Pepper has long been firmly established in the diet of most people on our planet. However, caring for pepper is a delicate and painstaking matter. This vegetable is quite capricious and requires careful attention. But your efforts are more than rewarded not only with beautiful-looking salads or other dishes, but also with a wealth of vitamins and minerals in your diet. So how to care for peppers?

Planting peppers, like many other vegetables, begins with working with seedlings. Seeds are sown at the end of February.

Before direct sowing, a number of preparatory actions must be performed:

1. The seeds are disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate (1%), after which they are thoroughly washed with water.
2. Then they are treated with special growth stimulants, which can be purchased at gardening stores.
3. Then special antifungal drugs come into play. They must be used to protect future pepper seedlings in advance. Only then does the process of directly planting the treated seeds into pots to a depth of 6-12 mm begin. Fertilizing is done when 3 leaves have already appeared on the plant.

The following recipe is suitable for feeding: potassium salt (30 g), urea (50 g) and superphosphate (125 g). All components are mixed and dissolved in 10 liters of water.

Caring for this crop also involves hardening off the seedlings. This is necessary if you plan to grow pepper in a greenhouse in the future. The hardening process involves moving pots with seedlings to an open space. At night, seedlings should be in a protected place. Hardening can only be carried out in warm weather.

Planting pepper in a greenhouse is possible when 12-14 leaves have appeared on it and the formation of buds can be seen in their axils. The soil for planting also needs preliminary preparation. The soil needs potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers. Some novice gardeners mistakenly fertilize the soil with manure. This should not be done, otherwise there will be excessive growth of the bush against the background of the falling off of pepper flowers. You can use compost or humus at the rate of 1 bucket per 1 sq.m.

Peppers are planted in a greenhouse in beds 1 meter wide. The distance between them should not exceed 0.5 meters.

Planting density directly depends on the variety. WITH low-growing varieties and hybrids need a distance of 35 cm, low-growing varieties - 25 cm in one row. It should also be added that in the future it is necessary to pinch, trim and remove excess shoots, mainly when breeding tall varieties of pepper.

Remember about watering, temperature and fresh air

It is necessary to adhere to the necessary temperature regime. Its indicators, from planting to full ripening of the fruit, should be 21-28°C in daytime and 15°C at night. Subsequently, daytime temperatures decrease by 1-2 degrees. In addition, regular ventilation of the greenhouse is important. It is necessary to give passage periodically fresh air by opening doors or windows. IN summer period year, if the thermometer has risen above 30°C, the glass greenhouse part is sprayed with a chalk suspension or shaded with small wooden gratings.

Peppers should be watered at least 2-3 times a week, always at the root. The plant mounts only with the help wet soil. After it dries, the rows need to be loosened. It is best to water from 9 to 11 am. It is important to prevent both drying out and excessive moisture of the soil. Pepper reacts equally negatively to both the first and the second.

Pollination process

It is impossible to properly care for peppers without pollination. It should be remembered that pepper flowers are bisexual, so independent pollination is possible. However, if after open door or insects fly into the greenhouse window, unauthorized cross-pollination is possible. That's why experienced gardeners It is not recommended to grow spicy and sweet varieties in close proximity. Otherwise, if pollen hot pepper If something sweet gets on the pistil, the taste of such a ripe fruit may become bitter.

Growing peppers in a greenhouse (video)

Feeding and molding

Pepper feeding occurs twice a month. After its completion, the soil needs to be watered clean water, otherwise there is a high probability of burning the leaves. You can replace mineral fertilizers with organic ones. To do this, use a solution of slurry or bird droppings, wood ash in an amount of 200 g per 10 liters of solution.

To create a vertical crop, the formation of the bush begins from the first fork.

Then in the first branch you should leave 2 shoots, which will be the central ones. Then 2 shoots remain at each node - vertical and external, it is also called additional. In this way, the bush is formed to a height of 1 - 1.2 meters.

