When to plant pepper seedlings and how to do it right
Miscellaneous / / April 02, 2023
Both hot and sweet peppers are grown in winter.
When to plant pepper seedlings
Depending on the variety, the pepper crop ripens in 100–150 days from the moment of germination. Therefore, the vegetable is sown on seedlings one of the first. Optimal dates: end of February - beginning of March.
How to choose pepper seeds
First, decide what kind of pepper you need - hot or sweet. Read the information on the package with seeds carefully so as not to be mistaken. The fruits of hot peppers can be outwardly indistinguishable from sweet ones.
Different varieties of hot peppers ripen in an average of 2-3 months. But sweet varieties are divided into three types. Early-ripening crops are harvested after 80-100 days from the moment of germination, mid-ripening - after 110-130 days, late ripening may take up to 150 days.
Pepper fruits can be of different sizes, thin-walled and more fleshy thick-walled. And the shape of a vegetable can be very different - from an elongated conical to a spherical or even flattened.
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Elongated pepper. Frame: Good life / YouTube
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Ball-shaped pepper. Frame: Good life / YouTube
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Cuboid pepper. Frame: Home Affairs / YouTube
Depending on the variety, ripe peppers are colored in different shades of red, green, yellow and orange, but more exotic varieties of purple are also found.
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Yellow pepper. Frame: Good life / YouTube
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Light yellow pepper. Frame: Good life / YouTube
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Orange pepper. Frame: Good life / YouTube
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Red pepper. Frame: Home Affairs / YouTube
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Green pepper. Frame: Prosperity Culture / YouTube
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Brown pepper. Frame: Good life / YouTube
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Purple pepper. Frame: Olga Chernova. Garden alphabet / YouTube
In addition to varieties, there are pepper hybrids, which are labeled F1. They are believed to be more resistant to diseases, pests, and adverse weather, as well as produce more crops. If you plan to grow peppers outdoors rather than in a greenhouse, choose the appropriate varieties and hybrids. This information can be found on the seed packaging.
How to plant pepper seedlings
The procedure for spicy and sweet varieties will be the same.
Prepare the seeds
Often, the manufacturer treats the seeds with a special disinfectant even before packaging. If the packaging indicates that they do not require pre-soaking, immediately start sowing. Ordinary seeds can first be dipped in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate (1 g of the drug per 1 liter of water) and left there for 20-30 minutes. After that, the seeds will be ready for sowing.
Some summer residents do not stop at soaking and pre-germinate planting material. This procedure not only speeds up germination, but also helps to reject low-quality seeds. Take a small container, put in it a sponge for washing dishes, abundantly moistened with water, or wet cotton pads. Spread the seeds on them, cover the container with a lid and place it in a dark, warm place with a temperature of 25–27 degrees. After 4-5 days, small light sprouts will appear from the seeds, which means that you can start sowing.
Prepare containers for seedlings
For growing peppers, 500 ml pots or sour cream cups are suitable. The main thing is that there are several drainage holes at the bottom through which excess moisture will escape. Take a universal soil for growing seedlings of vegetables and fill the prepared containers with it to the top, not filling up to the edge of about 2 cm. Lightly compact the soil with the palm of your hand, and then pour plenty of water over it and wait until the liquid is absorbed.
Sow pepper
Put 2 seeds in each cup on the surface of the soil at a distance of about 2 cm from each other. If 2 sprouts appear in the future, you can carefully pull out the weaker one.
Pour more soil over the seeds with a layer of 0.5-1 cm and compact its surface with your fingers.
Cover the cups with cling film and put them in a dark place with a temperature of 23-25 degrees for germination.
Wait for shoots
They will appear in about 7-14 days. As soon as the sprouts hatch, remove the cover from the seedlings and place them under artificial lighting. Can be used as special phytolamps, and ordinary fluorescent with a power of at least 36 W per 1 m². In the first three days, it is better to provide pepper with round-the-clock coverage - so the seedlings will not stretch and turn out strong. Then you can turn on the lamps for 10-12 hours a day.
How to care for pepper seedlings
Take a little care to get strong plants.
Create favorable conditions for pepper
It is important to protect tender plants from drafts and grow at a temperature of 20–25 degrees. To make the seedlings strong and not stretched, provide them with additional lighting for 10-12 hours a day.
water the pepper
The soil in seedling cups should always be moist. Try not to let it dry out, otherwise the seedlings may die. But when watering, it is important to be moderate and not turn the soil into a swamp. At first, while the sprouts are very tender, gently moisten the soil around the plant with a syringe or syringe. As the pepper grows, watering will be more frequent - adult seedlings will have to be moistened daily. Try to use water at room temperature.
feed the pepper
the first top dressing carried out when a sprout has a pair of true leaves. In 1 liter of water, dilute 2.5 ml of potassium humate and 0.5 teaspoon of urea. Pour the solution under the root of the peppers. For one plant, you need about 1 tablespoon of fertilizer.
Feed the peppers again after 2 weeks. Dissolve 0.5 g of ammonium nitrate, 3 g of superphosphate and 1 g of potassium in 1 liter of water. Under the root of one plant, you need to pour about 50 ml of the mixture.
The third top dressing is carried out about a week before the planned planting of pepper in open ground or a greenhouse. For this, nitroammofoska or double superphosphate is suitable at the rate of 1 tablespoon of the product per 10 liters of water. About 100 ml of fertilizer should be poured under the root of one plant.
Try to feed in the evening, then turn off the fitolamps. So you will save the seedlings from the appearance of leaf burns.
When to transplant seedlings of pepper in open ground
Wait until the threat of return frosts has passed, and the night air temperature will be consistently positive. In most regions of the middle lane, pepper transplanted in open ground not earlier than the end of May. Be sure to pay attention to the appearance of the seedlings. The bush should form at least 5-6 pairs of true leaves. At the same time, pepper can begin to produce buds and even bloom at home.
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Text worked on: author Victoria Kuracheva, editor Alina Mashkovtseva, proofreader Natalia Psurtseva