Many people who have just started growing their crops hope to achieve good result only due to the fact that they choose high-quality soil and good seeds pepper. However, this is not enough for abundant fruiting. Peppers are very demanding on moisture, and therefore they must be watered regularly. Only in this way, it will give large and sweet fruits. Today we will talk about how to water pepper seedlings and avoid mistakes.

Rule number 1 - keep the right level of humidity

How to water pepper seedlings at home? Of course, the soil in which peppers are grown must be constantly moist. The soil must not be allowed to become too dry, otherwise the plants will not be able to grow and develop normally.

Despite this, it is also undesirable to water them with too much water. In this case, the seedlings may suffer root system(the roots will begin to rot), which, in turn, will lead to a halt in development or death.

Therefore, in containers with vegetable bushes in without fail several small drainage holes should be made. They will contribute to the removal of unnecessary fluid, and prevent stagnation.

If you stick to two simple rules, even a novice gardener will be able to maintain a normal level of moisture in the soil:

1. Using any convenient object, you should get a small part of the soil from the pot with seedlings (it is advisable to take the material deeper), and then give it a spherical shape. If the earth has not lost its shape, and has not disintegrated, the liquid is quite enough. But when the soil falls apart - it should be watered.
2. Using a stick or finger, lightly push upper layer earth. If traces of liquid remain on them, it is not necessary to water, and vice versa.

Rule number 2 - useful watering

How can you get strong and healthy pepper bushes? In fact, this is not so - it's simple, but knowing all the tricks, you can grow excellent seedlings without much effort. For young seedlings that have just sprouted, it is very useful to irrigate using warm, settled water.

How to do it? Everything is very simple. It is necessary in the evening to pour water into a bucket or other container intended for irrigation, and then cover tightly. In addition, melt water has a positive effect on the growth of seedlings. In a pre-prepared container, cool water is poured.

After that, close everything tightly and put in freezer. Hold until it turns into ice. Then they need to be removed and wait for complete thawing. You can water only when the water warms up to room temperature.

The only disadvantage of this method is that it takes a very long time to prepare, but then you can enjoy better results.

It's important to know! It is unacceptable to use cool liquid for irrigation. Since, there is a risk of infection of planted crops with a disease called black leg. And eventually they will die.

How frequent should irrigation be?

How to properly cultivate the land after planting pepper seeds for seedlings? Although peppers are quite picky about moist soil, their watering needs vary, depending on the following circumstances:

1. The age of the peppers. After how many days should the soil be moistened? There is no need on the windowsill immediately after planting, until they are visible - this will not affect their germination. On the early dates cultivation (before picking), plants consume a very small amount of liquid. Gradually, after germination, germination and a set of vegetation mass will occur, therefore, in the future, watering should be carried out at the same frequency.
2. Seedling density of peppers. If the plants were planted at a short distance from each other, then fast drying soil. In this regard, it must be often irrigated, avoiding drying out.
3. The volume of soil under seedlings. When it is not too much - preferably more often. Under opposite conditions, this event it is recommended to perform with less frequency;

As for the question, how often to water the seedlings on the windowsill? It should be noted that in such a situation, the need for soil moisture increases significantly. After all, being under the influence of sunlight, the liquid tends to evaporate faster.

Note! It is best to perform such procedures in the morning.

Rules for moistening the soil under seedlings

Before watering, it is required to determine the condition of the earth. If you decide to carry out moisturizing, then you can proceed to the actions:

• fill the container for irrigation with prepared settled or melt water;
• irrigate carefully and measuredly, trying to prevent liquid from getting on the ground part of the plants.

In a situation where water has entered the leaves or stem of the bushes, it should be removed using a clean piece of material for this purpose.

What should be the watering after transplanting pepper?

How to water the pepper and how many times to achieve good harvest? The time comes when it is time to plant seedlings separately - to carry out a dive. And as a result, the rules for moisturizing pepper after picking change significantly. Once the seedlings have been transplanted into open soil, water the plant holes with water, then carefully cover with soil. This will keep the moisture in long time.

Attention! To strengthen the bushes of peppers, they should sometimes be fed with infusion with tea leaves.

Cooking recipe: three liters hot water you need to pour one package of tea leaves. Leave to cool until it becomes slightly warm.