After planting the pepper seedlings in the ground, the next step begins. important stage for growing this vegetable crop. Caring for peppers when grown in a greenhouse and in open ground differs in some respects. Many people think that a good harvest of pepper, since it is a heat-loving crop, can only be grown in a greenhouse or in the southern regions, where summers are long, but many years of experience have shown that it is also possible to get it in open ground good results pepper yield. It is important to know all the pros and cons different ways growing peppers in open ground and in a greenhouse, as well as differences in care.

Planting peppers in open ground.

For growing peppers in open ground purchase pepper seeds of early ripening varieties, for which the period from germination to harvesting the first harvest is no more than 120 days. The time for planting peppers in open ground without shelter falls on the first days of June; usually by this time a stable warm weather with an average daily temperature of about +18 degrees. To plant in open ground, pepper seedlings must reach the age of 55-60 days by the beginning of May; the plants have 8-12 leaves, first buds and flowers.

When growing seedlings in open ground, it is important to select the most favorable place for this garden crops. Pepper loves warmth and sun, so best site for the garden beds will be on the south side of the buildings. If the bed is located on open place, then on the north side it is desirable to create protection from cold winds; for this you need to plant a number of tall vegetables on the windward side - corn, beans, peas.

You cannot grow peppers in a garden where related vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes grew last season. Peppers are good to grow after root vegetables - carrots, beets or cabbage, pumpkins, beans.

Planting peppers should be done carefully so that the seedlings do not experience stress; they should be planted in cloudy weather or in the evening, when sun activity is reduced. When planting peppers on a sunny day, the plants need to be shaded and the holes should be watered generously so that the seedlings do not wither.

Pepper seedlings quickly adapt and grow when transplanted by transferring them from pots, when the soil is not destroyed and the roots are not damaged.

Caring for peppers in open ground.

Pepper grows well if, after planting, the soil surface in the garden bed is mulched with peat, humus, or if the soil is covered with dark soil. plastic film. To do this, before planting the seedlings, the bed is covered with a dark film, slits are made in the holes, and then the seedlings are planted in these holes and the plants are watered. With this method of covering the ground with a film when caring for pepper, there is no need to weed and loosen the ridges, since weeds do not grow through the film, moisture is retained in the soil longer, a crust does not form on the surface, and the temperature in the soil will be a couple of degrees higher, which is very beneficial pepper.

Without mulching, the soil must be regularly weeded and loosened so that the roots of vegetable plants receive enough air. Loosening the pepper ridges is done superficially, about 5 cm, using a tool similar to a fork, since the numerous roots of the pepper are shallow.

In open ground, they mainly grow short varieties of peppers that do not require staking, and the crown of the plants is formed according to the rules of forking. The top of the peppers is pinched when the plants reach a height of 20-25 cm, when it produces side shoots, only the two strongest ones are left, they, in turn, are also left with two shoots each, in the end you should get 8-10 branches. It is recommended to remove pepper shoots growing inside the bush.

When forming peppers, they are planted according to a 45 x 50 cm pattern, i.e. rows are made every 50 cm, and holes in the row for planting seedlings are dug every 45 cm.

How to water peppers correctly:

The quantity and quality of the harvest depends on watering the pepper. If the plants do not have enough moisture, their stems become woody, buds and leaves fall off, and the set fruits become thin-walled and hard. Before flowering, peppers need to be watered generously once a week so that the soil in the beds is wet to a depth of at least 20 cm. After flowering, during the growth period of pepper fruits in dry weather, abundant watering is required every 3-4 days.

Do not water peppers cold tap water from a hose by sprinkling over the leaves, in which case you make two mistakes at once. You only need to water the pepper with warm water that has settled in a tank at the root.

Additional fertilizing of peppers when grown in open ground and in a greenhouse is done in the same way. Peppers are fertilized for the first time 2 weeks after planting. When the plants are still actively growing green mass, feed them well organic fertilizer- infusion of mullein or chicken manure, diluted in a ratio of 1:10 and 1:15. The following fertilizing is carried out every 2-3 weeks, using complex mineral fertilizer. It is better to exclude organic matter so that the plant’s energies are directed towards flowering and fruit formation.

