Vegetables - Pepper Snowfall

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

During the great geographical discoveries, not only potatoes and tomatoes were brought from America to the Old World, but also such a popular vegetable product as capsicum. Despite its name, it has nothing to do with black pepper. The latter is a native of India, a long-known spice that belongs to the genus Pepper of the Pepperflower order. Capsicum, also known as a vegetable, comes from the tropical regions of America.

Botanical description

Vegetable pepper belongs to the genus Capsicum, family Solanaceae from the order Solanaceae. Today it is distributed as a garden crop throughout almost the entire globe. A relative of the potato, tomato, eggplant and our black nightshade. The wild crop is found as a perennial plant, but vegetable growers grow it as an annual. The fruit is a hollow berry of a wide variety of shades and shapes. There are red, yellow, green, almost white, chocolate brown and even purple fruits. The shape is varied: from almost round to pronounced cone-shaped. To taste, gardeners divide it into two subspecies:

• bitter - chili.
• sweet - paprika.

Hybridsplants

Close crosses often produce offspring with stronger characteristics than the parent lines. Wanting to get the most useful plant with the desired properties, breeders pay great attention to vegetable pepper. As a result, a large number of hybrid lines have been created for almost every climatic zone. Unlike varietal species, they do not pass on all their qualities to offspring. As gardeners say, they quickly degenerate. It is no coincidence that the word "bastards" was used in Russia in the 18th century. Only from the beginning of the 19th century did they begin to change it to an emotionally weaker expression - “mixture”. By the 20th century, the term "hybrid" appeared.

When buying seeds, you can often see the inscription "Hybrid F1" on the label. This means that the grown plant is the first in the hybrid cross and has the most pronounced characteristics. Subsequent generations will not show the original properties in full or at all.

Popular pepper variety

Vegetable growers are well aware of sweet pepper Snowfall. Designed specifically for the harsh climate zone, it has amazing performance characteristics.

In the southern regions it grows well in open ground, in the north it feels good in greenhouses. To understand the charm of this hybrid, it is enough to give a few distinctive characteristics from the description:

• Pepper Snowfall is an early ripe hybrid. When planting seedlings in February-early March, by the first half of August, you canget ripe fruits.
• The plant is tall with a powerful structure. From one bush you can get up to 60 fruits. By weight, this is about 5 kg.
• The fruits are fleshy, up to 15 cm long, cone-shaped.
• For consumption, the fruits are removed at the stage of white color. As the seeds mature, they turn red.
• Used for both salads and hot dishes. Peppers are suitable for canning or freezing.

Hybrid benefits

According to reviews, Snowfall pepper is well-deserved respect. This is because:

• Fruits are distinguished by high palatability. They are equally good for salads and hot dishes.
• The yield of the variety in the climatic conditions of central Russia, the Urals and Siberia has practically no competitors.
• Fruits are large, easy to process.
• The plucked fruit lies for a very long time, it retains its qualities well when frozen. Great for canning.
• The plant is unpretentious and practically does not need care.

Rules for growing seedlings

Seeds for seedlings are planted at the rate that on the 50-60th day the plant is transplanted into the ground. Seeds of the hybrid variety of Snegopad pepper are sold already ready for planting, it is enough to soak them for a day in a growth stimulator solution.

In order not to injure plants when picking, it is better to plant two seeds in small peat cups. The container with seedlings is covered with glass or transparent film and placed in a warm place. Watering is carried out from a spray bottle so that the earth does not dry out, but is not too moist. After germination, the film is removed and a small greenhouse is made. It is important that the seedling is constantly in a zone of high humidity.

After the appearance of the first true leaves of the Snowfall pepper, the weaker plant is removed, the strong one is transplanted into a larger pot. It is not necessary to remove from the peat pot, it quickly decomposes itself in the ground. The container with seedlings is placed in a cool and well-lit place. Residents of the northern regions are better off additionally highlighting plants with phytolamps. Before planting in the ground, seedlings are fed 2-3 times with fertilizers.

Ground landing

Before planting, seedlings of Snowfall pepper need to be hardened off. The best way is to put it in a closed greenhouse for a few days after the last frost.

When choosing a permanent place for growing, you should avoid areas where tomatoes and potatoes used to grow. Cabbage, cucumbers, onions are well suited as predecessors. Can be planted in place of gourds.

Pepper Snowfall does not tolerate wind, so in the northern regions it is better to leave it under the film. For the south, it is enough to choose a closed sunny area. In summer, the plants are regularly watered, avoiding flooding with water. It is worth 2-3 times per season to feed the pepper with fertilizer, given the quality of the soil. Closer to autumn, the pepper bush will delight you with a bountiful harvest.