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Experienced gardeners of the Moscow region claim that it is possible to grow a good crop of pepper in any year, even if it is not very successful in terms of high temperature. But varieties must be selected, created specifically for the latitude of the Moscow region.
Many summer residents, looking for the best varieties of pepper for the Moscow region, make the mistake of choosing high-yielding, but bred for southern latitudes. Peppers, zoned for the Crimea or Moldova, will not give a full-fledged harvest in the Moscow region. Although their productivity in their “native lands” is very high.
It is better to choose varieties that are not so productive, but are guaranteed to produce a crop. Today, the choice of “northern” varieties of sweet peppers is very large. Only 400 varieties of pepper, zoned for northern latitudes, are included in the State Register. Such a large selection is even more confusing, and stores offer additional “southern” varieties and varieties of foreign producers.
Experienced gardeners, of course, try new varieties of pepper, but for a guarantee they plant already well-proven ones.
The best varieties of sweet pepper for the Moscow region
Pinocchio F1
Very early hybrid. Harvest time is 90 days. Hanging fruits. Pepper up to 17 cm long with a diameter at the base of the cone 6 cm. Wall thickness 5 mm. Ripe fruit is dark red. Peppers are well stored and transported. Designed for conservation.
Bush up to a meter high, sprawling, with limited branching, semi-determinate. The grade is recommended for the closed and open ground.
Czardas
An early ripe variety of pepper that yields after 95 days. The fruits and leaves on the bush are arranged in bunches. One bush gives 13-17 peppers with a total yield of up to 10 kg / m². The fruits are conical. The length varies from 13 to 16 centimeters with a base diameter of 6 to 8 centimeters. Wall thickness 6 mm.
Mature peppers are orange-red. Yellow-orange when unripe. Suitable for food at any stage.
The height of the bush is up to 70 cm. The variety is determinant. The bushes are dense, so you can plant up to 10 bushes per m².
Winnie the Pooh
A very famous and popular variety of pepper in the Middle lane. Pepper was bred in 1981 and still has not lost its relevance. An early ripe variety that yields a crop on the 105th day.
Bush up to 30 cm high, standard. There are few leaves, the fruits are collected in bunches. The variety is productive, although the fruits are medium-sized. One pepper weighs from 45 to 70 g with a wall thickness of 5 mm. At the same time, the yield per m² reaches 2 kg. It gives the maximum yield when plantings are thickened up to 20-25 bushes per m². The entire crop can be harvested in 2-3 harvests.
This pepper is often chosen by farms for the purpose of commercial cultivation. The pulp of the fruit is dense, due to which the pepper is distinguished by good keeping quality even at the stage of full ripening.
Health
Pepper has a high yield (up to 4,5 kg / m²) and good fruit set in low light conditions. The latter is one of the unique properties of this variety of pepper.
A very early maturing variety. Vegetation period 80 days. The bush is tall, can reach 1,7 m in height. Ripe fruits are red. If it is necessary to store the crop, peppers are harvested at the green color stage.
Pepper is small. Fruit length up to 12 cm with a base diameter of 6 cm. Wall thickness 4 mm. Weight up to 41 grams.
The Orange Miracle
Early maturing variety with a growing season of 100 days. The bushes are tall, reach 1 m. The bush has a very decorative appearance during the fruiting period. Orange peppers look very beautiful against the background of green foliage.
The fruits are cube-shaped, weighing up to 250 g and 10×9 cm in size. The pulp of peppers is very tender, with high taste, 6 mm thick. Intended for fresh consumption, cooking, conservation.
The yield of the variety is up to 14 kg / m². On one bush, on average, 10 peppers are tied. It can grow in open beds and greenhouses. Resistant to major viral diseases.
cornet
An early ripe variety that allows you to harvest on the 110th day. The fruits fully ripen on the 140th day. Peppers of this variety have an original dark brown color. Color is not the only advantage of this variety. Pepper is also distinguished by a high content of carotene and ascorbic acid.
The fruits are hanging prismatic. Pepper weight up to 220 g, size 8×7 cm. Wall thickness 6 mm. Mature fruits are brown, technical ripeness – dark green.
Peppers are best planted indoors. In shelters, it is more convenient to care for tall bushes of this variety and protect them from the wind. In an unheated greenhouse, the bush grows up to 160 cm, and in the winter up to 2 m. The bush is semi-determinant, with a small number of leaves.