Caring for peppers in a greenhouse.

In greenhouses, you can grow all varieties of pepper from early to late ripening, in which the first harvest of fruit ripens 135 days after germination.

Pepper seedlings can be planted in a greenhouse in the first ten days of May, as the plants are protected from short-term frosts and cold nights. By this time, pepper seedlings should reach the age of 60 days, so pepper seeds for greenhouses are sown almost a month earlier than those intended for open ground.

The soil in the greenhouse must be renewed or fertilized annually, for this purpose per 1 sq.m. add up to two buckets of humus and about 50 grams of complex mineral fertilizer. Pepper does not like acidic soil, so it is limed in advance or, when planting, 1-2 tablespoons of wood ash are poured into each hole.

Planting peppers in a greenhouse is usually done more densely, trying to fit as much as possible more plants, for this they use a 30x40 cm pattern. With this planting, the plants are formed into one stem and tall varieties are used, which need to be tied up, like tomatoes.

Temperature conditions when growing peppers in a greenhouse.

Peppers can be planted in a greenhouse when it is average daily temperature will be 20 degrees, and at night it will not fall below +12 degrees. It is imperative to hang a thermometer in the greenhouse, since temperature control is needed not only in spring, but also in summer, in order to prevent overheating.

In a greenhouse there is a danger of an excessive increase in temperature and humidity; in such an atmosphere as in a bathhouse, pepper will grow and bloom, but will not set fruit, since high humidity causes pollen to stick together, and air temperatures above +28 degrees make pollen sterile.

Pepper is well pollinated in the open ground with the help of wind and insects, but bees rarely fly into the greenhouse and the plants are reliably protected from the wind, so they need to be helped to pollinate by shaking the flowering bushes every 3-4 days or brushing the flowers with a brush.

Pepper does not like sudden temperature changes in the greenhouse, so it must be regulated by ventilation on hot days and closing on cool nights.

In a greenhouse, the first pepper crop ripens a month earlier than in the open ground, and thanks to a longer period of warm growth, more crops will grow.

Watering peppers in a greenhouse

Peppers in the greenhouse are watered regularly 1-2 times a week, since precipitation is not available to the plants; the time between waterings can only change due to changes in temperature in the greenhouse. On hot days, the soil dries out faster and plants need to be watered more often. Violation of watering rules - prolonged drying out, followed by abundant watering of the soil, leads to cracking of the fruits.

In order for the peppers to ripen sweet and high in vitamins, the plants need to be fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizer, but not more than once every two weeks.

Errors in pepper care lead to decreased harvest quality. If the pepper plants grow small and ugly, it means the soil is too acidic or the plants are overfed with nitrogen, not enough sunlight, it also causes over-watering and fruit set in high humidity conditions.

Every gardener strives to get a good harvest fresh vegetables in their beds. And the main place in this list is occupied by southern plants: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants. Caring for pepper in open ground, just like caring for other heat-loving crops, involves creating a certain microclimate in which it will be comfortable to grow.

The secrets of growing pepper in open ground lie in following proven technology and monitoring the development of plants. Cover the bed with peppers additionally or ventilate the greenhouse, feed it with fertilizer or hill up the plantings - the appearance of the plant will unmistakably tell you what it is missing.

Biological features

To harvest a good harvest of sweet peppers in Russian conditions, you need to know the features of its growth and development. It became possible to grow peppers in open ground only after breeding resistant varieties and hybrids that carry low temperature, its fluctuations and insufficient quantity heat without loss of yield.

Such varieties appeared in Russia in the early 70s. There were few of them, but they were universal, growing well in all climatic regions: from Moldova to Siberia.

Important! The active promotion of pepper to the north and east is facilitated by the emergence of new covering materials, the availability of a variety of greenhouses and greenhouses, and the development of resistant varieties and hybrids.

Pepper is perennial shrub with spicy or sweet fruits. In the harsh conditions of our climate, this crop is grown as an annual. According to the timing of fruit ripening, there are early, middle and late varieties.

