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Sweet or Bulgarian pepper is one of the most widespread vegetable crops in Our Country. It is grown in open unprotected ground in the southern regions and the middle lane, and in greenhouses – almost everywhere. Despite the fact that the plant is extremely thermophilic, which is not surprising, because its homeland is the tropics of Central and Latin America, the modern level of agricultural technology and high-quality breeding work make it possible to obtain worthy yields of a tasty and healthy vegetable in domestic conditions.
Description and benefits of sweet pepper
The culture in question is an annual plant, with single or group leaves in the form of a rosette, as a rule, of various shades of green. The flowers of sweet pepper are large, the fruits are false hollow berries of various bright colors (from red and yellow to brown and green). A feature of sweet pepper is that it has many alternative names, most of which are actively used in everyday life – bell pepper, paprika, vegetable pepper, red or green pepper.
The main advantage of Bulgarian pepper is its excellent taste. Most varieties of vegetables are universal, that is, they can be used in various forms: salads, after heat treatment, for canning. There is probably no person in Our Country who has not tried the classic stuffed peppers or the extremely popular lecho at least once.
But eating pepper for food, a person rarely thinks about its many and extremely useful properties. It suffices to list just a few of them:
- a huge amount of vitamins. In terms of the content of extremely useful vitamin C, sweet pepper is the best among all vegetables, and only black currant and rosehip differ from plants with a large amount of it. Pepper is also a supplier of a very rare vitamin P that has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system of a person. According to numerous studies, with the constant use of bell pepper, the risk of stroke is almost halved – by 46%. In addition to those listed, the healthy vegetable also contains B vitamins;
- high content of nutrients. Potassium, magnesium, iron, iodine – they all enter the human body in the required quantities with regular consumption of sweet pepper. The rare capsoicin deserves special mention. This substance has a beneficial effect on appetite, starting and activating the processes of digestion. Its content is especially high in black pepper and chili, but in sweet it is quite sufficient to use as an aperitif at the beginning of lunch or dinner;
- disease prevention and treatment. This paragraph is in many ways a continuation of the previous two. The presence of a large number of useful substances and vitamins allows the use of pepper as a variety of health-improving diets. For example, it helps in the treatment of a wide variety of forms of neuralgia. In addition, studies conducted in recent years show that the constant use of sweet peppers significantly reduces the risk of the possible occurrence of various cancers.
The given rather large list of useful properties of pepper allows us to say with confidence that satisfaction from its excellent taste properties is far from all that it can and does give to a person.
Features of growing sweet pepper
Bulgarian pepper is a fairly thermophilic crop with a long ripening period. Based on these characteristics, cultivation, as a rule, occurs in several stages.
Growing seedlings
Seeds used for planting seedlings can be purchased or collected by yourself. It should be borne in mind that hybrids labeled F1 are not suitable for independent seed harvesting, as they do not transfer their properties to the next generation.
Sowing of seeds takes place in domestic conditions approximately at the junction of winter and spring.
It is best to plant the seeds in separate special cups.
Caring for pepper seedlings is practically the same as caring for similar vegetable crops: regular watering, top dressing, it is allowed to harden, the benefits of which there is no consensus among experts. The optimal seedling size is 20-25 cm.
Planting in a greenhouse or open ground
Planting in greenhouses in central Our Country occurs around the beginning of May. It should be noted that seedling picking is not performed.
In open unprotected ground, sweet pepper seedlings are planted in early June. Optimal precursors are onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes or eggplants. For faster growth and ripening for sweet peppers, calm places in the garden are chosen.
Before rooting seedlings, it must be covered with a film. When planting different varieties, they should be separated as much as possible from each other in order to preserve their features and differences.
Care for sweet pepper
Agrotechnical methods of caring for bell peppers are quite traditional. The plant requires regular and fairly abundant watering, which should become even more intense during fruit ripening.
The earth should be loose, top dressing is done 2 times per season – during the flowering of the vegetable and during fruiting.
Sweet pepper is quite susceptible to diseases and pests, so it is advisable to carry out preventive spraying.
Compliance with the described simple techniques will allow you to get a decent harvest of a healthy and tasty vegetable.
The best varieties and hybrids of pepper
Specialized stores offer gardeners a huge selection of a wide variety of varieties and hybrids of sweet pepper.
Apricot Favorite
Bulgarian pepper variety Apricot favorite is intended mainly for planting in unprotected ground. However, quite often it is used in greenhouses, where it also shows excellent qualities. The bush of a vegetable plant is rather low, rarely grows up to 0,5 m. The shape of peppercorns is cone-shaped. Their color varies from light green (technical maturity stage) to orange and even apricot (biological maturity stage), which was the reason for the name of the variety.
Apricot favorite peppercorns are quite large, often exceeding 150 grams. At the same time, their wall thickness is quite ordinary – 7 mm. The high yield of the Apricot Favoritka variety is achieved by the fact that up to 20 fruits ripen simultaneously on each bush. In addition to productivity, the undoubted advantage of the variety is its resistance to many of the most common diseases.
Agapovsky
Not so long ago (in 1995), a sweet pepper variety bred by breeders is currently one of the most common and popular. The reasons for this lie in its excellent properties and characteristics.
