Sweet pepper cultivation technology and selection of suitable varieties
Contents ✓
- ✓ DIVING OR DIRECT SOWING
- ✓ FEEDING AND HARDENING OF SWEET PEPPER
- ✓ MOVING SWEET PEPPER TO OPEN GROUND
- ✓ TEMPERATURE
- ✓ SIMPLE CARE OF SWEET PEPPERS INCREASES YIELD
- ✓ VARIETIES AND HYBRIDS OF SWEET PEPPER FOR PROTECTED AND OPEN SOIL OF THE CENTRAL REGION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
- ✓ GROWING SWEET PEPPERS - REVIEWS ABOUT VARIETIES AND CARE
- ✓ GROWING SWEET PEPPERS FROM A TO Z - VIDEO
GROWING SWEET PEPPERS IS MY "TECHNOLOGY"
There are many varieties of pepper for the middle lane today, and the approach to them is not the same. It is not worth generalizing here, neglecting the little things is also not an option. It is better to choose the most profitable growing strategy for specific conditions, which will allow you to achieve a good harvest.
DIVING OR DIRECT SOWING
Everyone knows that pepper seedlings are grown with and without picks. Both methods have pros and cons. Thanks to the pick, it is possible to avoid stretching the subcotyledon knee, the subsequent weakening of the seedlings and the defeat of diseases. However, transplanting a small plant is fraught with root injury and loss of rooting time.
Sowing seeds in separate pots immediately provides the plants with a sufficient amount of moisture and nutrition, the roots actively grow, and in the future the yield increases. The only downside is that already at the first stage much more space is required. If the pepper is grown with a pick, the seeds are sown 50-60 days before the expected date of planting in a permanent place, if without a pick, 45-50 days. The optimal sowing time for heated greenhouses is mid-February, for unheated greenhouses and greenhouses - the first half of March, for open ground - early April.
Before sowing, the seeds are traditionally disinfected in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate for 20-25 minutes, followed by washing. It is not worth keeping the seeds in solution longer, as the embryo may burn. To protect seeds from pathogens, they are soaked in solutions of biopesticides, and in order to germinate faster - in solutions of growth regulators.
Seeds are planted to a depth of 0-5 cm, covered with a nutrient mixture from above and slightly compacted. It is prepared from turf soil and humus (1:1), or peat and humus (2:1), or universal peat soil and turf soil (1:2).
Crops are watered with warm water (28-30 °), covered with a film or glass so that the earth does not dry out, and put in a warm place where it is 25-28 ° around the clock.
Dry seeds in such conditions sprout on the 6th-7th day, prepared - in 1-3 days. After germination, the temperature is lowered to 15-17°, and after a few days (usually 4-6), when the seedlings get stronger and rooted, it is again raised to 24-28° on sunny days, 18-20° on cloudy days.
At night it must be cooler - 15-17 ° with moderate soil moisture. If these figures are higher, the seedlings grow pampered, stretched, sick with a black leg. Therefore, frequent ventilation is recommended on sunny days. Economical watering gives plants greater resistance to low temperatures. However, the substrate in pots should not be dry, otherwise the peppers do not grow well, their stalk prematurely lignifies, which leads to a decrease in yield.
It is impossible to be late with picking, overgrown seedlings take root worse, and in the future the plants lag behind in development. They dive on the 15-20th day after germination, when 1-2 true leaves form in the seedlings. The feeding area should be 8x8 cm for 45-50 day old seedlings and 10x10 cm for 50-60 days old.
As the seedlings develop, the arrangement is carried out so that they do not obscure each other and do not stretch.
Peppers love bright light, it is especially important when flowers and fruits are laid - with 3-4 true leaves. They need long-term lighting for a short time, 12-13 hours of daylight hours are enough from about 20 days of age and for 2-3 weeks. With such a day, the budding phase in plants occurs 10-15 days earlier than with a long one. So peppers need a dark night no less than a bright day.
FEEDING AND HARDENING OF SWEET PEPPER
Seedlings are fed at least twice. First time in phase 1-2 true leaves. First, water a little with clean water, then with a solution of complex mineral fertilizer for greenhouses (20 g / 10 l of water). Consumption 100 ml per plant. Watering strictly under the root. Peppers receive the second same lunch in 10-12 days.
Hardening begins 10-12 days before planting - they limit the number and rate of irrigation, reduce the temperature to the level of the outside air, and improve illumination. A week before planting, seedlings are sprayed with a solution of Bordeaux liquid (50-70 g / 10 l of water) to prevent fungal diseases. When symptoms of a lesion appear, consider that the treatment is late. Before planting in open ground, peppers are kept at 16-18 ° during the day and 12-15 ° at night.
MOVING SWEET PEPPER TO OPEN GROUND
By the time of planting, the seedlings reach a height of 20-25 cm, have 7-10 leaves and the first buds. It is transferred to heated greenhouses in April, to spring greenhouses and hotbeds - May 10-25, after the soil warms up to 18 °, to open ground - in early June, when the danger of frost has passed.
