Why do gardeners love Belozerka pepper and how to grow it correctly?

Old school gardeners are well acquainted with the Belozerka pepper. It is loved for its delicious, juicy fruits, suitable for both fresh salads and preservation. Peppers of this variety do not require much attention to themselves, grow well in open beds, cope with diseases and weather troubles.

"Belozerka" was launched in Transnistria in 1988. After four years of test cultivation, the variety was included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements and recommended for cultivation in the Volga-Vyatka and North Caucasian regions.

Why do summer residents choose Belozerka?

The variety is not new at all, but it has not disappeared from store shelves for almost 30 years. The reason for this is the taste, marketability of the fruit and the "non-capriciousness" of the plant in the garden. Bushes of "Belozerka" are compact, do not take up much space, are resistant to pest attacks, some diseases and temperature extremes. They bear fruit abundantly, the peppers ripen together - the harvest does not stretch for several weeks. After harvesting, the fruits are stored for up to several months without losing their presentation and taste. They tolerate transportation well.

Description of the variety

The table below shows the main characteristics of the variety, confirmed by the data of the State Commission of the Russian Federation for the Testing and Protection of Breeding Achievements:

So, the main advantages of Belozerka pepper:

• high productivity;
• resistance to diseases (fungus, alternaria, verticillosis) and pests;
• the possibility of growing in the open field;
• sweet, aromatic fruits;
• amicable maturation;
• long storage.

Application

The variety is described as a source of nutrients and vitamins. The pulp of Belozerka sweet peppers contains a large amount of ascorbic acid and sugars. Fruits rich in valuable trace elements are used in cooking:

• fresh;
• salt;
• pickle;
• stuffed;
• stew;
• fried;
• freeze.

In folk medicine, pepper is recommended to use to improve appetite, strengthen blood vessels, and increase tone. It is used in the fight against scurvy and sclerosis, with anemia, liver and heart diseases. It promotes the elimination of cholesterol from the body, better digestion of food. "Belozerka" is very useful for children, pregnant women and the elderly.

Preparation of soil and containers

Pepper "Belozerka" refers to mid-season. Begins to bear fruit in 110-120 days.Seeds cost about 15-35 rubles per pack (0.5 g). They can and should be grown in seedlings.

First you need to prepare the ground. We take peat, rotted organic fertilizers, sod land and semi-decomposed sawdust (they must first be doused with boiling water 2-3 times). We mix them in a ratio of 4: 4: 2: 1. Add 1 tablespoon of Kemira Universal fertilizer, the same amount of dolomite flour and 0.5 glass of ash to a bucket of the resulting soil mixture. Mix all components thoroughly. Before use, spill the soil with hot water (+ 60-70 ° C) or treat it with Maxim (2 ml per 2 liters of hot water). You can use ready-made soil purchased on the market.

In order not to dive the seedlings and speed up the ripening period, it is necessary to plant the seeds in separate containers. At first, you can use small cups or peat pots. When the plants grow a little, they will need to be transplanted into large glasses or cut boxes from juice or milk.

Seed soaking

Before planting, pepper seeds should be soaked in dark pink in a solution of potassium permanganate for 15 minutes. This will help to disinfect them, improve germination and disease resistance. Then the seeds should be wrapped in a soft cloth and put for 30-40 minutes in the elixir of fertility "Gummi" (10 drops per 1 liter of water) or a solution of "Epin-Extra", "Zircon" (4 drops per 1 glass of water). After that, the seeds must be left in a damp cloth in a warm place for a few more days until they hatch.

Good results are obtained by soaking pepper seeds in nettle infusion. To do this, one tablespoon of dried nettle should be brewed in 250 ml of boiling water and left to infuse for 3 hours. Before use, the infusion will need to be filtered through a sieve or gauze.

When seedlings emerge from the seeds, you should immediately start planting them in the soil.

Sowing seeds

Sowing "Belozerka" is best done in the period from 15 to 25 March.

It is recommended to pour soil into each glass or pot and spill it with a pale solution of potassium permanganate or a solution of Agricola-Start (1 spoon per 1 liter of water). This will neutralize pathogens living on the surface of the grains. Make small depressions (about 1 cm) in the soil. Place two sprouted seeds in each and sprinkle with earth. Subsequently, the weaker plant will need to be pinched so as not to damage the root system of the remaining one.

When sowing in a container of a larger volume in the soil, several grooves should be made at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other and watered with potassium permanganate or with Agricola-Start solution. Now add seeds every 3 cm and sprinkle with a thin layer of potting soil. The seedlings are not watered, but only slightly moistened.

The glasses must be covered with glass or plastic wrap and removed before the first shoots appear in a warm place where the air temperature is not lower than + 25 ° C. Watering the soil should be done little by little, but the water should be settled and warm (+ 30 ° С), since watering with cool water can lead to stop plant growth.

Growing seedlings

The first shoots will appear in about a week. Now you need to remove the glass from the box, rearrange it on the windowsill. In the first 2 days, the temperature in the room should be lowered to + 17 ° C, so that the roots of the plants are well established. Then, throughout the entire period of growing seedlings, the temperature must be maintained within + 20-28 ° С. Plants must not be overcooled and exposed to drafts, therefore, it is strictly forbidden to open the vents in a room with pepper seedlings.

The young shoots that have appeared are extremely sensitive to moisture, so they need to be watered only as needed and only with settled water. The need for moisture can be determined by the slightly wilted leaves of the plant. After each watering, the soil must be loosened so that a crust does not form on the surface, which impedes the normal access of oxygen to the roots.

Seedlings regularly need to be turned to the sun with one or the other side so that the bushes do not stretch out and are even.

Seedlings of "Belozerka" are fed three times:

1. After the appearance of two true leaves, it is recommended to apply the first feeding with organic fertilizers under the plants.
2. After 2 weeks, a second fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is carried out.
3. About a week before planting the seedlings, a third feeding with nitrofos is carried out.

You need to start hardening the seedlings about 2 weeks before planting. First, the plant is taken out into the fresh air for a short time, then the duration of the procedure is increased each time.

The day before planting, it is recommended to spray the seedlings with a solution of boric acid so that the buds do not crumble. Seedlings are planted in mid-late May. Special treatment with pesticides is not required, since "Belozerka" is highly resistant to disease and pests.

Care

Before flowering, peppers are recommended to be watered with warm water 2 times a week, and during the ripening period, the soil must be moistened every 2 days. The next day after watering, the soil must be loosened to ensure free access of oxygen to the roots.

2 weeks after planting, the plants should be fed with urea. Then after 10 days fertilize with a special liquid - "Bogatyr" or "Breadwinner". Subsequent feeding is carried out every 10 days. With the onset of fruiting, they should be stopped.

By growing Belozerka pepper, you can make your job easier and get a really tasty and high-quality harvest. The main thing is to adhere to the tips described above, and then the fruits obtained and their quantity will fully correspond to the description of the variety placed by the manufacturer on the package with seeds.