In addition to those described, they grow well in the Moscow region Brave, Bagration, Actor, Barguzin, Patron. Which variety to choose depends on the capabilities and preferences of the gardener. Someone likes experiments and will plant new varieties like Cornet or Czardas. Someone will prefer the good old Winnie the Pooh or Health.
Little secret! Picking peppers at the stage of technical ripeness allows you to double the yield.
Summer residents about the best varieties of sweet pepper for the Moscow region, reviews
Growing seedlings
In the Moscow region, obtaining any varieties of pepper is possible only by pre-growing seedlings. If it is planned to plant seedlings immediately into the ground by transshipment from a seedling pot, the seeds are sown 50 days before planting. If there are picks in the plans, sowing is done in 60 days.
Preparation for sowing
First you need to select high-quality seeds so as not to waste resources in the form of soil and containers. Seeds are dipped in slightly salted water. A seed with a full filled core will sink, an empty one will remain floating. Empty ones are caught and thrown away, high-quality ones are collected, washed and dried.
You can speed up the germination of seeds by first placing them in a moist, warm environment. Pepper seeds are pre-soaked for 5-6 hours. Some people prefer to soak the seeds in a stimulant for 3-4 days, as pepper seeds take a long time to germinate.
The most common ways of sprouting: in a bag and on a saucer.
in a pouch
Seeds are soaked directly in a canvas bag. After soaking, the bag is taken out and cleaned in a warm place with a temperature of about +27°C. In a few days, the seeds will germinate. Some disadvantage of this method is that if you have several varieties of pepper, you will have to make several bags and mark them somehow, since all varieties of pepper are planted for seedlings at the same time.
On a saucer
The role of a saucer can be played by any container with a flat bottom. Put a napkin on the bottom, moisten it with water and spread the seeds. Top with another damp cloth. If the container is closed with a lid, then you do not have to maintain the moisture of the napkin.
If there are several varieties of pepper, a dry napkin can be divided into sectors with a ballpoint pen, signing the variety in each sector. Thus, instead of the time-consuming production of several bags, you can spend only five minutes marking the napkin. The main thing then is to correctly decompose the varieties into their branches.
in sponges
If there is no suitable container, you don’t want to make bags either, you can use ordinary foam sponges for washing dishes. Of course, sponges must be clean.
Sponges are pre-disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate, after which they are thoroughly squeezed. Each variety will require two sponges.
The seeds are placed between the sponges, the edges are fixed with rubber bands and the sponges are placed in a plastic bag, making sure that an air bubble remains in the bag.
No one has yet been able to manually wring out a piece of foam rubber dry, so you don’t have to worry about the presence of water, you just need to periodically turn the sponges over. Water in foam rubber flows down.
toilet paper snail
Seeds are laid out on a strip of toilet paper at a distance of at least 5 mm, covered with a second layer of paper on top. The paper is slightly wetted and a layer of earth for seedlings is poured on top. The tape is carefully rolled together with the soil into a spiral and placed in a plastic bag. The bag must be tied up so that the water does not evaporate.
After the appearance of sprouts, the package is opened and placed on the windowsill. The downside is that if there are several varieties, it is easy to confuse seedlings, even trying to mark varieties with sticks. Plus, this seedling will dive sooner or later. A very unloved procedure with pepper.
Sowing
The seeds that have hatched are planted in pots or seedling boxes. Pots are preferred, but they take up a lot of space. The advantages of a box and pots are combined by special cassettes for seedlings.
Before germination, the temperature in the room must be maintained at + 27 ° C. After that, you can lower it to +25.
The emerging sprouts need lighting for 12 hours. Since the day is still short in February, it is necessary to use fitolamps. Water the seedlings with water at room temperature. After the appearance of the first true leaf, you need to carry out the first top dressing with fertilizers.
Before planting in a permanent place, pepper seedlings are hardened for a week, taking it out into the open air and gradually increasing the time spent there.
Quality seedlings before planting should have a height of 25 cm and from 7 to 12 leaves. In the Moscow region, pepper is usually planted at the end of May, but it is better to navigate according to the specific conditions of the current year. The main thing: frosts should end, and the soil should warm up to + 18 ° С.