You can learn how to properly care for pepper plantings by studying the biological characteristics and developed agricultural technology.

The plant is thermophilic, good harvests are obtained if or in a bed with temporary film cover. During the entire growth period, pepper requires a temperature of +20 °C to +30 °C.

This is a short day culture. With ten hours of daylight, fruits ripen two weeks earlier than with 14 hours of light.

The development of flowers and ovaries is affected by dry air; in the heat they fall off. At high humidity Fungal diseases quickly begin to develop on peppers. The optimal air humidity for plant development is 50%.

The popularity of pepper can be determined by looking at the list of varieties in the state register of plants of the Russian Federation. There are already more than 700 of them there and about half are hybrids.

Important! All F1 hybrids differ from varieties in a shorter period before fruit harvest, accelerated harvest ripening, and high adaptability to unfavorable climates.

Agricultural technology for growing seedlings

Before you start planting seeds, you need to decide on the variety. In addition to ripening time, they are characterized by many parameters:

• height and branching of the bush;
• resistance to diseases and weather changes;
• productivity;
• fruit color and weight;
• wall thickness and juiciness.

When choosing in open ground, you should give preference to zoned varieties of early and medium ripening.

Pepper agricultural technology consists of the usual steps:

• preparing and planting seeds for seedlings;
• seedling care;
• planting in open ground;
• watering, fertilizing and loosening;
• pest protection;
• harvesting and processing.

Earth

In the store you need to choose suitable soil for planting seeds. You can also prepare it yourself. A prerequisite is a loose, breathable and moisture-permeable structure.

There must be a baking powder present in the soil:

• sand;
• peat;
• sawdust

A mixture is prepared from turf land, peat and sand in a ratio of 1:2:1.

Seeds

To obtain strong and stable seedlings, seeds must be prepared before planting. Viable seeds are selected from heavily salted water and sink to the bottom. They are then soaked for an hour in a raspberry solution of potassium permanganate, killing the fungal infection that affects adult plants.

Before planting in the soil, the seeds are dipped for 12 hours in a solution of microelements and growth stimulants, for example, Epin Extra. is 60-70%.

Seeds should be planted in individual cups or in cassette cells. Pepper roots do not recover well from damage and do not like transplanting. Seeds are planted at a depth of 1 cm, between plants - 2 cm, between rows - 3 cm.

They are planted in necessarily moist soil in mid-February for greenhouses and in mid-March for greenhouses. The ground is covered with film and after 3 days shoots appear. The temperature should be +25-28 °C.

Seedling

IN middle lane In Russia, pepper is grown only through seedlings. This is due to the long growing season. Even early varieties It takes at least 90 days to set fruit. In addition, the sooner the peppers begin to bear fruit, the more fruits can be harvested. As a perennial crop, pepper bears fruit without stopping until frost.

Basic requirements of seedlings:

• high temperature +20-25 °C;
• sufficient illumination at short day. The seedlings are covered with a lid from 7 pm to 7 am, creating the required length of daylight artificially;
• timely watering when the soil dries out, which should always be moist. Pepper recovers very poorly after drying out the soil and is delayed in development and fruiting;
• sufficient feeding with a weak solution complex fertilizer with microelements;
• hardening before planting in the ground.

Without picking, seedlings are ready for transfer to the ground in 45-50 days, with picking - after 60 days.

They begin to harden the seedlings 10-14 days before planting in the ground, gradually accustoming them to the temperature outside the window. Seedlings that are grown in optimal conditions and has undergone hardening and is settling in perfectly in the new place. The day before transplanting, seedlings are sprayed with Epin Extra or Zircon to relieve stress from transplantation, enhance protective properties and increase productivity.

How to grow viable, healthy and strong seedlings pepper, today, is no secret. We grow it mainly at home, on window sills and loggias. The main thing is attention to the plant, its appearance and speed of development.

Outdoor care

Peppers are transplanted into beds in a greenhouse in mid-April, under film covers in mid-May.

