In total, there are more than 2,000 species of this culture in nature, and its homeland is Central America (Mexico).
This plant appeared in Europe back in the 15th century, and it came to Russia through countries such as Spain, Turkey and Iran. Here it took root perfectly, despite the relatively capricious disposition and love of warmth.
The plant is Bulgarian pepper, which has a huge number of advantages. It has not only bright colors that give any dish a festive look, and not only wonderful taste properties. This plant is an invaluable storehouse of vitamins.
In the article you can learn about the features of growing bell pepper and caring for it.
Why is pepper called bell pepper?
This is due to the history of the plant moving around the planet. In fact, the vegetable capsicum comes from America, but it is spicy in nature. In the natural environment, initially sweet pepper does notIt was. Only in 1928, thanks to the 10-year work of a Hungarian breeder (Ferenc Horvath), plants with non-sharp fruits were isolated from the local population.
So the first varieties of delicious sweet peppers appeared, which vegetable growers fell in love with. Further, breeders from other countries began to develop new varieties.
For Russians, the first acquaintance with this vegetable happened in Bulgaria. Pepper varieties, which appeared in the culture of Russia for the first time, were of Bulgarian origin. In addition, the scientists-breeders of this particular country made a huge contribution to the selection of this plant. Since then, Russian gardeners have been growing bell peppers.
Sweet pepper is thermophilic, so it loves a lot of sun. In this regard, the largest vegetable-producing countries are Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece and Hungary.
Varieties
Before planting, you should decide on the choice of variety. It depends not only on taste preferences, but also on the future purpose of the fruit. For example, to use fresh pepper, you should give preference to large-fruited, thick-walled and juicy varieties: Gladiator, California Miracle, Gift of Moldova and Winnie the Pooh. If the purpose of pepper is conservation, then you should choose small-fruited varieties from the "Siberian" series: Victoria, Ermak, Kupets and others.
Many are engaged in the cultivation of bell pepper Ermak, which is one of the most early ripening varieties. Its fruits ripen amicably and early. Moreover, after harvesting the first crop, it blooms again and gives a good second.harvest. Its fruits are quite large, weighing up to 250 g. The yield of this variety reaches 15 kg per square meter. meter.
Description
Outwardly Bulgarian pepper is very beautiful and bright. A medium-sized vegetable fits in the palm of your hand. It is dense to the touch, and its texture is crispy and fleshy. Fruit color is mostly red, yellow, orange or green.
Green leaves of sweet pepper, which are tender and fragile, grow up to 10-15 cm in length, which depends on the variety and growing conditions. In greenhouse conditions, they are longer. The fruit has the shape of a bud, inside of which there are a large number of seeds. Their shape is flat or slightly oblong, and the color is white, yellow or brown.
Below are the features of growing bell pepper in more detail.
Growing conditions
To get a bountiful harvest, you should try hard. This southern vegetable loves warm, calm weather, and therefore in Russian latitudes it is mostly grown using seedlings.
Bulgarian pepper is a short-day plant, which means that if the light day is less than 12 hours, then it starts to bear fruit earlier and gives higher and more stable yields.
Growing methods
Pepper is a southern plant, so trying to grow it from seeds is a pointless exercise. There are three cultivation methods in total:
- in the garden, in warm climates;
- in a greenhouse where full maturation is guaranteed;
- in the house.
Pepper planting
To successfully grow bell peppers and get a considerable harvest, you should follow some rules.
The following horticultural crops are the best precursors for growing peppers in the ground: cucumbers, onions, pumpkins, zucchini, cabbage and carrots. Worst Precursors: Tomatoes, Potatoes, Eggplants, Peppers and Physalis.
Seedlings are planted in open ground at the end of May - in the middle of June. The distance between plants should be 40 cm. Peppers should be planted in an unheated greenhouse in early April, and in tunnel shelters at the end of May.
Light soils prepared in advance - a year in advance - are best suited for this crop. To do this, it is necessary to introduce into the soil (under the predecessor) about 5 kg of organic matter per meter of area, and in the fall add 50 grams of potassium and phosphorus fertilizers, and dig deep. 40 grams of ammonium nitrate should be added to the top layer of soil in spring, and 5 days before transplanting seedlings, you can disinfect the soil with the following solution - a tablespoon of copper sulfate per 10 liters of water.
Growing bell pepper seedlings
The substrate for seedlings should be loose and light. It should consist of humus, sand and earth in a ratio of 2: 1: 1. In addition, for 1 kg of the prepared mixture, you need to add one tablespoon of ash.
