Winter is still in full swing, the frost is cracking outside the windows, but an experienced gardener knows that it's time to grow seedlings. After all, the harvest of many garden crops depends on how the plant is grown: by sowing seeds directly into the open ground or through seedlings. If the seeds are sown immediately to the ground, especially in areas with cool summers, then the crop can not be waited at all if the vegetables do not have time to ripen.
Many gardeners grow sweet peppers on their plots. If you want to grow a noble crop of vegetables, you should find out when to plant pepper for seedlings.
In which days to plant pepper on seedlings?
Peppers can be grown in a greenhouse or outdoors. If you have a heated greenhouse, then it is recommended to sow pepper for seedlings already in January. In this case, the seedlings themselves will be ready for planting in April. Practice shows that good seedlings can be grown in 60-70 days. If the greenhouse does not have heating, then the seeding time for the seeds of pepper is mid February - the first days of March.
For growing in the open ground seeds must be sown even later. It should be remembered that it is possible to plant pepper seedlings only when the temperature on the surface of the soil reaches 16-17 ° C, because pepper is a very thermophilic plant. Therefore, if you plan to plant seedlings in May, then sow the seeds of pepper in the first decade of March.
However, January-February are winter months with a short light day. So, small seedlings of pepper will not be enough sunlight, and they will grow pale and elongated. It is very important at this time to ensure that the plants appear correctly illuminated. If the seeds of pepper are sown a little later, they will quickly catch up in their growth previously sown seedlings, and perhaps even outgrow it.
Often farmers are interested in which moon to plant pepper on seedlings. So, in the current year 2016, in accordance with the lunar calendar, the favorable planting of pepper for seedlings is on such days:
- in January this is the 17th and 30th of the month;
- in February - on the 13th, 14th and 15th;
- in March - only the 13th;
- in April, you can put on the 8th and 9th;
- in May, plant the grown seedlings in a greenhouse or even in the open ground (depending on the locality) on the 11th, 17th and 25th.
The seeds of the pepper grow long. To accelerate this process, the seeds are stimulated. To this end, the seeds should be wrapped in a cloth and placed for 15 minutes in a thermos with hot water (about 50 ° C). Taking out from the thermos, seeds in the same rag should be placed in the freezer for a day. After that, they must be sown immediately. To stimulate early germination, seeds of peppers can also be soaked for half an hour in a solution of such agents as "Zircon" , "Epin-extra", "Silk", etc.
Most often sow the seeds of pepper immediately into individual cups at a rate of three seeds per each. The depth of sowing is 3-4 cm. The soil for sowing seeds ideally consists of a mixture of sand, vegetable garden, humus and ash. The earth must first be moistened and slightly compacted, then the sprouts will appear already without the seed coat. Seeds
The cups are placed in plastic bags and placed in a warm place. If the temperature in the bags is about 28-30 ° C, then after about a week the first shoots will appear. After that, the bags from the glasses should be removed, and the temperature in the room with pepper sprouts reduced to 22-22 ° C. In the case of a lack of light for seedlings, additional light should be installed using fluorescent or LED lamps. Pour the seedlings of peppers followed by standing warm water.