How to care for peppers in open ground is described in detail in many manuals, magazines and websites. In addition to standard care, there is care that consists of the following procedures:

• glaze;
• feeding;
• weeding and loosening;
• protection from diseases and pests;
• planting taking into account crop rotation;
• Caring for peppers in open ground has several features.

With a large green mass of the bush, pepper has weak fibrous roots. Therefore, it must be located in a place protected from strong winds, otherwise the plants will die.

Be sure to tie up high-grade peppers and plant them with tall plants: corn, sunflowers, Jerusalem artichokes. Tie each shoot with a fan to a trellis or peg.

Pepper is a self-pollinating plant; it does not need insects to form ovaries. However, during mass flowering in dry weather, it is worth shaking the bushes for better pollination.

Pepper bushes form 1-3 stems. By pinching side shoots, you can form a spreading bush. Be sure to remove the crown flower, which forms first in the center of the plant. - Not prerequisite, but it gives an increase in yield by 30%, and the number of fruits doubles. The spreading bush shades the soil and protects it from overheating.

The most best seeds collected from the crown flower, left if they want to grow their own seeds. The largest and juiciest peppers grow on the four lower tiers of the bush.

Watering

The main condition for a bountiful harvest is sufficient watering. The soil under the pepper should be constantly moist and loose. The roots are located superficially, so you need to loosen shallowly. Pepper responds well to hilling with damp soil. Additional roots grow from the stem, which not only increase the feeding area, but also strengthen the bush in the ground.

After planting the seedlings, water them daily warm water. After rooting the plant three times a week, 2 liters per bush.

The ovary on the pepper grows first in length, then in width, and finally the walls of the fruit thicken. If not enough, they remain thin.

If the roots are overwatered, they will not have enough oxygen. The pepper may develop a fungal infection or rot. Loose soil, which allows oxygen to pass through to the roots, is very important condition normal growth for the plant. Mulching, loosening and hilling with wet soil are mandatory techniques in vegetable farming.

Fertilizer application

Watering is followed by fertilizing. Three main feedings are carried out after the seedlings take root: during flowering and at the beginning of fruiting. If this is enough, the plant develops normally; there is no need to pour excess fertilizer under the plants. An infusion of droppings, manure, ash and a solution of mineral fertilizers are also suitable for fertilizer.

If the summer is cold and cloudy, the roots of the pepper cannot provide it with sufficient nutrition. Weak, yellow, spotted leaves will indicate that the plant does not have enough nutrition. In such cases, it is necessary to apply foliar feeding on the leaf.

Important! Foliar feeding can very quickly deliver nutrition for plant development in unfavorable climates.

Spray the leaves on a warm but cloudy day with a solution of microelements, boric acid, ash, superphosphate, urea.

Caring for it is not difficult. The harvest continues until the frost, until the plant dies from low temperatures.

Conclusion

Growing peppers in open ground brings not only benefits in obtaining a long-awaited harvest, but also the pleasure of growing amazing plant, which accompanies a person on all continents. This treasure trove of vitamins, thanks to the efforts of breeders, has greatly changed its appearance.

Instead of red 50-gram fruits, we can collect purple, orange, yellow and chocolate giants weighing up to 400 grams. However, no one tries to change the taste and smell of the vegetable. The bright sweet-spicy taste and harmonious aroma have suited pepper lovers for more than 500 years.

Plant and grow good pepper in our climate it’s not at all difficult. You will need knowledge important nuances this business and the willingness to make efforts to obtain an abundant and high-quality harvest. Today we will tell you when to plant peppers and how to properly care for them.

We bought pepper seeds, what next?

You have decided on the varieties and purchased the seeds. Now you need to properly prepare them for sowing. Note that not all planting material can be soaked and activated. You need to carefully read the information on the seed package. If it says that they have undergone special treatment and are covered with a shell, then such seeds should be immediately sown in the soil. Soaking and pickling will destroy protective coating, and the seedlings may grow of poor quality. Let's watch the video:

But it is better to prepare all simple pepper seeds and those that you collected yourself for planting according to the following scheme:

I. Disinfection

To disinfect seeds, they are dipped in a 1% iodine solution or strong potassium permanganate for an hour and a half. Afterwards, the seeds need to be washed and lightly blotted with a napkin.