If there is no greenhouse, then the seeds should be sown in February so that the age of the seedlings at the time of transplanting into the ground in May is about100 days. Pepper does not tolerate picking very easily, therefore it is advisable to sow seeds immediately in individual pots (peat can be used) with a diameter of about 8-10 cm. Large pots should not be used due to the rather slow growth of its root system.
Growing bell peppers from seed takes a lot of effort, but it's not hard to do. Seeds must be processed before planting - kept in water (+ 50 Celsius) until swelling (about 5 hours). Then place in a damp cloth for gluing for 2-3 days at a room temperature of +20 °C. You can sow the seeds without such events, but after this simple seed preparation, you can get seedlings the very next day.
Sown seeds must be watered and covered with either glass or plastic wrap. So they can be in a warm place until shoots appear, while lighting is not so important. The optimum temperature for seedlings is about + 26 … 28 ° C in the daytime, + 10 … 15 ° C - at night. The subsequent cultivation of bell pepper in the open field can fully justify itself, provided that all the rules for caring for it are observed.
Feeding in the open field
During the whole season, you need to spend about 4 dressings with chicken manure, diluting it with water in a ratio of 1:10. They should be alternated with foliar fertilizer - spraying with nitrophoska (per 10 liters 1 tablespoon).
What can a lack of fertilizer lead to?
Lack of potassium can lead to curling of the leaves and the appearance of a border. Howeverit should be remembered that pepper does not react well to an excess of potassium chloride.
Lack of nitrogen causes leaves to shred and become matte greyish. With an excess of nitrogen, ovaries and flowers fall.
Lack of phosphorus - staining the underside of the leaves in a rich purple color, while they are pressed against the stem and rise up.
Lack of magnesium - leaves become marbled.
Growing bell peppers in a greenhouse
Greenhouse soil before planting pepper seedlings should be carefully dug up, thus saturating it with oxygen. It is best to plant the plant in the places of the former growth of cabbage and cucumbers.
The soil should contain the following minerals (per 1 sq. m):
- potassium sulfate - 40-45g;
- double superphosphate - up to 20 g;
- ammonium nitrate - up to 30 g;
- humus - 4-6 kg;
- ash - 50-80 g.
It is important to note that bell pepper does not tolerate excessive density. Depending on the variety (plant height), the required number of plants per 1 sq. Meter:
- tall - 2-3 pieces;
- medium height - 4-6 pieces;
- undersized - 6-8 pieces
Next, proper care is needed. Growing bell peppers in a greenhouse is also easy.
As the plants grow, their care has some peculiarities. A plant is planted to a depth of 4 cm. The best time for this is the evening hours - this is the timedecline in the biological activity of plants. The root system of seedlings should be pre-moistened. 50 g of potash fertilizer must be added to the hole and poured with warm water. Only after the water has been absorbed, seedlings should be dug into it along with an earthen clod. From the formation of a crust, the earth is protected by backfilling the landing sites with organic matter or peat. During the ripening period, such an operation should be performed constantly.
For pepper, air temperature over +32 °С is detrimental. Therefore, it is imperative to ventilate the greenhouse.
Pests and diseases of pepper
Peppers can be harmed by aphids, slugs, whiteflies, cutworms, mole crickets and the Colorado potato beetle. In order to avoid problems with them, it is necessary to pollinate the pepper with wood ash 3 times during the season.
The most common diseases are late blight, macrosporiosis, septoria, top and white rot, blackleg.
To fight against the mole cricket, it is advisable to fill the holes before planting seedlings in the ground with onion water (for 10 liters of water, 500 g of onion peel), infused for 3 days. From aphids, treatment with the following solution helps: whey (1.5 l), 10 l of water. The plant is then sprinkled with ashes.
Harvesting bell peppers
Growing bell pepper seedlings and caring for them in the process of growth according to the rules will fully justify all the costs and efforts. The harvest will be excellent.
Pepper ripens from the beginning of August until the very first frost. It's harvest time. There are so many vitamins in ripe pepper fruits that many others cannot compare with it.vegetables.
On the benefits of pepper
Experts recommend eating pepper for people suffering from depression and prone to bad mood and apathy. This is due to the ability of the vegetable to produce endorphins in the body - “hormones of happiness.”
Pepper is also useful during pregnancy, with some diseases of the liver and heart, with a decrease in muscle tone and with beriberi.
A few tips in conclusion
It is desirable to harden seedlings, and 7 days before planting them in the garden, it should be treated with potassium s alt.
It is necessary to regularly check the bushes for dried and diseased leaves, which should be removed immediately.
Don't plant spicy varieties near sweet peppers, otherwise all bell pepper fruits will become bitter.
