The first mentions of capsicum appeared in European countries, starting with Spain and Italy, with the beginning of the colonization of America.
No one was able to locate the wild relatives of the “natives”; by that time it had already been grown as a cultivated plant in the fields and gardens of Northern Mexico.
Over the past century, the descendants of Mexican culture have conquered the entire globe, people with a variety of taste traditions have fallen in love with it.
Features of growing peppers in Russia
In our country, more than half of the territory is located in difficult climatic conditions, where farming is accompanied by a certain risk. Pepper like heat-loving culture can grow in open ground only in a few southern areas. But with the advent of special covering materials, it is possible to grow it in a protected ground.
The process of growing seedlings is not complicated, it is in many ways similar to the farming techniques of tomato cultivation.
Important! The only mandatory rule is not to plant sharp and sweet varieties in the same room. Otherwise, pollination will occur and all peppers will taste bitter.
Preparing for landing
One of the important stages - the selection of varieties. For fresh consumption it is best to choose thick-walled, large-fruited peppers. It should be borne in mind that they will require special care, frequent feeding and comfortable conditions.
Fruits with thinner walls and smaller sizes are more convenient for canning and cooking stuffed dishes.
Basic rules for obtaining seedlings of peppers
Agrotechnical methods for planting peppers are the same for all varieties and regions. For a family of three or four people, twenty paired bushes are usually enough.. Sowing seeds into the soil is best with a margin, because on average they are germination is 60-70%.
Before sowing, you can hold them for 5-7 minutes in a solution of salt (2-3 tablespoons per 1 liter of warm water). Pop-up pepper seeds are removed, they obviously will not grow. We wash the rest and disinfect for 1-2 hours in 1-2% solution of potassium permanganate. Then rinse to clear water.
Pepper Seeds - one of the most tightly viable. Under the best conditions, the time from sowing to the first shoots can last from 10 to 20 days. In order to speed up this process, many gardeners use special stimulants, for example, "Zircon" or humates.
As a heat-loving culture, pepper is very sensitive to temperature fluctuations, therefore, for greater productivity can be hardened seeds before planting. To do this, sufficiently soaked between several layers of gauze for one week to keep the seeds alternately on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator and at room temperature. Read more about seed preparation.
The soil for seedlings should be nutritious. It can be bought in the store, as a universal, and specifically for peppers.
Easy to prepare the soil and yourself. For this two parts of sod land mixed, one part of sand, one part of peat. 15 grams of urea and potassium sulfate, 40 grams of superphosphate and one glass of wood ash are added to one bucket of such soil.
Pepper root system is very delicate, when transplanting is easily injured and the plant can slow growth for a long time. Therefore, a very good solution is to grow seedlings without picking. Seeds are immediately planted in individual cups capacity of 100 milliliters.
Peat pots can be one of the options, as well as homemade containers from several layers of paper. When disembarking in the greenhouse they do not need to be released, you can set them in prepared pits together with the container. In a short time, both peat and paper from moisture and microflora will easily become part of the soil.
You can plant seeds in other containers, in this case, when transplanting into the ground, you will need to be especially careful about the roots. It will be necessary to replant a whole earthen clod, previously watering the plant well.
Sow the seeds should be at a depth of 1-1.5 centimeters, shed them with warm water, cover with plastic wrap. Before germination, the temperature should be provided from 2 to 25 degrees Celsius. Then no lower than 17 degrees.
Terms of planting peppers in different regions
When determining the landing time is very convenient to use a simple calculation. Peppers of various grades can be both early and middle-late.
The time from the first shoots to fruiting is always indicated by the manufacturer of the seed on the package. It averages 100-135 days. To him we add a germination period of 14-21 days and, guided by the desired time of harvest, we calculate the necessary numbers.
In different regions, spring frosts end at different times. If there is a heated greenhouse, the crop can be obtained 2-3 weeks earlier. Otherwise it will be necessary to consider with possible risk of low night temperatures.
- Terms of planting pepper for seedlings in the Leningrad region: for unheated greenhouses, seeds are planted in late February and early March, and at the end of May in greenhouses;
- Dates of sowing pepper for seedlings in central Russia - the beginning of sowing from 1 to 15 February;
- When planting peppers for seedlings in Vologda - the end of February and the beginning of March;
- When to plant peppers for seedlings in Irkutsk? In Eastern Siberia, for example, in Irkutsk, from February 15 to 20.
In any case, it is best to plant seedlings in the ground at the age of 55-65 days, not allowing it to grow.
Bitter pepper is a great seasoning. Sweet pepper is a real delicacy among its vegetable counterparts. Its taste and aroma is unique, and it has the widest application in cooking.
Fresh salads, stews, pastries, pickled, salted and frozen mixes stuffed with various fillings, lecho and ketchup - this choice will suit any connoisseur of good cuisine. Growing this crop and getting a decent harvest is a great pleasure!
Useful materials
Read other articles on pepper seedlings:
- Proper cultivation of seeds and whether to soak them before planting?
- How to grow black pepper peas, chili, bitter or sweet at home?
- The main reasons why the leaves are twisted at the shoots, the seedlings fall or stretch, and also why it can die?
- Features of cultivation in the Urals, in Siberia and Moscow region.
- Learn yeast based fertilizer recipes.