Before planting, pepper seeds should be soaked in a medium-strength solution of potassium permanganate and left for 3 hours to 1 day. This will help activate the seeds to grow and further development. It is better to place the seeds in a gauze bag and lower them into a glass with a warm solution.

II. Growth activation

In order to awaken the seeds before planting and stimulate their growth, you need to immerse the planting material in a solution prepared according to one of the proposed options. Compositions for activating seed growth:

1. Boiled water temperature 40-500. Soaking time 2-3 hours.
2. Wood ash infusion: 1-2 tablespoons of ash are diluted in a liter of water and infused for 24 hours. Pepper seeds are dipped into the solution and kept for 12-24 hours.
3. You can buy a ready-made seed growth activator for soaking at a specialty store and follow the instructions on the package exactly. This option is advantageous in that the composition of such a mixture usually includes disinfecting components and substances that increase the immunity of sprouts.

To activate the natural powers of the seeds, you can use an infusion of wood ash. Dissolve a few tablespoons of ash (preferably birch ash) in a liter of water and let it brew for a day. Then shake the solution and dip the pepper seeds into it to soak. The seeds should first be placed in a gauze bag. Peppers need to steep for 12-24 hours.

III. Germination

To germinate, soaked seeds are placed in a cloth or gauze or paper napkin and watered with water. The fabric is placed in a container and left in a warm and dark place. As the paper or material dries, water is added to the container. Do not overfill the seeds; the fabric should be slightly damp. This step is not necessary to prepare the seeds for planting, but it has its advantages. Firstly, you will plant only healthy seeds that are guaranteed to sprout, and secondly, the pepper will germinate faster and produce a harvest.

Germination allows you to discard empty and damaged seeds. This is especially true when the area for growing seedlings is limited. You can soak several varieties at once in one container. To do this, cut a gauze, cotton or fabric napkin under the bottom of the container, divide it with a marker or pen into sectors and label them for each variety, as in the photo

If the package indicates that the pepper seeds are processed and coated protective layer, then such material cannot be soaked or germinated. All other seeds can be soaked and even allowed to hatch before planting. For germination, you can use paper or cloth napkins moistened with water.

When to plant peppers? Professional gardeners identify three suitable periods in which biological rhythms seeds are most favorable for growth:

1. second half of January (from January 15 to 20) - this period is suitable for late varieties and growing peppers in a greenhouse;
2. February 11-16 is the most popular period for planting pepper seedlings, which is suitable for all regions of our country;
3. late period - second half of March (March 10-20).

Late planting dates are used for reseeding to extend the harvest period of peppers in warm summer and autumn conditions, or for growing early ripening varieties.

Ready seeds need to be sown in special containers with soil. An excellent base soil for peppers is humus, sand and fertile land in a ratio of 2:1:2. To increase the nutritional value of the soil, you can add wood ash to it at the rate of 1 tablespoon per liter of mixture.

Hatched peppers can be planted in the ground. To do this, prepare a container with nutritious soil. The soil should be poured into 2/3 of the container and lightly compacted. Pepper seeds should be placed on top of the soil, at a distance of 1.5-2 cm from each other. Cover the planted seeds with a 2 cm layer of soil and press lightly with your palm.

The seeds are planted at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other and buried 1.5-2 cm into the ground. The crops need to be shed with water or a weak solution of manganese and covered with film. The container should be placed in a dark place where the air temperature is 22-25 C. ideal conditions for seedlings to emerge. After the seedlings emerge from the ground, the film is removed and the containers are transferred to a bright place. If there is not enough light, then the seedlings need to be illuminated artificially, turning on the lamp for 12 hours a day.

Some gardeners recommend hardening off seedlings immediately after they appear. To do this, the seedlings are placed in a cool place (at a temperature of +16 C) for 2-3 days. Then the containers are returned to the heat under the lamp for the entire period until the seedlings are planted in the ground.