The variety of bell pepper allows you to start harvesting in about 100-110 days, that is, it is early ripe. The bush of the plant has a compact shape, not very tall, on the trunk and branches – a large number of leaves, bright dark green. Peppercorns are in the form of a prism, the ribbing of the surface is weakly expressed. The size of the fruit is quite small, rarely exceeding a mass of 120 grams. The wall thickness is quite standard – 6-7 mm.
A distinctive feature of the variety is its high yield. With proper and competent care, it can reach 10 kg / sq. m. But the productivity of the dignity of the variety is not limited. In addition to it, Agapovsky is able to successfully resist many of the most common diseases in domestic conditions, for example, blossom end rot, tobacco mosaic virus. In addition, experts note the excellent taste properties of the variety, which are universal.
Orange
Quite common in central Our Country, the Orange variety is mid-season. The bush of a vegetable plant is low, rarely grows above 0,45 meters. Peppercorns have a very prominent bright orange color, sometimes turning into red-orange. Their shape is rounded-elongated, with a smooth surface and no ribbing.
The variety of bell pepper Orange, against the background of numerous relatives, stands out with two features at once:
- the presence of many small (up to 40 g) fruits, giving the bell pepper bush an original look;
- characteristic especially sweet taste and persistent aroma.
According to the method of consumption, the variety of Bulgarian pepper Orange belongs to the universal ones, retaining its original taste both in salads and during heat treatment, as well as in canning or cooking lecho.
The variety has properties that facilitate and simplify its cultivation in the middle lane, even in open, unprotected ground. It is unpretentious to care and growing conditions, has the ability to withstand the effects of cold temperatures, and is resistant to most pests and diseases.
California miracle
The California Miracle variety owes its wide popularity and distribution to its extraordinary characteristics. It is mid-season, allows you to get a crop in less than 110-120 days. The bush of a vegetable plant is compact, but very large – its height often reaches 1 meter or more. Very powerful and resilient branches depart from the stem, so the plant does not need any garter.
Peppercorns of the California miracle are relatively large, the mass of each sometimes reaches 130-150 grams, and often exceeds this figure. The variety is characterized by the fleshy structure of the viscera of the fruit and their density. The color of peppercorns is red or bright red, the shape is a regular cube, the surface of the fruit has a slight ribbing.
The variety of sweet pepper belongs to the universal both in terms of the method of consumption (retains excellent taste properties in salads, during heat treatment and canning), and in terms of the method of cultivation (in the protected ground of greenhouses and in open ground conditions). At the same time, the taste qualities of the California miracle are considered one of the best.
In addition to the advantages already listed, the sweet pepper variety is quite resistant to diseases, has a high and stable yield from year to year.
Hybrid sweet pepper Kakadu F1
The hybrid of sweet pepper Kakadu F1 has extremely original properties that distinguish it from most relatives. In terms of ripening speed, it is mid-season. The hybrid has a rare, extremely tall shrub with a spreading shape and an extremely large number of leaves. Its height often reaches one and a half meters.
The bell pepper hybrid is specially bred for growing in greenhouses, any kind of which suits it perfectly – film, polycarbonate, and glass. Peppercorns, as a rule, have a slightly elongated shape of an elongated cylinder. The fruits are also quite large in size, often exceeding 30 cm in length, while the wall thickness is quite ordinary – 6-8 mm. As a result of such dimensions, the mass of one peppercorn can reach 0,5 kg.
The yield of this hybrid often exceeds 3 kg of fruit from one bush. It has excellent taste properties and is versatile in its preparation method.
An additional highlight of the hybrid is the presence of two varieties at once. In addition to the already described, and more common bright red, reminiscent of the colors of the famous parrot, which gave the name to the hybrid, there is another one – with yellow peppercorns. Their dimensions are somewhat inferior in size, but also quite large – weighing 0,3-0,4 kg and about 15 cm long. The second variety also has excellent taste.
Sweet pepper hybrid Isabella F1
The main distinguishing feature of the Isabella hybrid is a fairly high yield and excellent taste properties. The plant is mid-season, its fruits reach technical maturity in about 120 days. The bush of vegetable culture is tall, closed shape.
Peppercorns reach fairly large sizes when ripe. Often their weight becomes 160 grams or more. At the same time, the fruits are relatively thick-walled – 8-10 mm. Their shape is a regular prism, the color of peppercorns is various shades of bright red.
Isabella hybrid fruits are great for fresh consumption. But they retain their taste properties both during canning and during the heat treatment necessary for cooking.
Isabella, with proper and attentive care, is quite capable of bringing 10 kg of fruit per sq. m. This does not require anything extraordinary, since the hybrid is unpretentious to growing conditions, which is an additional plus.
Conclusion
The choice of a particular variety or hybrid of bell pepper depends only on the desire and preferences of the gardener. A huge offer of a wide variety of sweet pepper seeds will allow you to fulfill any of its requirements and wishes without any problems, and the right choice and compliance with the requirements of agricultural technology will allow you to get a decent harvest of an extremely healthy and very tasty vegetable.