Wrong actions when performing irrigation

Every inexperienced gardener quite often makes a mistake when growing this crop of vegetables. Everyone knows that bell peppers are very fond of wet soil. Because of this, some believe that it is possible to water pepper seedlings in the morning and at noon during the summer heat. However, this is incorrect.

As a result of liquid getting on plants, when it begins to evaporate, traces remain on the leaves sunburn. If you do not pay attention to this in time, the seedlings can be left without leaves literally in a day. As a result, its growth will significantly stop, and the crop will grow deformed and very small.

Growing vegetables on personal plot- an interesting and not so difficult task. It makes it possible to eat tasty, healthy fruits, and not buy dubious products in the store. Growing pepper seedlings at home will not cause trouble, you just need to organize it correctly. If everything is done correctly, the seedlings will turn out strong, which will increase the chances of a harvest.

Specifics of the preparatory stage

It is necessary to purchase everything you need in advance - containers for seeds and seedlings, soil, drainage, fertilizers, a sprayer, a phytolamp, if natural light not enough.

When to plant seeds

This indicator is influenced by the planned timing of the transfer of young plants to a greenhouse or open ground, features climate zone. It is necessary to take into account the specifics of a particular variety of pepper and study the instructions on the bag of seeds.

Experienced gardeners, when setting sowing dates, adhere to the rule of 65-75 days: the last week of February - the first decade of March. At this time, before the proposed planting of seedlings on permanent place they start seeding. Some turn to sowing calendar. The influence of the phases of the moon on plants has long been confirmed, so novice agronomists should take it into service.

container requirements

Suitable opaque Plastic container. The ground part of the seedlings needs ultraviolet, but the root system does not need it. Direct Sun rays slow down the growth of the roots, which negatively affects the condition of the seedlings.

It is good if the container is solid, and not divided into zones. The size is calculated in this way - 2-3 pepper seeds are planted on the soil with a volume of 300-500 ml. The bottom must be level so that the drainage layer settles down qualitatively. peat pots and wooden boxes fit too.

Soil preparation

The soil for seedlings of tomatoes and peppers needs the same. Many make a mistake - they collect land in random places or take it from the garden. This basis has hyperacidity and aggressive for capricious pepper. Therefore, it is better to purchase the finished mass in a specialized store.

Read also:

Autumn work in the garden

To prepare the soil, you need to take:

• 3 parts of humus;
• 3 - peat or sod;
• 1 - river sand;
• ash at the rate of 250 ml of the composition per 5 kg of soil.

Proportions can change, each gardener has their own. Additionally, you will need stones, pebbles or other fractions for the drainage layer.

Preparing seeds for sowing

Much depends on this stage: how they will take root, when they will sprout and how strong the seedlings will turn out. Homemade seeds are stored for three years, then germination decreases. But such elements do not need pre-processing.

Purchased products go through the following stages of preparation:

1. Selection. For calibration, the grains are soaked for 7 minutes in water with the addition of salt (30 g of product per 1 liter of liquid). Floating elements are thrown away, and those that have settled to the bottom are taken out and dried.
2. Disinfection. If this procedure is carried out, the grown seedlings will avoid characteristic diseases. It is necessary to place the selected seeds in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for a quarter of an hour.
3. Soaking. It is carried out immediately before landing. Prepared grains are laid out in wet gauze for 1-2 days.

If you plan to plant pepper seeds in open ground, you can take some soil from a specific area and add it to the prepared mixture. The plant will quickly get used to the new conditions.

Sowing pepper seeds for seedlings

Work is carried out according to certain scheme. Everything matters - from following the sequence of actions to the depth of immersion of the seeds. First, the prepared soil is treated with boiling water for disinfection and loosened, then the seed material will receive moisture and oxygen.

Planting pepper seeds for seedlings is as follows:

• drainage is laid out in a container up to 2.5-3 cm high, on top - soil mixture. The thickness of this layer is 8-10 cm, about 3 cm remains to the edge of the container.
• The soil is moistened with filtered or settled water.
• Seeds are planted at a distance of 2-2.5 cm from one another to a depth of 1 cm, sprinkled with soil mixture on top.
• When the seeds are planted, cover the container with glass or wrap it with cling film. Containers are kept in a room with a temperature of 23-25ºС for several days. At this time, they are not watered, there is enough moisture in the soil. Explicitly drying soil is sprayed every 2 days.

