Bulgarian pepper: cultivation in an open ground and the greenhouse

Bulgarian pepper is not a simple vegetable. This culture requires compliance with certain rules of care. Starting with planting seeds and before fruit ripening to grow peppers will have to work a little. However, having understood the basic skills of cultivation of this vegetable, every gardener can get a good harvest. The article focuses on the cultivation of Bulgarian pepper in the greenhouse and in the open field.

The first step towards a future harvest is planting seeds. For the further development of seedlings to be successful, it is important to observe the sowing dates, suitable for each individual vegetable culture.

It is advisable to lay the seeds of the bell pepper in the ground on the days when the moon arrives. In this case, germination will be almost one hundred percent. Landing should be held no later than February. Seedlings need to get strong enough at the time of transplantation into open ground or greenhouse. And for this, it is required that at least three months pass from the moment of emergence.

Sowing material of various varieties can be purchased in specialized stores. Seeds in bags are subject to mandatory quality control and therefore their seeding is considered less risky.

Many gardeners collect seeds from fruits and plant them in the winter for a new generation of plants. The disadvantages of this method is the probability that the seed may not be preserved until the landing time. Moreover, with this method it is almost impossible to ensure the varietal purity of the culture.

The technology of preparation of the seed selected for planting consists of three main stages.

1. Disinfection of seeds in a weak solution of iodine or potassium permanganate. Processing time is not more than an hour. Seeds should be immersed in prepared 1% iodine solution, or in potassium permanganate, diluted in water to a weak pinkish color.
2. Warming the seeds in warm water for 4–5 hours. The temperature of the water is preferably maintained at about 40 ° C.
3. The last stage of the preparation of seed for planting is germination. Seeds need to be wrapped in a small piece of cloth and moistened with water. In this state, they should be left for 2–3 days at room temperature. To accelerate germination, you can periodically bring the cloth with seeds to the battery or heater. It is important to ensure that the material in which the seeds are wrapped does not dry out.

Bulgarian pepper loves the soil in which sand is added. So it becomes more loose. Prepare the soil is best in the fall. According to the recommendation, it is necessary to mix the soil and sand in a ratio of 1: 1. For every kilogram of the obtained sand-soil mass, add 1 tablespoon of kiln ash.

Agrotechnika planting seed Bulgarian pepper.

• Spread the prepared soil in containers or boxes. Water it to moisten the whole layer. You can also use individual small containers: cups or pots.
• Seeds need to be deepened by 1.5-2 cm. The distance between each of them is desirable to make at least 4 cm. In this case, the seedlings will not have to be dived further, thereby weakening and injuring weak growths.

• Planting holes sprinkle with soil and pour a small amount of warm water again.
• Cover the boxes with dense cellophane or clear glass. Before the first germination of the tank with planted seeds should be left in a warm place, for example, near the battery or other heat source. The presence of light during this period is optional. Seeds react primarily to moisture and temperature.

In warm regions with long summer, you can grow Bulgarian pepper seedlings in a polycarbonate greenhouse. When the threat of late spring frost has passed, the prepared seed is laid in the soil. For several days, beds with planted seeds can also be covered with glass or polyethylene.

To get good shoots is a great joy for the vegetable gardener. However, the quality and quantity of the future harvest is now dependent on the care of young plants. The following recommendations will help grow strong and healthy seedlings.

• Immediately after the emergence of shoots should remove the shelter from the boxes and containers. They need to be moved to a sufficiently lit place.
• Watering is carried out 1 time per day with warm, preferably thawed or rain water. For good absorption of nutrients by the roots, it is advisable to loosen the soil before each irrigation.

• With soil moisture, it is important not to overdo it. Excessive stagnation of water in the ground can provoke a rotting of young roots or the development of a disease called “black leg”. And in fact, and in another case, the plant will not be able to develop further and will soon die. Therefore, the amount of water introduced into the soil should be determined on the basis of the degree of its drying at the time of irrigation.
• It is advisable to monitor the overall humidity of the air in the room where there are containers with seedlings. Periodically need to humidify the air with a spray or other devices. Any flat container filled with water and placed under the radiators reduces the dryness in the room.
• Optimal to grow the seedlings of Bulgarian pepper is considered to be the temperature component from +25 to + 27 ° C. At night it should not fall below + 15 ° С.

• It should be timely fertilization of the soil. The first feeding is carried out at the time of the appearance of 4 leaves. This is usually about two weeks after the sprout appears. Urea is introduced into the soil. The solution is prepared in the ratio of 1 tablespoon of the substance to 10 liters of water.
• The second fertilization should be done 5 days before transplanting to a permanent place in an open ground or greenhouse. To the urea solution prepared in the ratio described above, you should add 1 tablespoon of superphosphate. Such feeding will strengthen young plants well before a difficult period of adaptation in a new place.
• Many experienced gardeners additionally carry out the infusion of nettle. This is done in the last 3-4 days before disembarking.

Grown up and grown at home seedlings need to be planted in the ground after the onset of stable warm weather. In the regions of the middle band, the end of May-beginning of June is a favorable period for transplantation. In the southern areas to plant seedlings of pepper on the site can be much earlier.

After transplantation, young plants weaken, so they need to be properly looked after: carry out regular watering, feed.

Before planting the seedlings of Bulgarian pepper, it must be hardened. This should be done within 2 weeks, the upcoming procedure for transplanting young plants. Boxes and pots of seedlings are brought to the balcony in warm weather, or they open a window for 2-3 hours a day. If at night the temperature does not fall below + 15 ° C, containers with plants can not be brought into the room.

To pepper gave a good harvest, the soil for its planting should be properly prepared.

