Growing Pepper Seedlings

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

All over the world, there are three main types of pepper: bitter, sweet and semi-bitter. This healthy vegetable appeared in our area, having arrived from the central part of the American continent. Among summer residents and gardeners, the vegetable crop immediately received love and respect, because pepper contains a lot of useful microelements, has a pleasant taste and aroma

However, novice summer residents ask themselves a lot of questions, deciding to grow pepper. Seedling and cultivation are one of the main places here.

How to prepare soil and seeds?

The process of preparing seeds for sowing pepper begins in February and continues until the second decade of May. Germination of any pepper seeds is lost after three years after acquisition. Also, before planting, you should sort them out with your hands and find dark and defective specimens in order to eliminate them. By the way, it is possible to check whether the material is suitable for planting by placing the seeds in a 3% salt solution (30 grams per liter of water). If after seven minutes some seeds float up, then they can be safely thrown away. The rest of the materials remaining at the bottom must be removed and washed with warm water, and then dried thoroughly. Only then does the preparation procedure for sowing a vegetable crop begin.

The seeds must be etched with a manganese solution, after which they must be treated with growth stimulating agents. Only then can the planting material be soaked in warm water for a short period of time. Then the seeds are spread on a damp piece of cloth and placed in a warm place (best near a battery). The fabric will need to be moistened periodically. The germination period for pepper seeds usually takes 10 to 14 days.

Vegetable grows very well in soil types such as ready-made potting mixes made especially for peppers. This is the most reliable type of soil that will reduce the risk of disease or insect pests. Also, you can prepare the land on your own by mixing soil, peat and humus. But for this, in no case should you take the soil where nightshade vegetables (tomatoes and so on) were previously grown. A coconut-based substrate is also an excellent option. Another way are peat tablets, which are comfortable for planting seeds. Transplanting and picking occurs by carrying the plant along with the tablet to another container. In order for the earth to retain moisture in itself for a long time, you can add a hydrogel to it. Much depends on the correct choice of the type of soil and its preparation: the quality of the fruits, the volume of the crop, the risk of disease.

How to properly plant seeds and care for seedlings?

For the proper cultivation of pepper seedlings, it is necessary to timely and competently carry out procedures such as watering, feeding and providing comfortable conditions for growth. As a rule, experienced summer residents grow pepper seeds in special boxes, glasses or pots. The main condition is to provide an excellent drainage system in the tank with stones and sand. You should also create a hole in the bottom. As a result, the water will not stagnate and the roots will not rot.

Next, water the soil with a weak solution based on potassium permanganate. The seeds themselves, already ready for sowing, must be spread out at a distance of two centimeters from each other, having previously made small furrows. Fill each hole by one centimeter and use your hand to create a seal. The best temperature for the emergence of the first shoots is twenty-five to thirty degrees. Therefore, summer residents need to cover the container with future seedlings with a glass sheet or plastic wrap. Place the pepper in a warm place.

If all the conditions for normal development are met, then the first shoots will appear after a week and a half. After their formation, you need to remove the material covering the box, since otherwise condensation will accumulate inside the mini-greenhouse. But you can wait before the first two leaves appear. However, if within fourteen days not a single shoot was formed, then the seedling was unsuccessful, or the summer resident missed some nuances.