Pepper: planting seedlings, seed preparation, care

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 20:55

Pepper is a southern and thermophilic plant. Planting this crop directly in open ground, of course, is impossible. In the cold Russian climate, the pepper simply does not have time to ripen. Domestic gardeners grow this plant exclusively by seedling method.

This method allows you to get a good harvest of pepper even in central Russia, the Urals and Siberia already in late July - early August. But in order for this crop to develop well in the beds, its seedlings should be grown correctly.

When to plant

Of course, many summer residents would like to know, among other things, when pepper seeds should be planted for seedlings - in February, March or April. The timing of sowing this crop depends primarily on how it is supposed to be grown in the future. Peppers are planted in suburban areas both in open ground and in closed ground.

If the plants on the site will be grown in a greenhouse, it is worth sowing this crop in boxes at the end of January. In this case, transfer the grown on the windowsillseedlings for a permanent place will be possible in the month of April.

In the greenhouse, the pepper crop is, of course, very early. But more often Russian gardeners still grow this crop in open ground. In this case, planting pepper for seedlings in central Russia is best done in the last week of February or in the first - March. In Siberia, this period is usually shifted to the second half of March. Summer residents of the southern regions sow this crop most often in the first two weeks of February.

Pepper planting dates for 2018

Many gardeners, when choosing the timing of planting pepper, are also guided by the lunar calendar. It is believed that in the future it allows you to get a larger yield. In 2018, for example, the most favorable days for planting seedlings of this crop according to the lunar calendar are:

• in February - 6, 7, 20-22, 25-26;
• in March - 5th, 6th, 10th, 11th, 20th, 21st, 24th, 25th.

The most suitable days for planting pepper seedlings in February and March, of course, you need to know. But it is important to have an idea about when it is impossible to sow this crop. Do not plant pepper, like other garden plants, for example, on the new moon and full moon. In 2018, this crop cannot be sown from March 16 to March 18, as well as on the 2nd and 31st of the same month.

How to choose a variety of bell peppers

Since this culture is very popular among summer residents, a lot of attention is paid to it by breeders. There are a lot of varieties of this plant on sale. If desired, you can plant seedlings of both early and lateor mid-season bell pepper. Recently, varieties have been especially popular with summer residents:

• Lumina, whose main advantage is high yield;
• early ripe Ivanhoe, the advantages of which include, first of all, a very sweet taste and pleasant aroma of fruits;
• unpretentious Marinkin tongue, capable of producing good yields even under the most unfavorable growing conditions.

Of course, you can choose any other bell pepper for seedling cultivation. The main thing is that the variety should be resistant to diseases, not too whimsical and productive enough.

The best varieties of hot peppers

Of course, most often summer residents grow a sweet variety of this popular crop in suburban areas. But there is also a bed of hot pepper, of course, in almost every garden. The fruits of this crop are widely used for cooking first courses, salads and, of course, pickles.

Grow hot pepper summer residents in most cases also seedling method. At the same time, the terms of sowing it are observed the same as for its sweet "relative". Planting bitter pepper for seedlings is carried out in central Russia, usually in early March.

There are, of course, a lot of varieties of this crop on sale today. The best of them are considered:

• A burning bouquet with very fragrant fruits.
• Disease resistant Chinesefire.
• Indian elephant with not too bitter fruits.

Processing pepper seeds before planting seedlings: how to do it right

The seed purchased from a specialized store must first, of course, be carefully prepared. In order for bitter and sweet peppers to not hurt later, the seeds should first be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate.

It will not be difficult to perform this procedure before planting pepper on seedlings with your own hands. The seeds of both bitter and sweet varieties of this crop, unlike many other garden plants, are pickled not with 1%, but with 2% potassium permanganate solution. That is, to process the planting material in this case, half a teaspoon of KMnO_{4 is diluted in a glass of water. The final solution should not be too light.}

Actually, the treatment of pepper seeds before planting on seedlings with potassium permanganate is done as follows:

• put the seeds in a gauze bag;
• lower the planting material for 20 minutes in the prepared solution;
• pull out the bag and thoroughly wash the seeds.

Prepare a solution of potassium permanganate using water at room temperature. The same applies to washing planting material.