Read also:

Features of the occurrence of pepper diseases and ways to deal with them

Shoots appear in one to two weeks. After that, the film or glass is removed, the container is placed in a room with a temperature of 18ºС to form the root system. So that pepper seedlings do not die at home, they are provided with comfort, which is maintained until the seedlings are planted.

How to grow pepper seedlings

For germinated seedlings, a temperature of 24-26ºС during the day and not lower than 15-17ºС at night is suitable. Young plants are kept on the windowsill, on the sunny or cool side, depending on weather conditions and temperature indicators.

How to water pepper seedlings

The first three days, seedlings are allowed to be sprayed, after which they are irrigated regularly, but not abundantly, the temperature of the liquid is within 30-32ºС. At the bottom of the pot, you need to pre-drill holes for the outflow of excess moisture. How often to water pepper seedlings does not depend on the type of vegetable, you just need to make sure that the soil does not dry out.

Lighting needs natural sunlight. Boxes with seedlings are recommended to be kept on the southern windows. In case of insufficient lighting, you will have to install fluorescent or phytolamps. Pepper loves 20 hours of light per day.

Picking pepper seedlings

Plants need transplanting large shoots in separate containers. Event Rules:

• Shoots should acquire two leaves. This happens 2-3 weeks after sowing the seeds.
• 2 hours before manipulation, the soil in the container around the plants is carefully separated. After that, the sprouts are taken out with a teaspoon without the risk of damaging the roots.
• A third of the root is pinched off from the seedling and placed in a separate container with soil composition. The procedure strengthens the rhizome.
• The earth in a glass is moistened and gently tamped at the stem. In the early days, the seedlings should be in a warm room, then they are transferred to the rest of the seedlings.

If there is no picking procedure in the plans, the seeds are sown in spacious boxes with a large distance between them.

Rules for the introduction of top dressing

Seedlings can germinate and develop well without fertilizers, but their use guarantees the yield of bushes. Gardeners practice different feeding systems. It's wise to try a few to find the right fit. best option. But an excess of fertilizer is dangerous in that the seedlings will outgrow even before planting on permanent soil.

Read also:

Nutrient for Spring Salad

Pest and disease control

It is not enough to know how to grow pepper seedlings at home, one must also understand what troubles await her before planting in open ground: diseases and pests. The activity of the latter is provoked by summer residents themselves in case of violation of the rules of irrigation and non-observance of growing conditions.

More often pepper seedlings are affected by aphids, spider mite, small flying thrips and whitefly butterflies. To eliminate the problem, use a soap solution and various insecticides. The choice of drug depends on the type of pest. Often, seedlings are affected by dangerous fungal infections. Sick bushes have to be removed.

When to plant seedlings in open ground

Timing depends on temperature environment. It is better to wait for the moment when it will not fall below 12-14ºС during the day and at night. Otherwise, the sprouts get sick and die.

The process consists of several stages:

1. Choose a well-lit and draft-free permanent location.
2. Dig up the soil, fertilize with humus and peat.
3. Form a hole for each seedling. They should be located at a state of 30-50 cm from one another. Between rows, make a distance of 1-1.5 m.
4. Treat each well with a mixture of mineral fertilizers.
5. Remove the seedling from the container with a clod of soil and place it in the hole.
6. Sprinkle the roots and water abundantly. After absorbing moisture, add soil with peat to the top of the hole.

With an organized and responsible approach, planting pepper seedlings is not difficult for beginner gardeners.

In the care of seedlings, watering is an important part of it. The quantity, quality and temperature of water, the frequency of soil moistening play a role. After all, plant cells are more than 90% moisture. For watering peppers, gardeners use not only ordinary water, but also various infusions, nutrient solutions that can improve the quality of seedlings. Let's consider this in more detail.

Water quality plays an important role. For irrigation, always use settled warm water. She is recruited from the tap in advance and defended for a day or two. In that case when tap water too hard, it can be pre-frozen by pouring into plastic bottles and putting it in the freezer. Before use, the water must be completely thawed and warmed to room temperature.

On a note! Watering cold water is excluded, as it can provoke the appearance of a "black leg".

Pepper really does not like dry soil, so you need to make sure that the soil always remains moist. But too much moisture is contraindicated for this crop, otherwise root rot may develop and fungal diseases . In hot weather, watering should be more frequent. At elevated temperatures, plants are recommended to be watered moderately, but daily.