• In the autumn, the place where it is planned to plant the pepper seedlings should be well digged.
• Before winter, it is desirable to fertilize the soil. For this, potash and phosphorus-containing complexes are introduced.
• After the snow melted from the site, ammonium nitrate is introduced into the soil in the amount of 40–50 g per 1 square meter. m
• To reduce the risk of disease, a week before planting, the soil should be disinfected by watering it with copper sulfate solution (1 tablespoon of the drug per 10 liters of water).

Transplanted hardened seedlings of Bulgarian pepper are transplanted into the prepared soil. Recommended landing scheme 40x40 cm. So adult plants will not interfere with each other, and harvesting will not be difficult.

• Before planting, the soil in boxes and containers should be well moistened. So the plants can be easily removed from the containers without injuring their roots.
• At the site make small grooves, according to the landing scheme. Young peppers are set vertically, the roots sprinkled with earth. The soil in the root zone needs to be slightly compacted so that the stem does not bend or fall.

• Transplanted plants should be watered abundantly with warm water.
• In the first weeks of the bed with bell pepper is best kept covered with a film or other covering material. To do this, set the arc at a distance of about a meter from each other. They will be stretched fabric or polyethylene.

• During flowering, pepper must be protected from the scorching rays of the sun. With strong heat, pollen loses its quality, the number of fruit ovaries can be significantly reduced. In order to shade during the hours of greatest solar activity, it is necessary to build screens or throw thin covering material over arcs above the beds.
• Experienced gardeners claim that attracting pollinating insects significantly increases the number of ovaries and, of course, the volume of the future crop. For these purposes, during the formation of flowers on the plants is sprayed with a sweet water composition. In 10 liters of warm water you need to dissolve 100 grams of sugar and 2 grams of boric acid powder.
• During the season it is necessary to carry out 3 dressings of Bulgarian pepper. The first fertilization is done two weeks after transplanting. On a bucket of water should be added 1 tablespoon of urea and superphosphate. The consumption of nutrient solution is 1 liter for each root.

The second feeding should be carried out in the period of flowering peppers. At this time, potassium is very necessary for plants. You can purchase complex potash fertilizers or add wood ash to the soil.

The third and last feeding is carried out after the formation of fruit ovaries. In a bucket of water, add 2 teaspoons of superphosphate and the same amount of potassium salt. Mix well to dissolve the components. The consumption rate is 1-1.5 liters for each plant.

• Yellowing leaves on pepper with regular watering is likely to signal a lack of nitrogen. Plants need to be sprayed with a weak solution of urea (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water).
• If after abundant flowering you observe too few ovaries, an external treatment with a solution of boric acid should be carried out. On a bucket of water is added 1 teaspoon of the drug.
• If the fruits develop slowly and do not gain weight, apply potash fertilizer or ash to the soil.

The first time the pepper is watered while planting in open ground. The second watering is carried out 5 days after the previous one. Further, in the absence of natural precipitation, it is necessary to moisten the soil once a week.

Water consumption at a single root of a young plant is about 1.5 liters. An adult pepper needs about 3 liters of water. During the flowering period, it is recommended to water the plants only with warm water (+ 22 ° C). When the fruit begins to ripen, it is no longer necessary to moisten the soil.

After the transplanted plants have taken root in the new place, got stronger and started growing, you can begin to form a bush.When the height of the peppers reaches 25 cm, their tops need to pinch. After this, a lot of shoots will start growing from the stem, they should be partially cut off.

Masking should be done about once every 10-12 days. All side shoots located below the central fork of the stem should be removed. And also subject to cutting branches growing inside the bush.

Pasying procedure is recommended on hot sunny days. Proper formation of the bush significantly saves the strength of the plant and increases the amount of the crop.

It is known that the neighbors of any plant must be chosen correctly. Often depends on them not only yield, but also the existence of the plant itself.

• Both in the greenhouse and in the open field, the pepper coexists well with cultures that have strong odors and emit phytoncides. The location of a number of plants such as onions, tansy, spinach, garlic, among other things, deters pathogens and pests from a vegetable.
• The planting of herbs and plants near the beds with a bell pepper: dill, thyme, basil, parsley, marjoram has a good effect.
• Carrots, zucchini and eggplants have similar requirements for growing conditions and care, so they can be located near the pepper. A gardener will even facilitate the care of these crops.
• Nettle and chamomile have a very positive effect on the ripening process.
• The proximity of cabbage of various kinds also does not harm the Bulgarian vegetable.

You should not have beds with peppers close to the growing areas of the following crops and plants:

• fennel;
• tomato;
• beet;
• legumes;
• potatoes.

Any plant when attacking insect parasites or pathogens loses strength and grows poorly. Pepper also has many enemies among the pests. Vegetable is subject to certain diseases.

• Slugs, whitefly, sofka and Colorado potato beetle are often attacked by both young and adult plants. For the prevention and disposal of these pests, 3-4 times per season should be sprayed onto the stems and soil with ash from the kiln.

• Medvedka damages the roots of plants, so they often die or cease to develop for a long time. This "beast" does not like the soil treated with onion extract. For its preparation, you need to take 500 grams of onion peel and leave in a bucket of water for 3 days. Before planting seedlings, as well as in the middle of the season, this infusion is watered.
• To combat aphids used whey. It in the amount of 1.5 liters poured into a bucket of water. In dry weather, the above-ground parts of the pepper are sprayed with the prepared composition.
• Serious diseases are late blight, septoriosis, macrosporosis. For their treatment often have to turn to chemicals.

• The black leg infects plants in the event of an oversupply and stagnant moisture in the soil. Therefore, it is important not to overdo it with watering. If the weather is rainy for a long time, it is recommended to make a temporary shelter over the beds of any waterproof material.

On the secrets of growing pepper in the open field, see the following video.