Contents
It would seem that such a simple process is watering seedlings. But everything is not easy at all, and this business has many rules and laws. Their observance will help to grow strong seedlings and get a rich harvest. In addition, proper watering helps to avoid pepper seedling disease.
Watering before planting
For the first time this is done before laying the seeds. No way after that. The soil will wash out, some seeds will float, others, on the contrary, will go deeper. Lightly compacted soil is best moistened with a spray bottle in advance. Moisture must completely seep from the surface, otherwise you will have to delve into the dirt. The earth should not be a sticky lump, but loose and moist.
There is a great way to first water before planting with the help of snow. Melt water is very useful for all living things. Its cells have the correct orderly shape. The benefits of melt water have long been proven, so why not use it to grow pepper seedlings. The container with the prepared soil is compacted with a layer of snow of about 2 cm, covered and placed in a warm place. When the snow melts, check the degree of moisture. Too wet ground is left until the morning, and the procedure is repeated with under-watered.
Well-moistened land at room temperature is ready, it’s time to sow pepper seedlings.
Process technology
Watering pepper seedlings is a rather delicate matter. A moisture-loving plant can die from excessive flooding with water. There are three options for watering pepper seedlings:
- Amount of water depends on the capacity and age of the seedling itself. You can not fill it so that it pours over the edge. Gradually and gently moisten the ground. At the initial stage, a couple of teaspoons are enough. In a transparent dish, you can clearly see where the moisture has reached, and in an opaque one, you can slightly squeeze the walls. In this case, either soft and moist earth, or a dry lump will be felt. Over time, any person begins to understand how much water his pepper seedlings need.
- Time and frequency of watering. How often can pepper seedlings be watered: every 3 days – until the leaves appear, then every day, and 2 weeks before planting in the ground 2-3 times a week. The main thing here is not to let the earth dry out, it must always be moistened. Before sprouts appear, the best way to water is to spray water from a spray bottle. Watering pepper seedlings is carried out strictly in the morning. At night, watering pepper seedlings is simply dangerous. This is a direct path to blackleg disease.
- Water quality. Tap water must be settled so that chlorine evaporates, the excess of which is very harmful to plants. Water temperature for irrigation should be about 30 degrees. Pepper seedlings are very fond of heat, cold moisture can lead to root rot.
Moisture on the green part of the plant can lead to fungal diseases.
There is one interesting trick to increase irrigation efficiency. After each moistening of the soil, it is necessary, as it were, to “salt” the surface of the soil with dry earth. You can call it micromulching. Moisture is retained in the ground, a dense crust is not formed on the surface, and the tender roots of pepper seedlings are not exposed.
Such different water
Water brings more than just nutrition to a plant. Based on the place of its receipt, one can assume unpleasant contents.
Water from a well
Oddly enough, well water in most cases is not suitable for watering plants. Here’s the thing: most wells draw water at the depth where the limestone deposits pass and below. Therefore, such water is quite hard. Watering pepper seedlings from a well can lead to alkalization of the soil, which has a very negative effect on plant development.
In this case, adding a small amount of ash can help. It will soften the water and at the same time saturate it with useful elements: potassium and phosphorus.
Tap water
The main trouble with plumbing is that it contains a weighty amount of chlorine. It is added to disinfect water. That is, to destroy dangerous microbes. Here it is worth considering: a substance that kills living organisms can harm the living organism of a larger plant? The question is rhetorical.
There is only one way out: to defend the water for watering pepper seedlings for at least a few hours. Chlorine quickly evaporates from the liquid.
Tap water contains many substances dissolved in it, for example, calcium salts, a high content of which in the soil prevents the plant from absorbing useful substances.
Solution: add ash. The content of calcium salts makes water hard, and ash, as already mentioned, softens water.
Another way to solve the problem is not softening, but adding acid to restore balance. It is enough to add a few grains of citric acid per liter of water to water pepper seedlings.
Melt water
Melt water acts on plants as a growth stimulator, so it would be a mistake not to use it to water pepper seedlings. For this, melted snow is suitable. You can not specifically heat it with heat, so all the useful properties disappear. The snow melts naturally in the room, then the resulting water can be slightly warmed up, for example, on a radiator.
When there is no snow, you can freeze water in the freezer:
- Pour water into a plastic bottle, up to the shoulders;
- Put in the freezer for 10-12 hours;
- Drain everything that is not frozen (these are unnecessary impurities);
- Use the melted ice for watering.
Watering pepper seedlings with melt water has many positive reviews. The seedlings grow healthier and stronger, according to the testers.
Rainwater
Rain water is practically the same as melt water. It is very soft, without the content of heavy particles. Collecting this life-giving moisture in rusty old barrels is simply blasphemy. Destruction of all good. Therefore, the container must be clean, preferably non-metallic.
Using rainwater to irrigate pepper seedlings in industrial areas can be dangerous. All substances from factory pipes are carried in the atmosphere for tens of kilometers, settling on rain clouds.
Boiled water
The use of boiled water for watering pepper seedlings is not recommended. During boiling, a large amount of oxygen evaporates from the water. This impoverishes the benefits of water.
Plant roots need oxygen.
Watering with benefits
This is about how pepper seedlings are watered with benefit. Water can be flavored with useful substances, not to be confused with chemical fertilizers. Such solutions cannot completely replace clean water, but it is very useful to alternate with mineral supplements.
Humates
Scientists have not yet decided whether it is a fertilizer or a growth stimulant. The mechanism of their actions also generates discussions. Only one thing is clear: they bring undoubted benefits to plants.
It has been experimentally proven that the use of humates increases the resistance of seedlings in adverse conditions, increases the percentage of absorption of nutrients and prevents the absorption of harmful compounds.
Humates are economical to use, as they are added to the water drip. Dosages are indicated in the annotation table.
Water aeration
Water is artificially oxygenated by forcing air through it. Those who have an aquarium know what I’m talking about. This can be done just with the help of an aerator for the aquarium. Such water is more useful for pepper seedlings than ordinary water. According to reviews, the plants really grow stronger and healthier.
tea water
For better growth of weak seedlings of pepper seedlings, it is recommended to replace water with an infusion of sleeping tea leaves. Preparing it is very simple: pour 300 g of used loose leaf tea into 5 liters of water. Insist 4-5 days.
Ash solution
This liquid will successfully replace mineral fertilizer. There is no nitrogen in it, but a lot of potassium and phosphorus, which are very useful for pepper seedlings during the entire growth period, and especially during flowering and fruit set. Such watering can be alternated with nitrogen nutrition. A half-liter jar of wood ash is soaked in a bucket of water (10 liters) overnight.
The ash for feeding pepper seedlings should be obtained by burning wood, without garbage. The advantage in the content of useful elements in the ash from the burning of deciduous wood.