During the formation of the first true leaves, the water consumption for each plant is approximately 1 liter. The amount of moisture introduced is adjusted as the pepper seedlings grow. From the moment of emergence of seedlings to planting in open ground, it increases several times. The appearance of the seedlings will help determine the moment for watering. Leaves begin to droop on dehydrated plants. The soil in a box with grown peppers after watering must be loosened to prevent the appearance of a crust.

The first weeks of the life of seedlings, this technique is not used due to the fact that their roots are too fragile. Loosening is often called "dry watering", as it facilitates access to the roots of air, moisture and nutrients. If you loosen the soil regularly, it helps in the fight against weeds and pests. Remember that the root system of peppers is superficial, it is easy to damage it, so loosening should be carried out shallowly.

Useful advice! If it’s hard for you to understand by eye whether it’s time to water the seedlings, stick it into the ground wooden stick. This will be a kind of moisture test. If after a few minutes the stick becomes wet, then there is enough moisture in the soil and the plants do not need to be watered yet.

In addition to watering in hot weather, it is recommended to humidify the air near plants. To do this, just put a few bowls of water nearby. It's great if you have a small decorative fountain, it will also do its job perfectly.

The moisture requirements of sweet peppers depend on several factors at once:

• seedling age. Until the seeds hatch, the seedlings are not watered at all. If the earth dries up, it can be lightly sprayed with a spray bottle. Very small seedlings are watered from a syringe under the root. Watering seedlings at the stage of formation of the root system is necessary every 2-3 days. During picking, the pepper hole is watered, so the next watering should be done only after 5 days. In the future, the seedlings are watered once every 2-3 days, focusing on the condition of the soil. Blooming seedlings are watered once every 5-6 days in the morning.
• Planting density. Sometimes, for good reasons, the gardener sows seedlings too thickly, for example, if there is critically not enough space on the windowsill. When there are too many seedlings, the soil dries out faster, because each small plant draws moisture out of it. Sweet pepper seedlings should not be allowed to dry out, so watering is done frequently.
• The volume of the earth. The frequency of watering depends on how much land is used for growing seedlings. After all, pepper can grow both in individual pots and in a common box, which can be different heights. The frequency of watering and the amount of water used in all these cases will vary. The rule is what more land the less often watering. In small containers, plants are watered several times more often.

To strengthen the seedlings of sweet pepper, it is not enough to water it with plain water. Often gardeners use various folk remedies that help grow seedlings strong and healthy. There is no unequivocal answer to the question of how often this should be done, you need to focus on the state of the seedlings, their appearance.

How to water seedlings to grow plump

Folk dressings are not inferior in popularity to purchased fertilizers. They are used by many, especially those summer residents who are against the use of chemistry for growing vegetables. At the same time, such funds cost a penny and can be found in every home. How and with what can seedlings be watered to improve their health?

Scientists have experimentally proven that the additional application of iodine when growing sweet pepper seedlings:

• further increases the amount of vitamin C in fruits;
• improves the size, taste and color of peppers;
• contributes to the active growth of crops and increased yields.

This is due to the fact that iodine helps plants to better absorb nitrogenous compounds. Some of this element is found in ash and cow dung. It can also be used on its own as a supplement. Fertilizing with iodine helps protect plants from diseases and pests.

Spraying with iodine solution is carried out once for the purpose of prevention and until the symptoms disappear, if treatment is necessary.

To prepare the solution, add 15 drops of iodine to one bucket of water. You can soften the effect of the microelement and give additional nutrition to pepper by adding 1 liter of milk or whey to the prepared product.

The finished mixture is used immediately after preparation, it is not stored. Watering and spraying the seedlings is carried out in the morning, so that the leaves dry well by the evening.

How does peroxide work?

It contains an additional oxygen atom, which acts as a powerful oxidizing agent. As a result of exposure to hydrogen peroxide, pathogenic microflora quickly dies. At the same time, the soil is aerated. According to summer residents, watering seedlings with a peroxide solution strengthens and develops the root system, plants increase immunity, and the soil undergoes disinfecting treatment. Free oxygen atoms prevent roots from rotting even with excess moisture in the ground.

To prepare the composition, you will need 3% hydrogen peroxide from a pharmacy and warm water. 20 drops of peroxide are added to 1 liter of water, after which the seedlings are immediately watered under the root. The agent should not fall on the stems and leaves of pepper. The concentration should not be exceeded, otherwise the tender roots of the seedlings can be burned.