In greenhouses, tall peppers are planted on ridges 100 cm wide, the distance between plants is 45 cm, if the ridges are narrower, then in a checkerboard pattern. Plants of medium-sized varieties are placed in 2 rows with a distance of 40 cm between them both in greenhouses and in open ground. For undersized, a sufficient interval in a row is 25 cm. It is better to plant on a cloudy day, and if in sunny weather - in the afternoon. The seedlings are deepened so that the root neck is covered with soil no higher than 2 cm. The earth around the roots is tightly compressed.
It is necessary to protect pepper from the cold immediately after planting in open ground using non-woven covering materials. They let in light, air, precipitation and accumulate heat.
TEMPERATURE
Before fruiting, the plants are watered once a week in large doses (8-10 l / sq. M), and during the formation of the crop - 2 times a week. Pepper does not tolerate even a short-term lack of soil moisture, but its excess is also harmful, the roots can rot. It reacts immediately to watering, noticeably increases in growth, especially if it is initially planted in dried soil.
Loosen the soil several times - after each irrigation - until the leaves in the rows are completely closed.
In heated greenhouses, after planting seedlings, the temperature should
determined by illumination. On a sunny day, 24-28° is recommended, on a cloudy day - 20-22°, and at night - 17-19°.
It is more difficult to maintain the regime in unheated greenhouses, but sudden changes in temperature and humidity are unacceptable anywhere, this leads to plant stress and crop loss. During the period of active growth, the optimum air temperature here can be lower - 20-22 °, the plants withstand a short-term increase to 26 °, but if it is hotter, they stretch out, the flowers do not pollinate and fall off.
The optimum soil temperature is 20°.
See also: Hot peppers are the best and most burning varieties. Photo, title and description
SIMPLE CARE OF SWEET PEPPERS INCREASES YIELD
Plants are fed a month after planting, and then every 10-15 days. During the growth of the vegetative mass, fertilizers with a predominance of nitrogen are used, and during the fruiting period - phosphorus and potassium. Once a month, foliar feeding with a solution of calcium nitrate (0%) is additionally needed to prevent blossom-end rot of the fruit.
Pepper plantings in the greenhouse and open ground are mulched, you can use plastic wrap. Moreover, the white film has its additional advantages. It reflects light from below to the back of the leaves, which ultimately increases the yield. As a rule, under any covering material, plants are ahead in development of those grown without mulch. And it’s easier to take care of: you don’t need to weed weeds, loosen the soil, water it once again, because the moisture is well preserved.
In a spring greenhouse or tunnel, peppers do not need special shaping, because they grow no more than 1 m. It is only necessary to remove non-fruiting shoots without flowers, side branches to a fork and yellowed leaves. It's not labor intensive and the plants will feel better. In the shade, the flowers are not pollinated and fall off.
The crown flower is carefully plucked, as it is able to draw a lot of nutrients onto itself. At the same time, the plant does not set new fruits for a long time or forms them few and much smaller than this first crowned pepper.
In the greenhouse, peppers are tied to a trellis, and at the beginning of fruiting, they also make a circular strapping with an additional rope, fixing it on the main twine so that it does not slip, then the branches will not break off under the weight of the fruit. In tunnels and open ground, a garter is not made.
The fruits are harvested both in technical and biological ripeness. In the first case, when harvesting green fruits, the yield is almost 2 times higher, since new ones grow faster. In the second, the plant spends more energy on the ripening of old fruits to the detriment of the emergence of new ones. The next ovaries do not appear until the fruits are harvested.
VARIETIES AND HYBRIDS OF SWEET PEPPER FOR PROTECTED AND OPEN SOIL OF THE CENTRAL REGION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Variety, hybrid |
Ripening period |
Form |
Fetus. Coloring technical/biological ripeness |
Mass, g |
Wall thickness, mm |
Variety value |
Sweet pepper for protected ground |
||||||
F1 Siberian |
mid-early |
cuboid |
dark green/ red |
140-160 |
6-8 |
resistant to viruses |
F1 orange delight |
early |
cylindrical |
light green/orange |
150-180 |
6-7 |
tender skin, juicy pulp, sweet |
Royal |
early |
elongated - conical |
green/yellow |
120-130 |
5, 5-6 |
unpretentious |
ruby cup |
average |
cuboid |
dark green/ red |
200-250 |
7-8 |
large fruit |
Sweet pepper for open ground |
||||||
F1 Physician |
early |
conical |
greenish white/red |
110-130 |
7-8 |
friendly ripening, rich in vitamin C, excellent taste and aroma, fruits do not wilt for a long time |
F1 Nectar |
early |
cuboid |
greenish/yellow |
150-180 |
6, 5-7 |
great flavor with aroma |
F1 Natalie |
early |
conical with a blunt nose |
whitish/ red |
140-160 |
6, 5-7 |
great flavor with aroma |
F1 Hussar |
early |
conical |
green/red |
1110-120 |
6-7 |
high content of vitamin C in biological ripeness |
F1 Erivan |
mid-early |
conical |
yellow-green/ red |
130-150 |
7-8 |
fruits uniform, well stored |
Reference by topic: Sweet pepper - cultivation, planting and care. Varieties of sweet pepper.
