Pepper Swallow: reviews, photos

Sweet pepper belongs to the nightshade family. At home, it is a perennial, in Our Country it is grown as an annual crop. There are many varieties and hybrids of this vegetable of various colors and shapes. Choosing among them the best for yourself is not an easy task. The time for sowing seedlings is just around the corner, so it’s time to decide. We advise you to pay attention to the variety of sweet pepper Swallow. The mere fact that gardeners are still planting it, although more than 50 years have passed since the variety was entered into the State Register of Agricultural Achievements, speaks volumes.

Pepper Swallow, reviews of which gardeners are only positive, has not been lost among many recently bred varieties and occupies a worthy place. Let’s take a closer look at this variety, and for this we will draw up a detailed description and description of the Swallow pepper and accompany it with a photo.

Description and characteristics

Pepper Swallow is the result of the selection of plants of an even older, but productive Moldova variety. The swallow favorably differs from the parental form in the greater height of the bush, increased productivity and earlier ripening. And now more about the sweet pepper of the Swallow variety, which is shown in the photo.

• A bush of medium height – up to 65 cm. It has a standard shape. With a heavy crop load, it needs a garter to a support.
• The ripening period is medium early. Technical ripeness occurs on the 116th day, but in case of unfavorable weather this period can be moved up to 121 days.
• The fruits are large, can grow up to 100 g with a considerable wall thickness – up to 7 mm. The length of one pepper is up to 10 cm. The shape of the fruit of the pepper variety Swallow is cone-shaped. Their color at the stage of technical ripeness is bright green, and when fully ripe – rich red. Pepper Swallow can collect seeds for sowing next year. They are taken from the fruits on the first three tiers. Peppers should fully ripen on the bush.
• This variety of pepper is intended not only for amateur gardeners, but also for commercial production. It ripens well if picked green, has a long shelf life and is well transported. You can cook summer salads from Swallow pepper, it is also good for any canned food.
• Pepper Swallow is unpretentious, grows well with minimal care and perfectly tolerates all the vagaries of the weather.
• A worthy harvest – up to 6 kg per sq. m with good care. He gives it away in unison.

It takes a lot of work to harvest such a crop.

Peculiarities of growing

Pepper Swallow can be sown with seeds only in the southern regions, where there is early spring and long summer. Those who live to the north need to grow seedlings.

Pepper seedlings – how to grow

It is very important to sow seeds for seedlings on time. Too early sowing is associated with the need to illuminate the seedlings, which not everyone can do. With late sowing, the plants will not have time to develop before planting. In order for the peppers to grow well, it takes from 60 to 80 days, depending on the variety. For the Swallow variety, this period is about 70 days. If you plan to plant pepper in a greenhouse, you need to sow seeds for seedlings in mid-late February. For open ground, you need to do this later – in early March.

How to prepare seeds before sowing?

• Both from your own and from purchased seeds, you need to select only full-weight, dry and feeble ones will not sprout.
• Seeds must be decontaminated in order to destroy pathogens that can be transmitted with seed material. Usually, a solution of potassium permanganate with a concentration of 1% is used for this. Soaking is carried out for about 20 minutes. You can use a fungicide solution to treat the seeds. After dressing, the seeds are washed.
• Soaking in a growth stimulator is mandatory. It increases the energy of seed germination, and the plants themselves will be healthier. Most often, humate, epin, zircon, and ash solution are used.

  

• The seeds that have sprung are guaranteed to sprout. It is better to germinate them on cotton pads moistened with water. They need to be put on a saucer or plate and wrapped in plastic wrap or put on a plastic bag. The disc must be constantly wet. Seeds are aired several times a day by removing the bag or unfolding the film.

The seeds that have hatched are sown in steamed soil intended for growing nightshade crops. You can sow them in a common container to a depth of 1,5 cm and with a distance between seeds of 2 cm.

Therefore, it is better to immediately sow the seeds of Swallow pepper in separate containers with a volume of about 100 ml. The seeds that have hatched are laid out one by one, those that have not germinated are best sown by 2.

The excess plant after germination is not pulled out, but carefully cut off. After the formation of 2-3 true leaves, the plants are transferred into cups or cassettes, with a volume of about 0,5 liters, trying not to destroy the earthen clod. Seedling conditions:

• the daylight hours for it should last about 12 hours, if it is shorter, the plants are illuminated with fitolamps;
• pepper is a heat-loving crop, the temperature for it at night should be about 20 degrees, during the day from 23 to 25;
• this vegetable does not like the drying of the soil layer, so watering should be regular only with warm settled water;
• if the soil for seedlings is well seasoned with nutrients, you can do without top dressing; if you don’t want to let everything go by itself, then feed the seedlings twice with a solution of a complete mineral fertilizer that does not contain chlorine, combining top dressing with watering. If you want the bushes to branch better, which automatically increases the yield, pinch the tops of the plants after 4-6 internode. Better to do it with scissors.

  

• hardening pepper seedlings Swallow before planting is a necessary event, it is carried out 2 weeks before the plants are moved to the garden, gradually increasing the time spent outdoors.

Transplanting

By the time of planting, the first buds should already be on the peppers of the Swallow variety. By this time, stable heat is established.

The soil for pepper should be fertilized, as it prefers soil with a high content of humus. Its reaction should be neutral, so you can’t do without ash in the beds. In addition, it is a source of potassium, which pepper is very fond of. On heavy soils, a good crop of Swallow pepper cannot be obtained. For early varieties, to which the Swallow belongs, fertilized sandy loam is most suitable. If you decide to plant mid-ripening or late-ripening peppers, you will need loam or black soil.

Swallow pepper seedlings are planted according to the scheme: 40 cm between plants and 60 cm between rows. Plants do not bury when planting. The holes shed very well and be sure to mulch the soil under the plants. The next watering – only after 5 days. All this time, the seedlings should be covered with lutrasil or other covering material. It will protect it from the sun’s rays and reduce the evaporation of moisture.

Pepper Preferences Swallow

Pepper is a capricious culture. For its successful cultivation, the following conditions must be met:

• He loves warmth. In regions with cool nights, even in open ground, temporary film shelters are needed. Otherwise, all the forces of plants will be spent on overcoming stress from the cold, and not on the formation of the crop.
• Watering. Peppers are very fond of water. It responds to its deficiency by dropping buds and a shortage of crops, since the fruits grow less than it should be according to varietal characteristics. Excess moisture in the soil makes it difficult to absorb nitrogen, which also reduces the yield. Usually, in the absence of rain, pepper is watered as soon as the top layer of soil dries out a few centimeters. It is better to water from a watering can. This increases the humidity of the air, which is necessary for good pollination of flowers.

  

• Top dressing. Pepper Swallow loves to eat, so top dressing should be regular – every 2 weeks. Make them a complete mineral fertilizer with trace elements. When growing Swallow pepper, one should not get carried away with nitrogen fertilizers so that the plants do not grow green mass instead of fruits.
• Mulching. This is a very useful event for sweet peppers. The soil covered with mulch not only retains moisture, but also prevents it from overheating in the heat and overcooling in cool weather. Loosening and weeding disappear. Therefore, much less labor is spent on growing mulched peppers.

  

Conclusion

Pepper Swallow is a proven and reliable variety. Due to its plasticity, it easily adapts to any growing conditions and does not suffer so much from weather changes. Pepper variety Swallow is an excellent choice. You can learn more about growing Swallows from the video:

Reviews