The basis of yeast fertilizers are special fungi that have a beneficial effect on both the soil and the seedlings themselves. They make plants more hardy, promote good growth of the vegetative mass, promote root development, and increase plant immunity. AT better side soil composition changes.

In a humid warm environment, yeast fungi actively multiply and process organic matter, thereby depriving the pathogenic microflora of nutrition. As a result of their vital activity, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds are formed, beneficial soil microorganisms develop. The disadvantages of the yeast solution include increased breakdown of potassium. The problem is solved by the simultaneous introduction of wood ash.

On a note! An important condition for the impact of fungi is heat, so top dressing is carried out exclusively in a warm room, using water with a temperature of 20-25 degrees to prepare the solution.

Fertilizing with yeast is carried out a week after picking. First, the seedlings must take root. The second time the yeast solution is applied on the eve of flowering. You can prepare it from 10 grams of dry yeast, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 10 liters of water. The funds should be infused for a day, before use it is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:5.

You can get top dressing from potassium permanganate by mixing 2 grams of the substance and 10 liters of water. Composition is carried out

In addition to the fact that manganese eliminates pests, it also copes well with common seedling diseases. For example, it helps against brown spot, which often causes the formation of too small fruits. You can not feed seedlings of sweet pepper with potassium permanganate too often. From an excess of this element, chlorosis can begin.

Common mistakes when watering seedlings

A common mistake when watering sweet pepper seedlings is incorrect choice time of day.Experts recommend watering plants only in the morning..

• In this case, there will be enough time for the moisture to finally soak into the soil and the top layer of the earth to dry out a little before nightfall.
• If you water the seedlings at noon, water droplets on the leaves can cause sunburn.
• Watering seedlings in the evening, when the temperature drops, you can provoke the appearance of fungal diseases due to high humidity.

It is also wrong for those who water the seedlings with a small amount of water.

1. In this case, only the top layer of soil is wetted, and moisture does not reach the bottom of the container. As a result, the roots are not wetted properly, which can even lead to the death of seedlings.
2. Pour water from above until it starts to come out of the drain hole. Only in this case, watering can be called sufficient. Please note that there should be no stagnation of water in the pan.

The third mistake is that cold water is used for irrigation. Pepper is too sensitive and heat-loving culture, it can respond to such neglect with the appearance of a “black leg” and other fungal diseases.

One watering with cold water is enough to deepen young seedlings. It is recommended that newly emerged seedlings be watered with water at a temperature of 30 degrees, in the future the indicator can be reduced to 22-25 degrees.

How to water pepper seedlings: video

Pepper seedling care: video

Those who already have experience growing sweet pepper seedlings know how important proper watering is for them. It allows the root system and the aerial parts of plants to develop rapidly, and prevents diseases. The use of nutritious dressings prepared on your own only enhances the life-giving effect of water.

How to care for pepper seedlings

How to understand that the seedlings are of high quality and ready for planting in the ground

Any high-quality seedling necessarily looks healthy, elastic, has a natural green color, a sufficient number of high-grade leaves.

Seedlings of almost all vegetables are ready for planting about 50 days after planting the seeds. It reaches 25 cm in height, has 4-6 leaves.

How and when to dive seedlings

Usually seeds for seedlings are sown first in in large numbers in large boxes, and when the sprouts sprout, the strongest, largest ones are selected among them and planted in pots and "personal" boxes. As a result, the sprouts get additional area for further development and gain some experience in transplantation.

A pick is made with sprouts that have at least 2 small leaves. The seedlings are watered, and after a few hours they are dug up, the roots are cut off by about 1/3 and planted in a “personal” pot or a large plastic glass.

How to avoid overgrowing seedlings

Overgrown seedlings are not very good, since in a very large shoot the root system becomes too developed and the land available in the pot for food will not be enough. As a result, instead of strong, healthy, stocky seedlings, the gardener gets elongated and frail.

Overgrowth of seedlings can occur for the following reasons:

✓ delay in planting in the ground due to cold spring;

✓ with abundant watering and top dressing; v with a lack of light on the windowsill.

There are several ways to prevent this situation:

✓ when picking, specially cut a part of the root system to prevent overgrowth;

✓ use growth regulators;

✓ plant seeds a little later than usual. If your seedlings have already outgrown, then you should:

✓ stop watering and put the pots in a cooler place;

✓ when transplanting into the ground, long lower part lay the stem underground, which will shorten the plant, and new roots will come from the stem;

✓ cut off several large branches from the shoot, root them and then plant them.