After the pepper seeds are disinfected, they can be further soaked in water. In the future, this will ensure faster germination of seedlings. For soaking:

• bag withwashed seeds put on a saucer;
• additionally sprinkle it with warm water;
• cover the saucer with plastic wrap;
• place the seed container in a dark warm place.

Tiny bores of pepper on seeds soaked in this way usually appear after about a day. Although they are small in size, it will not be difficult to see them with the naked eye.

Preparing pepper seeds for planting seedlings may include a procedure such as hardening. This operation is usually performed immediately after small bores appear. Seeds are placed in a cold place with an air temperature of about 2 ° C and kept there for 1.5-2 days. Before planting, pepper seed can also be additionally soaked for a short time in a solution of some growth stimulant.

Which primer to use

Planting hot peppers for seedlings, just like sweet ones, should, of course, be done in nutrient soil. In terms of soil composition, both of these varieties of culture are whimsical. The success of growing pepper seedlings to a large extent depends on how well the soil mixture is chosen for it. It is believed that the best substrate for pepper is composed of:

• one piece of peat;
• one part sand;
• two pieces of sod land.

Seedlings of this crop also develop very well on soil prepared from equal parts:

• sand, humus and peat;
• humus, leaf and sod land.

Bulgarian pepper has a rather long root system. Therefore, the soil in the boxes for such seedlings should be poured in a rather thick layer. Hot peppers don't usually grow too tall. Therefore, smaller containers can be used to grow its seedlings.

What to sow into

Planting on seedlings of bell pepper, as well as bitter, of course, is most often done in boxes. In such containers, plants are easier to care for. But you can plant seedlings of this crop in plastic cups. In such a dish, a young pepper will develop better. And it will be easier to transplant it later to a permanent place. When transshipment from well-kneaded plastic cups, the root system is less damaged in peppers. Consequently, the survival rate in this case will be higher.

Among other things, when using cups for planting pepper seedlings, there is no need to carry out such a procedure as picking. But of course, it will be more difficult to water the plants when grown in such containers in the future. In addition, cups are known to be unstable. And consequently, the place for their placement has to be chosen more carefully.

How to properly plant seeds

And planting and caring for seedlings of pepper, both bitter and sweet, are technologically similar procedures. Plant the seeds of these crops like this:

• one day beforeplanting the ground in a box is well spilled with water;
• make grooves 3 cm deep on the surface of the soil at the same distance from each other;
• spread the pepper seeds along the grooves in 2 cm increments;
• sprinkle planting material with earth;
• water pepper with warm water using a spray bottle;
• cover the box with foil and place it in a warm, dark place.

Planting pepper seedlings in cups is produced using approximately the same technology. In this case, the seeds are also buried by about three centimeters. 1-2 seeds are usually planted in one cup (no more than three).

From above, such containers can also be covered with pieces of film and transferred to a dark corner of the apartment. In both cases, seeds planted in this way should be watered only as needed, preventing the soil from drying out. Of course, at least a couple of times a day, the film should be removed from the containers for ventilation.

The optimum temperature for germination of pepper seeds is 24-26 C°. If the apartment is cold, containers with this crop should be placed closer to the central heating battery before germination.

Where to post

Transfer containers with seedlings to the windowsill immediately after the first loops appear above the ground. At the optimum temperature, this occurs approximately on the 10th day after planting. If the seeds do not sprout on day 14, this means that the planting material was of poor quality. In this case, the seeding procedure will have torepeat from the beginning using good seeds.

Pepper, like any other southern plant, is a light-loving crop. Therefore, boxes or cups with such seedlings should be installed in the apartment on the windowsill of the south or east window. Subsequently, the containers with pepper will need to be periodically turned to the light, first one side, then the other. This will ensure uniform plant growth and good development.

Pepper seedling boxes should be set up in a warm, well-ventilated area. However, in no case should containers with plants be placed in a draft.

Do I need to fertilize seedlings

Planting pepper seeds for seedlings in February or March, so the procedure is not too complicated. But of course, in order for the plants to grow he althy and strong in the future, they need to be well looked after. Peppers should be watered, loosened and weeded in time.

The land for growing seedlings of this crop in boxes or cups is very nutritious. Therefore, in the process of growing peppers, it is usually not fertilized. An excess of minerals can affect young plants as negatively as their lack.

