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Bulgarian pepper (or as it is also called – sweet) was, is and will be a favorite vegetable crop that is grown in different countries. Among domestic gardeners, sympathy for pepper appeared about 60 years ago. In those years, it was quite problematic to get its seeds. Amateur gardeners who really wanted to grow sweet peppers in their backyards – in a greenhouse or in a greenhouse – bought vegetables and extracted seeds from them, tried to germinate them and grow seedlings. As soon as the slightest opportunity arose, they bought fruits or seeds of sweet pepper “Gogoshary” in the markets (it was grown in Moldova). Growing peppers in a greenhouse is the most common way to grow this crop. Today, there are a huge number of varieties of sweet peppers on sale, this knocks the ground out from under the feet of even experienced gardeners, not like novice gardeners.
These are “Gift of Moldova”, “Pygmalion”, “Winnie the Pooh”, “California Miracle” and many others. For growing peppers in open ground or in a greenhouse, there are many options that differ in shape, color and appearance. How, then, from such a variety to choose suitable varieties of peppers for the greenhouse and for growing in the open field?
Varieties of peppers for greenhouses
Not all varieties are suitable for growing in a greenhouse, which ones should be preferred? In order for the gardener to get a high yield, it is worth giving preference to choosing the varieties “Tenderness”, “Winnie the Pooh”, “Nochka”, “Orange Miracle” – their peculiarity is that they were specially selected for growing indoors. Additionally, experts recommend purchasing high-yielding varieties “Health”, “Othello”, “Elephant”, “Victoria”, but do not forget about focusing on the conditions of the area.
When making a purchase, be sure to study the growing conditions indicated on the label: ripening temperature, time, growing period, watering characteristics and other factors that have a direct impact on the harvest. Sowing material from abroad under local conditions may not sprout at all or may not give the expected result due to the different composition of soils and climatic features.
They begin to grow pepper in March, when the first signs of heat appear. You need to prepare boxes with fertile soil for seedlings, moistened compost is also suitable, because pepper is too sensitive to the nutrient content in the soil.
Between the seeds there should be a free space of at least 2 cm so that the grown seedlings do not interfere with each other. Seeds are usually sprinkled with dry compost, after which they make a mini-greenhouse in this way: the boxes are covered with glass and paper until the seeds germinate. As a rule, this happens after 2-3 weeks if the soil is regularly moistened.
During germination, a temperature of about 21 degrees is needed. When the seedlings have grown, they dive, that is, they are planted in separate pots, each plant needs a space of about 20 cm for the root system to develop normally. There should be at least 40 cm between the pots, the temperature maintained in the greenhouse is 18 degrees. Don’t forget to water and fertilize.
When the plants have grown to 15 cm, they should cut off the apical buds in order to get lateral processes and form a bush. The more side shoots, the more fruits can be obtained from one plant. If the peppers have enough moisture and nutrients, the seedlings grow quite quickly and have large, bright green leaves.
Varieties for open ground
Not every pepper has time to grow and ripen in conditions of not always successful summer, with a lack of heat and light. This requires low-growing, early-ripening, unpretentious varieties resistant to low temperatures. Thanks to the work of breeders, gardeners have plenty to choose from.
There are novelties with fruits of the most diverse colors, from pale yellow to purple and with the usual and familiar orange, red, burgundy, large and small, round, cuboid and cone-shaped.
At the same time, they have a compact bush, which makes it easier to care for plantings, cold-resistant, do not require complex shelters for growing, disease-resistant, tasty and productive. Here are some varieties.
- “Nafanya” is an early ripe variety. The bush grows up to 90 cm. Ripe fruits are red, wide, cone-shaped, weighing about 170 g. This variety has a fairly long flowering and fruiting, excellent fruit taste.
- “Smile” is also an early ripe tall variety. Ripe fruits are red, cone-shaped, weighing about 250 g. The yield is quite stable, the fruits are edible even in the early stages of development.
- “Czardas” is a very early variety. The height of the bush is 60-70 cm. The fruits when ripe are orange-red, weighing about 200 g. The fruits are very decorative, they can be eaten at any stage of development. On a bush, 13-17 fruits usually grow.
- “Cornet” is another early ripe high-yielding variety. Ripe fruits are brown, drooping, weighing about 200 g. This variety can be characterized by good fruit set and continuous fruiting. The fruits are high in vitamin C and carotene.
Growing in the greenhouse
An amateur vegetable grower can get a fairly good crop of pepper even in an unheated greenhouse made of cellular polycarbonate. When growing peppers in a greenhouse, it is important to carefully prepare the soil in the greenhouse, the thickness of which should be at least 25 cm. Only the experience of the gardener will determine whether it is necessary or not to use organic fertilizers in the greenhouse for pepper.
About 10 days before planting the seedlings in the greenhouse, it needs to be hardened off, gradually increasing the time the plants are in direct sunlight. Excellent seedling 60 days of age – about 30 cm high, stocky, has 7-8 true leaves, budding phase. In a greenhouse, usually 6 plants are planted per 1 sq. m, and if the level of nutrition is low, then up to 10 plants per 1 sq. m.
If you need to get your seeds, then you should not plant hot peppers next to sweet ones, mix them. It is possible to grow it next to tomatoes.
There are general recommendations, tips that are suitable for breeding most varieties and forming peppers in a greenhouse.
- There should be about 20 cm of space between the plants, because the bushes grow over time and they will need space.
- Between rows should be about 80 cm.
- Each bush needs to be tied up, when the stem is high enough, with wooden props.
- When the plant has risen sufficiently, only the strongest shoot is left on each branch.
- The soil is subject to constant loosening in order to provide the roots of peppers with oxygen.
- Too dense soil will interfere with root growth, and the result is a poor harvest.
- Watering should be regular and in sufficient quantity.
- In order for the shoots to grow much faster and the fruits to ripen better, the lighting in the greenhouse must be very good.
All of these are fairly general guidelines, as peppers of different varieties require significantly different conditions and excellent care. First of all, this concerns the feeding of peppers in the greenhouse: most varieties of peppers need to be fed once a week with complex fertilizers. It must be taken into account: in the first phase of growth and formation, nitrogen supplements should prevail in top dressing, and when the bush begins to bear fruit, phosphorus fertilizers are used.
Video “How to grow peppers”
A video describing all the stages of growing peppers. An overview of varieties suitable for growing in a greenhouse.