How to properly illuminate seedlings

Plants receive enough light only in open ground, being in a normally lit area and during a long daylight hours, which is naturally possible only in summer. However, seedlings are grown from the end of winter. To help the young shoots get enough light for development, its supply should be organized artificially.

Experienced summer residents at will use the following ways:

✓ Mirrors or sheets of foil are attached to the slopes of the windows, and the light, reflected from them, falls on the seedlings in greater quantities. However, such an amount of light for seedlings may still not be enough, so windows should be washed regularly and “walks” should be carried out, opening windows on a warm sunny day;

✓ The most reliable way of additional illumination is to use fluorescent fluorescent lamps located at a distance of about 15 cm from the seedlings. It should be remembered that the seedlings grow over time, which means that the lamps will have to be raised from them to the height of the outgrowth. The duration of artificial lighting is 19-20 hours daily.

How to properly water seedlings

It is preferable to water the seedlings with settled or filtered water. You can also use melt water if you are not tormented by doubts about its quality, harmlessness chemical composition. Each box, pot should have drainage holes to drain excess water. The frequency of watering depends on external factors (sunny or cloudy weather), soil composition and the own needs of specific plants. Therefore, it is impossible to say exactly how often seedlings need to be watered - usually the number of waterings ranges from several times a day to once a week. Vegetables that love moist air (such as cucumbers) are best watered in the evening, while those that prefer drier air (such as bell pepper, tomatoes) - in the morning.

When to plant seedlings

Each plant has its own length of the growing season, so different vegetables are sown for seedlings in different time, but usually this happens in February-March, for example, tomatoes - in the second half or at the end of February, bell peppers - in the first half of February, cabbage, cucumbers - at the end of March.

How to use a peat tablet

A peat tablet is compressed peat in the form of a tablet about 8 cm in diameter and about 3 cm thick, with a small indentation in one of the bases. Its merit is finished form, the structure of peat allows air to pass well deep into the tablet to the roots, and its composition is balanced and does not require the delivery of additional nutrients.

Before use, the tablet is laid out on a pallet with the base with a recess up, poured with water at room temperature. After about 30 minutes, the tablet increases in height, becoming a cylinder.

Several seeds should be put into the recess of the moistened cylinder, covered with humus from above. Place the peat cylinder in greenhouse conditions, placing under a glass or polyethylene structure (for example, an aquarium turned upside down or a wire cap covered with polyethylene). When the seedlings germinate, give roots, along with a peat cylinder, it should be planted in the ground or in a greenhouse.

How to save seedlings if you plan a long absence

If you urgently need to leave for a sufficiently long time, and you plan to grow seedlings, then you can ensure a regular supply of water to the seeds or sprouts using the classic "thread" drip method, placing a sufficiently large container of water at a level above the seedling boxes and passing to each woolen thread.

Currently on sale there is a so-called hydrogel - polymer material acrylamide, available as a powder or tiny granules that absorb water and expand hundreds of times.

The hydrogel can be added dry to the soil and then watered after planting. Then the soil will increase in volume and everything can fall out of the box / pot. Therefore, it is better to introduce granules pre-soaked with water into the seedling soil.

Thanks to the hydrogel, the number of irrigations can be reduced up to 6 times, and the soil structure will improve.

The hydrogel consumption is approximately 30 g per 1 m 2 .

Bell pepper- This is a rather capricious vegetable that requires a special approach. Regular watering every 2-3 days, which is carried out strictly under the root, contributes to the rapid establishment of seedlings. Pepper categorically does not tolerate dry soil, so moisture must be constantly monitored. In case of violation this rule, the fruits will grow small, tasteless and deformed. However, zealous with watering is also not worth it. This will lead to rotting of the root system, the development of black leg and other fungal diseases. Along with dry soil, pepper seedlings do not tolerate overdried air. To prevent this from happening, install small fountains next to the beds, and at home, place several bowls of water opposite the pots with seedlings.

Watering pepper seedlings

On hot days, do not increase the amount of moisture, but water regularly every day. The average water consumption at the stage of formation of the first true leaves should be 1-2 liters per bush. In any case, observe moderate watering, avoiding waterlogging. The increase in the need for seedlings in watering will directly depend on its age. At the beginning of growth, the level of fluid consumed is minimal, and from the appearance of the first shoots to the fruiting period, this figure increases several times.