The only thing is that when growing on a windowsill, pepper seedlings can be fed from time to time using tea leaves. Prepare this fertilizer as follows:

• warm water is poured into a three-liter jar;
• pour 1 tbsp of tea leaves into the water;
• insist top dressing for 6 days;
• filter the solution through gauze.

You can fertilize seedlings using such top dressing no more than once every two weeks.

How to water properly

The procedure is quite responsible - planting pepper seedlings. Good care for this crop involves not only proper feeding, but also timely watering.

Moisten the soil in a box with young peppers preferably in the morning. Since containers with such seedlings are usually located on the windowsills of southern windows, due to the ingress of water drops, the leaves of plants during daytime watering can be burned by the sun's rays.

You don't need to moisten pepper seedlings too often. In any case, plants should not stand in the "swamp". Otherwise, their roots will begin to rot. It is believed that pepper seedlings should be moistened approximately once every 4 days. In the period between watering, the soil in the boxes must, of course, be monitored. If it suddenly begins to dry out, the matter can be corrected by lightly spraying it with water from a spray bottle.

Once every 4 days, usually only young seedlings are watered. The soil under the grown plants is moistened less often. Starting from the 35th day after germination, the number of waterings is reduced to 1 per week.

Proper planting of peppers for seedlings, as well as careful care for them, guarantees good development and growth of plants. However, when watering this crop when grown on windowsills, some important rules should be observed.

For example, use to moisten the soil in boxes with seedlings should beonly warm water. Moreover, it is not recommended to take it directly from the tap. Water must first be defended for about a day. During this time, harmful substances used to disinfect it will evaporate from it.

After watering, the ground under the pepper bushes must be loosened. Of course, at this point, weeds must also be removed from the box. You need to loosen the pepper as carefully as possible, trying not to damage its delicate roots.

Seedling picking

Planting peppers for seedlings in the middle lane and in the northern regions should be done on a specific date. However, in many cases, plants cultivated in boxes are subsequently transplanted by gardeners. When grown in such containers, young peppers become cramped as they grow. As a result, seedlings begin to develop poorly, stretch out and may even get sick. To prevent this from happening, grown plants are usually transplanted one at a time. This procedure is called picking.

Peppers should be transplanted from boxes into separate pots or glasses immediately after they grow the first two true leaves. Perform a pick of peppers approximately as follows:

• cups or cut plastic bottles are filled with soil of the same composition that was used in the boxes;
• spill the earth with water;
• the next day, plants are planted in containers with their deepening almost to the cotyledons.

Peppers should be picked as carefully as possible. The roots of this culture are very thin and easily torn. The day before transplanting, water the soil well not only in cups, but also in the box itself. In this case, it will be much easier to pull out the peppers later.

How to properly transfer seedlings

When meeting the deadlines for planting pepper seedlings in the Urals, Siberia and the middle lane, the bushes do not grow too tall, but strong and he althy. Plants grown on a windowsill are usually transferred to open ground 2-2.5 months after sowing. A bed for this culture is prepared in advance. On the surface of the site chosen for cultivation, well-rotted manure or compost is scattered with a layer of 3-5 cm. Then they carefully dig up the bed and loosen the soil with a rake.

Seedlings are planted as follows:

• knead the glass with the plant with your hands so that the lump of soil with roots separates from its walls;
• make a hole in the bed and transfer the plant into it along with a clod of earth;
• cover the roots with earth and compact the soil around the plant.

Digging part of the pepper stem into the ground, like tomatoes, is not necessary when planting. Before planting the plant in the hole, you can pour some ammonium nitrate into it and mix it with the ground.

Bulgarian peppers are usually placed in the garden in 40 cm increments. At the same time, a distance of 50 cm is left between the rows. For their spicy “relative”, these figures are 30 and 40 cm, respectively.

Helpful advice

Thus, we found out when pepper is planted onseedlings in Siberia, in the Urals, in the middle lane. But of course, in order to get a good harvest of this crop, it is not enough to choose the right time for sowing it. Peppers also need to be well looked after. This culture is unpretentious. However, she certainly has her own growing secrets.

For example, experienced gardeners strongly discourage placing bitter and sweet peppers on the same bed. When flowering, these two varieties can cross-pollinate. As a result, the fruits of bell pepper will acquire an unpleasant bitter taste. Planting these two varieties is generally better away from each other.