Growing pepper seedlings: care conditions

Peppers have sensitive roots and do not tolerate picking. Therefore, it is better if the seedlings are immediately planted in peat glasses or volumetric pots of 250-300 ml. You can also use special peat tablets, which are then planted in the garden along with the plant. Optimal temperature for the growth of peppers – +22-27 C during the day and +16-18 C at night. The whole process is described in detail in the video:

I. Features of watering pepper seedlings

The first seedlings of peppers appear on days 7-14. This period depends on the variety and quality of the seeds. For the first 2 weeks, peppers only need to moisten the soil once every 2-3 days. It is better to water the sprouts at the root using a spray bottle at a distance of 15 cm between the spray bottle and the soil. Later, when the first true leaves appear, it will be possible to spray water on the green part of the seedlings.

II. Feeding growing peppers

You need to use the fertilizer composition for seedlings 2 times. The first fertilizing should be done 2 weeks after emergence. Urea, ash, whey are added to the fertilizer or diluted ready-made composition, purchased at a specialty store.

The second feeding is carried out a week before planting the peppers in the garden or greenhouse. Now you can add a tablespoon of superphosphate per liter of water to the fertilizer composition. More details in the video:

III. Picking and hardening

When 2-4 true leaves appear on the stems of the peppers, they need to be plucked and transplanted into a larger container (if you previously sown the seeds in a common container). You need to be careful with the roots, transferring the plant into a container without loosening the earthen lump. After picking, peppers need to be removed from straight sun rays for a day or two.

Pepper seedlings do not tolerate picking as well as tomato seedlings. Therefore, roots should be removed from the container with extreme caution. Healthy roots should be branched and completely covered with soil.

Before picking, the soil in the container should be watered generously (preferably 12 hours before transplanting) and gently loosened around the roots of the peppers. This will make it easier for the seedlings to be removed from the box with minimal damage to the root system. It is better to remove seedlings using a small wooden spatula

With insufficient and excessive watering high temperature exposure to air, the pepper stems may become lignified, and the plant itself may die. Until this vegetable crop blooms, it is enough to water it by sprinkling once a week. 5 - 6 liters of water should go per 1 m 2 of land. If the moisture evaporates quickly and the weather is hot, you need to double the amount of water entering the ground. Flowering peppers require watering twice a week, provided that the same volume of water spent per application is maintained.

To speed up the growth of peppers, when watering, use only warm (from 23 ° C) water, otherwise the fruits on the bushes will appear very late.

During the entire growing season, pepper needs 3 feedings. The first is carried out during flowering. To prepare the nutrient solution needed for her, take crushed leaves of plantain, nettle, coltsfoot and dandelion, pour into a bucket filled with manure and transfer to a 100-liter barrel. Add wood ash (1 cup), fill everything with water and mix. After 6 - 7 hours, mix again and start applying fertilizer, using 1 liter of it per bush.

The second and third feedings are carried out as the plants enter the fruiting phase.

For the second feeding you will also need a 100-liter barrel. In it you need to combine 2 glasses of nitrophoska and 1 bucket of litter, then fill them with water. After 3 - 4 days the fertilizer will be ready. Before adding it to the soil, you need to thoroughly mix the mass and use it at the rate of 2 liters for each plant.

1.5 weeks after the second feeding, start the next one. For a barrel of the same volume, take 1 bucket of mullein (can be fresh), 1 glass of urea and 3.5 liters of bird droppings. Pour these components with water and leave for about 4 - 5 days. The amount of fertilizer consumed per bush should be from 2.5 to 3 liters.

You can protect heat-loving peppers from the harmful effects of cold winds by planting beans or peas next to them and placing high supports nearby on which these plants can climb.

When growing peppers, it is important to constantly monitor the formation of plants. If they have reached 20 - 25 cm in height, pinch the tops of the bushes to encourage branching. Remove side shoots as they appear.

When collecting fruits, do not remove them all from the bush at once. Cut off excess shoots, as they hinder the growth and ripening of peppers.