You can determine the need for watering by appearance seedlings, which begins to lower the leaves to the ground, covered with dark spots. However, remember that wilting of the leaves in the heat is not a reason for excessive watering. At the flowering stage, we moisten the soil every 5–6 days, watering in the morning and evening hours.

Like many others cultivated plants, pepper grows well in breathable soil. Loosening prevents the formation of a hard crust, provides full access to nutrients, moisture and inflow fresh air to the root system. Therefore, gardeners often call loosening “dry watering”. Other advantages of this procedure include weed and pest control. But in the first weeks of pepper growth, do not loosen the soil so as not to injure the fragile roots. Be extremely careful, the root system of pepper is located close to the surface of the earth, so loosening should be superficial, literally 5–10 cm, only heavy soils can be an exception. Additionally, we carry out loosening after each irrigation and precipitation, when the earth dries slightly.

For pots, choose containers with drainage holes or make your own. This will drain excess water that accumulates in the pan and regulate the amount of moisture. In order not to miss the moment when you need to water the seedlings again, use one of the suggested tests.

Young plant seedling

For the first option, get a handful of earth from the depths of the pot and try to form a ball out of it. With sufficient soil moisture, the ball will hold its shape well, and if the earth is dry, it will crumble into small pieces. For the second method, take a wooden stick and insert it into the ground for a few minutes. If the stick becomes wet, it is too early to water the plant, otherwise provide the seedlings with life-giving moisture.

Water quality also plays an important role in growing healthy peppers. Use only warm settled water for irrigation. In the evening, collect the right amount of water in plastic bottles. If the water is hard, then you can first freeze it, and then let it completely melt and warm to room temperature. The same rules apply to watering seedlings in open ground. For easy hydration large areas, we defend water in iron tanks in the sun. Irrigation with cold water is excluded completely. Such plants run the risk of getting sick with a black leg and dying.

After watering, the plant changes slightly. Before starting the picking, we make a hole in the ground of the size necessary for the germinated seedling with an earthen clod, place the seedling there, pour it with water and sprinkle it with earth. This will better moisten the soil and provide direct access to moisture to the root system. After that, the next watering is carried out after 5 days, and then 2-3 times a week, focusing on the degree of soil moisture.

Feeding pepper seedlings

In order for the seedlings to form more actively and quickly increase the deciduous mass, we combine watering with liquid top dressing. good budget option will be top dressing from tea infusion. Prepare fresh tea leaves and pour 3 liters of boiling water over it. When the liquid has cooled to room temperature, you can feed the seedlings. Top dressing with eggshell. Powdered shells of 10 eggs are also poured with 3 liters of boiling water and insisted for 4 days. After this time, we filter the infusion and water the seedlings with it.

When at least 3 true leaves are formed, we feed mineral fertilizers, mixing 30 g of superphosphate, 10 g of potassium sulfate and urea. For 10-12 young peppers, 1 liter of fertilizer is used. To consolidate the result after 14 days, repeat the procedure, doubling the amount of superphosphate. If the seedlings grow slowly and have a pale color, a mixture of Leaf fertilizer and Effecton-2 will be a good way out. For a 10 liter bucket, you will need a tablespoon of the first and two tablespoons of the second. For early planting of seedlings in open ground, use the Athlete preparation, and for the prevention of fungal infections, use a 0.2% solution of calcium nitrate and a decoction of horsetail for spraying.

Remember, no matter what top dressing you use, after the procedure, be sure to spill the soil clean water to avoid burns to the root system.

Compared to watering pepper seedlings in the open field and on the windowsill at home, moisturizing the plant in the greenhouse has its own characteristics. Waterlogging the soil is not worth it, this causes aphids to appear on the pepper, provoking the slow death of the entire crop.

After planting the seeds, the first watering is carried out after 4-5 days. The introduction of moisture begins with minimal volumes, gradually increasing the amount. It is important that deep, and not superficial, soil moisture be provided, about 20 cm deep. This will promote the active growth of greenhouse seedlings and prevent the top layer from drying out quickly. Before flowering, it is enough to water the young seedlings once a week, and after the start of fruiting - 2-3 times a week. Irrigation is carried out in the first half of the day, preferably early in the morning, strictly under the root, trying not to fall on the leaves.