Pepper, sweet and bitter, is one of the most popular crops for growing on garden plots. Seedlings can be bought, and you can grow it from seeds at home. On how to properly plant peppers on seedlings at home, we'll talk in our article.
Terms of planting pepper seeds for seedlings
One of the important rules for growing pepper seedlings is timeliness. Seed preparation is begun long before the onset of spring. At the same time, there is no strict seeding schedule. When calculating the appropriate period, you need to take into account the region of residence, climatic features and characteristics of your site directly.
It is important not to start growing peppers too early, because from overgrown sprouts, the sense will be less than from not grown up. Consider in the calculations that the landing on a permanent growth site is made on the 65-70 day after sowing the seeds. And if the climate of your region of residence allows you to land them in the ground in early June, then you can start sowing from the middle of March.
If you want to first plant the seedlings in a sheltered soil, that is, in a greenhouse, start sowing work 20-25 days earlier. The early sowing, that is, produced in February, is advisable only in the case of further cultivation of pepper in a heated greenhouse.
How to plant sweet and bitter pepper for seedlings?
There is no difference in the cultivation of sweet and bitter pepper. Therefore, the described method can be used in both cases. So, at first the seeds of pepper are usually soaked in a solution of manganese for their disinfection. Then they are washed, dried and re-soaked, this time in a growth stimulant.
Prepared in this way, the seeds can be germinated in a wet napkin, or you can immediately begin to seed in prepared containers. Tanks can serve as individual plastic cups, plastic bags or boxes. In the latter case, you at a certain stage will need to pick up the seedlings, which you need to do very carefully, so as not to damage the tender roots.
Seeds are laid out at a distance of a couple of centimeters from each other, then covered with a layer of soil in 1-1.5 cm and slightly compacted. To prevent moisture from evaporating too quickly, arrange mini-greenhouses, covering the crops with film or glass. The temperature of the contents should be at + 25 ° C.
When sprouting emerges, the film is gradually removed and the content temperature is reduced by 10 degrees. At the stage of cotyledonous leaves, it is possible to make a picking , deepening the seedlings to these very cotyledons.
At this stage, it is important to give plants good lighting. The lack of light will tell you the very seedling pepper, which stretched out and looks chylo. The growth of seedlings also completely ceases, when the temperature of the soil in the pots drops to +13 ° C.
In addition to knowing how to properly plant peppers on seedlings, it is important to know how to take care of it. For example, seedlings need to be fertilized at least 2 times before transplanting into the soil.
The first time it is done after picking (after a couple of weeks). The second top dressing should be done 2 weeks after the first. Top dressing is given in liquid form. It is convenient to use ready-made compositions like "Krepysh" or "Fertix".
For a couple of weeks before landing the pepper in the open ground, seedlings need to begin to harden. To do this, it is carried to the air, shading from the sun's rays and protecting from drafts.
Pepper planting on the beds
When the first buds begin to form on the bushes, it's time to land them in the ground. At the same time, the average daily temperature in the street should already be set at + 15..17ºС.
Do not put peppers in a heavy and cold ground. In advance, put peat and humus on the beds, dig and level. The wells should be at a distance of half a meter from each other, and leave 60 cm between the rows. The depths of the holes must be sufficient for the root neck to be at the level of the soil surface.
Put a tablespoon of mineral fertilizer in a well, mix. Gently remove the pepper from the pot, without disturbing the earthen lump, and pass it into the hole, lightly sprinkle with loose soil, pour abundantly, and after absorbing water, fill the hole completely with soil.