GROWING SWEET PEPPERS - REVIEWS ABOUT VARIETIES AND CARE
RECORD-BREAKING PEPPERS - MY REVIEWS ABOUT VARIETIES
This year I had 35 varieties and hybrids of peppers. Most performed well, which allowed us to set a new record for average yield per plant – 1 kg. I’ll tell you about the leaders, perhaps this will help readers choose new tasty varieties for themselves
But it all didn’t start out so brightly. Frosts in May broke through the two-layer film cover and left only stems of the plants. In greenhouses made of polycarbonate, pepper was not affected. However, the damaged plants quickly restored their leaf apparatus and almost caught up with their happier comrades.
Hybrid leaders
Among the hybrids, F1 Solanor, F1 Hulk, F1 Adige, F1 Tequila, F1 Madonna, F1 Kaptur, F1 Porteka, F1 Sondela, F1 Ekla, F1 Best performed well. The leaders in yield were F1 Turbin (2 kg per plant) and F6 Rubine (1 kg).
As usual, F1 Ombrone did not disappoint. At the city exhibition, which takes place annually in Kaluga, it delighted guests with its gigantic size of 630. And this is also my new record.
Pepper varieties that made you happy
Varieties of sweet peppers deserve a separate discussion - these were new items in my garden. And, looking ahead, I will say: everyone was pleased.
Dow Hill – an early variety, very productive. The bush is compact, 50 cm high, can be grown in containers. The fruits are bright yellow-orange.
Orange King – sets only large fruits. Mid-season, large-fruited. The bush is powerful, 70-80 cm high. The fruits are orange, cube-shaped and elongated, weighing 250-300 g.
Creole cuisine – sweet and aromatic pepper from Nicaragua. Mid-early, productive, very beautiful. The height of the bush is 40-50 cm. The fruits are dark red, weighing 70-80 g, of unusual shape. The wall is thin.
Ramiro – one of the sweetest peppers in the whole world. Medium late. It is unique in that almost every flower produces a fruit (up to 30 pieces per plant). The yield is huge (2 kg). The bush is spreading, up to 5 m high. The fruits are red.
Goros – I left it for dessert. I have never seen such a unique variety in my many years of practice. How often does it happen with pepper? It has set fruit and stopped growing, waiting for it to ripen. And then summer passed. Goros is not like that: it sets fruit and continues to grow and grow. Nothing seems to stop it. In October, its height exceeded 2 m. And this is when formed into 2 stems. The fruits are red, 200-250 g each. Goros set my new record for varieties - 2 kg per plant.
© Author: Igor Dunichev, Kaluga
WASP PEPPERS, TAILS AND BANDITS
I wanted to finish the 2023 season in style. And for this purpose I specially saved the harvest of hot peppers. Octopus New Year F1 on the last day before moving to the city.
The red fruits glowed in my hands, I was a little sad that I was leaving, but at the same time I was happy about the excellent harvest.
Octopus showed itself well in the Moscow region. It grew to a height of 1,65 m, after which I pinched it so that all the fruits that had set would ripen. I collected 86 fruits from this bush!
Bell pepper Fox's tail turned out to be tasty and high-yielding. I recommend it to everyone, you won’t regret it! Early ripening, with cone-shaped fruits of bright orange color. Well, definitely a fox tail! They reach a length of 22 cm. The pulp is sweet, tasty with a bright peppery aroma. Weight 120-130 g. I planted it in a greenhouse - farming in the Moscow region is risky, and I’m not taking any risks. Cold and rain are not the best friends for peppers. I practically don’t do any shaping, I just remove all the stepsons up to the first fork, the crown flower in the first fork, and sometimes, if the bush is too thick, I remove the stepsons growing in the center of the bush.
Hot peppers Bandit – the walls are thin, and drying in a dehydrator takes a little time; it can dry simply in a dry, ventilated room. This medium-hot pepper adds rich flavor and aroma to pilaf and other dishes. Fruits up to 20 cm with a weight of 40-50 g.
Hot peppers Navaja – grown in a greenhouse, removing side shoots to the fork. Early. He grew up without any problems and never got sick. The height of the bush is 60 cm, the length of the fruit is 15, bright red, 80-90 g. In terms of pungency, I would say medium-hot. Perfect for marinating.
Hot pepper golden wasp grown in a greenhouse. Early ripening, but bore fruit until late autumn. The bush is low - 50-60 cm. The fruits are golden-yellow, 8-10-12 cm long. For hot peppers they are quite thick-walled - from 2 to 4 mm. I wouldn’t say it’s very hot, but rather spicy-spicy. Good for preservation as it has a peppery aroma. Productivity is good. AND
© Author: Oksana Varshavskaya, Moscow region
GROWING SWEET PEPPERS FROM A TO Z - VIDEO
© Author: E. Jos, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences Federal Scientific Center for Vegetable Growing
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