This vegetable crop has many useful qualities and all housewives use it in cooking. Sweet peppers have their own characteristics, taking into account which you can achieve a good harvest. It's no secret that not everyone succeeds in achieving the expected result. When growing it, you need to know what this vegetable loves and what to avoid. And not always for a plentiful harvest, numerous fertilizing, weeding and loosening of the soil are needed. We recommend that you listen to the basic rules that will help you find out the strengths and weaknesses of sweet peppers.
Rule 1. Observe the sowing time
Many summer residents begin to plant seedlings in early February. But this is not the right time for bell peppers. Winter seedlings will be very early, this will negatively affect the future harvest. Peppers will not show all of their positive aspects during development. But March (beginning or middle of the month) is a good time to sow pepper seeds for seedlings.
Rule 2. Germinating the seeds
In order for the seedlings to grow faster, the seeds are pre-germinated. On a small, shallow plate, you need to put a thin cotton or gauze layer on which the seeds are laid out. From above, the seeds are covered with the same layer of gauze or cotton wool. Then everything is sprayed with water, into which you can add a growth biostimulant or aloe juice.
The first shoots will appear in just 2-3 days. This means the seeds are ready to be planted.
Rule 3 We plant in individual opaque containers
Bell peppers are a loner vegetable. He will not tolerate the close proximity of plants on his territory. It is advisable to plant each of its seeds in separate containers (sometimes two seeds). Opaque pots or glasses are a must, since a large amount of light can negatively affect the roots of the plant.
Rule 4. Don't bury the seeds
Pepper seeds should lie on the surface of the soil or at a depth of no more than a couple of millimeters. In no case should they be buried.
Rule 5. We dive by transshipment
Picking plays a big role in the quality of future seedlings. But bell peppers are a special capricious culture that does not like transplanting. If you dig up young seedlings to transfer them to another place, then the plant can slow down or stop growing for almost fifteen days. To prevent this from happening, use other methods:
- You can prudently plant seeds not in small cups, but immediately in large containers. In this case, a pick is not required.
- In order not to disturb the sensitive root system of sweet peppers once again, you can plant the seeds in paper cups, and then put them together with the container in a large box or pot and sprinkle with earth.
Rule 6. Timely water the seedlings
The soil under the sweet pepper seedlings should always be moist. The slightest drying out due to untimely watering will reduce the future harvest.
Rule 7.Choosing the right place for the pepper
Sweet peppers do not like drafts. It is necessary for him to choose a site where there will be a lot of solar heat and light. Take care of the quality of the soil. It must be fertile and neutral in composition. If the soil does not meet these requirements, then when planting pepper seedlings, pour a little compost into each hole.
Rule 8. Grow peppers in warm beds
This vegetable crop is thermophilic and very sensitive to sudden changes in temperature. The root system of the peppers must be constantly warm, and the most favorable air and soil temperature for the plant is about thirty degrees.
Such constant heating can be provided by a warm bed. Its positive qualities will come in handy not only in the open field, but also when grown in greenhouse conditions.
To mitigate the temperature drops (day and night), experienced summer residents have come up with their own ways to keep warm. On the beds of pepper, you can put plastic bottles filled with water or large cobblestones. During the day they will heat up, and at night this heat will be transferred to the bed.
Rule 9. Water, feed, mulch
This sensitive vegetable needs constant moisture at any stage of growth (when growing seedlings and when caring for a mature plant). Watering should be regular and consistent, but don't overdo it. Excess watering will not be beneficial.
To maintain the necessary soil moisture in a bed of pepper, use the method mulching... Mulch will protect the soil from drought, retain moisture for a long time, and you will have to water much less often.
As soon as the pepper seedlings are in a permanent bed, save up mulch for it. All weeds that will appear, collect and spread on the beds in an approximately twenty-meter layer.
You can feed peppers with mineral or organic fertilizers. Everyone can make this choice independently. Ash and herbal infusions are considered some of the best and readily available organic dressings.
An ash-based solution is prepared from ten liters of water and two glasses of ash. Herbal dressing can be prepared from the following components: nettle-based infusion, manure and a preparation with effective microorganisms (EM - preparation).
All fertilizers are applied once a week. Only herbal - before the beginning of the flowering period, and ash - after the end of flowering.
Rule 10. Form the pepper
In order for the peppers to grow large and have time to ripen before the end of the warm season, it is necessary to start forming them already at the seedling stage.
Seedlings should not bloom before transplanting into open ground. If flowers do appear, be sure to cut them off. At this stage, the plant must direct all its forces to the development of the root system and stem, and the flowers will only take these forces away.
Being in open beds, the pepper should have as much ovary as the owner needs. Any excess - feel free to delete. On the bushes of tall varieties of pepper, you can get rid of all the lower leaves, but undersized varieties do not require this. At the beginning of autumn, it is worth cutting off all the flowers on the bushes, they will no longer have time to become fruits.
