tomatoes, physalis, potatoes, peppers. For planting peppers, like eggplants, light soils are suitable. Five days before planting the seedlings, it is necessary to disinfect the soil – they take a tablespoon of copper sulfate and dissolve it in a bucket of water. It is customary to plant seedlings in natural conditions at the end of May – mid-June according to the scheme 40 by 40 cm. The seedlings should be placed in the hole at the same depth at which they were in the seedling box or glass.
Peppers, like eggplants, need beds with a rise of about 25 – 55 cm. Peppers are highly susceptible to pollination, so when planting several varieties, you need to separate them with tall tomatoes, sunflowers or corn. It is advisable to grow peppers, like eggplants, before planting in open ground even in the southern regions of the country, and not only in Siberia or the Urals. You will learn how to plant seedlings in the following video.
Care
Let’s talk about the features of agricultural technology of this crop. Caring for peppers, like eggplants, includes many important steps. This plant requires a temperature of about + 20 – 25 degrees. If the indicators fall below +13, caring for the plant involves covering it with protective materials. Also, competent care is impossible without watering with warm water (about +24 – 26 degrees). It must be rain or settled.
Before flowering, watering should be done once a week, during the hot period – twice. The norm is up to 12 liters per square meter. During the period of flowering and fruiting, care for peppers, like eggplants, involves watering up to three times a week and 14 liters of water.
Also, agricultural technology of culture is impossible without fertilization. During the flowering period, a mixture of nettle leaves, wood lice, coltsfoot, dandelion, plantain, mixed with 10 liters of rotted manure and 10 tbsp. spoons of ash. During the fruiting period, they are fed with a solution of 5 liters of bird droppings and 10 liters of rotted cow manure. When caring for plants, it is imperative to loosen the soil.
Also, mulching will help you with care, which will protect the soil from drying out and restrain the growth of weeds. Plant care also involves tying. This stage of care is required, since the pepper has fragile shoots that can break. It is recommended to plant tall crops around the garden, which will help in the further care of this vegetable – they will protect plantings from drafts and wind. This is, in brief, the agricultural technology of this beautiful vegetable crop.
About pollination
Growing pepper also involves its proper pollination to obtain a high and high-quality crop. The culture is self-pollinating, but experts and experienced gardeners advise having bumblebees or at least bees on the farm. Although the plants that are in your backyard may well be pollinated by other available insects. In the production conditions of the modern world, it is customary to use entire bumblebee families for pollination of vegetable crops. If plants during the period of intensive development cannot receive proper pollination, then the fruits of the vegetable can grow deformed.
At home, the following method is used – a triangle is cut off from an ordinary school gum, pricked on a needle, and then, using such a simple device, they simply transfer pollen from one flower to another. If you grow this vegetable in your backyard, then parsley and coriander planted in the aisles will be a good bait for pollinating insects. The use of apple and banana skins has also proven itself.
Video “Planting, care and harvesting”
All these three operations are an integral step in obtaining a rich harvest. To avoid mistakes, we recommend watching the following video.
