Rules for growing healthy pepper seedlings from the first shoots to planting in open ground

Competent cultivation of pepper seedlings is a real art, the development of which will be the key to obtaining a rich harvest. Annoying mistakes in planting and care can cause irreparable harm to young seedlings and even cause them to die. Meanwhile, it is very easy to avoid misunderstandings, you just need to follow certain rules.

Land preparation

A good earthy mix is ​​one of the key parameters for growing healthy, strong pepper seedlings at home.

The land should be fertile and nutritious, contain various organic and inorganic compounds: peat, sod soil, humus, rotted coconut fibers or sawdust.

Ready-made industrial mixtures for certain crops, as a rule, comply with the standards and do not need additional processing. And self-prepared substrates must be cleaned and sterilized before use.

A regular table sieve will help clear the ground of large pieces of clay, small branches, visible debris and other foreign matter.

Clay poorly permeates moisture and makes the soil heavy, and rotted branches, decomposing, release nitrogen, depleting the substrate and raising its temperature to unacceptable limits.

Sterilization helps protect the land from pests, fungi and infections. It is produced by steaming, calcining or freezing.

• Steaming

Sterilization in a water bath (8-10 minutes) is one of the fastest and most favorable processing methods, which allows not only to preserve the maximum amount of nutrients in the soil, but also to saturate it with moisture.

• Calcination

Sterilization in a microwave or oven (5 and 30 minutes, respectively). The method is quite effective, but fraught with certain risks. Temperatures below 70 ° C do not kill microbes, and temperatures above 90 ° C destroy the soil structure.

• Freezing

Sterilization in a freezer (21 days). The method that requires the most time and effort. It is carried out in two or three passes, in each of which the soil is first kept at minus temperatures for a week, and then the same amount at plus temperatures.

Seed preparation

Seeds for pepper seedlings should be large, full-bodied, well-heated, disinfected and hardened.

• Warming up the seeds

It is done within 3 hours at a temperature of about 60 ° C, using a specially designed device or an ordinary incandescent lamp.

• Seed disinfection

It is carried out by processing with a solution of potassium permanganate (in a proportion of 2 g per 100 ml of water) and washing with an ash tincture (in a proportion of 1 tbsp. L ash per 500 ml of water).

• Seed hardening

They are hardened for 4–5 days, of which 15 hours are spent in the refrigerator, and the rest of the time - in a room with cool dry air.

The prepared seeds are sown in moist, dense soil, maintaining a distance of 2-3 cm between the rows, lightly sprinkled with earth and tightened with foil.

Temperature regime

To obtain prolific pepper seedlings, it is important to monitor the optimal air temperature in the room where it is grown and the temperature of the soil.

The temperature regime depends on the stage of plant development: in the first week after the emergence of seedlings, the room is cooled, and before picking, they begin to gradually warm up (Table 1).

This technique avoids over-stretching the shoots and produces thick stems. Promotes proper root development and good future yields.

At the same time, the soil temperature is maintained at 13–14 ° C throughout the entire period. If it is lower, the adventitious roots will not receive a sufficient amount of nutrients and will stop growing, and if it is higher, they will begin to thin, turn yellow and wither.

Table 1

Watering pepper seedlings

Pepper seedlings are quite "capricious" for watering. Poorly tolerates both excess and lack of moisture.

An excess of moisture can lead to the development of fungal diseases and root rot. And with its lack, the seedling becomes covered with dark spots and in the future it gives small, deformed fruits, devoid of taste.

• Irrigation water

Water for irrigation is used soft, clean, settled or previously frozen and heated immediately before use to room temperature.

• Watering schedule

The watering schedule differs depending on the stage of the plant's life: before picking, the seedlings are watered once every three to four days strictly at the root, after that - once every 2-3 weeks, filling the hole with water.

• Water consumption

Water consumption rates are about 1–1.5 liters per bush at the stage of the first true leaf and 2–2.5 liters as the seedling develops.

To accelerate the formation of leaves, watering is combined with liquid dressings: ready-made factory mixtures, a superphosphate solution, crushed egg shells or tea leaves.

Air humidity

The humidity in the room where pepper seedlings are grown should be 60-80%. With a lack of it, the seeds will not germinate, and with an excess, they will rot and die.

Air humidity can be measured with a special device (hygrometer) or using improvised means - for example, a glass of cold water. If, after removing from the freezer, the condensation from the glass walls evaporates in 10-15 minutes, then the room is too dry and measures should be taken.

You can increase the humidity level in the room with seedlings by placing containers with water around the perimeter and covering the heating devices with carefully moistened canvases of dense porous fabric.

It is possible to create a local correct microclimate in plant growing zones using trays filled with water.

Backlight

The optimal length of daylight hours for pepper seedlings when grown at home is 10-12 hours.

• If it is placed on wide, spacious windows facing east or south, natural daylight is usually sufficient.
• If it grows on the north side, it is worth taking care of additional illumination from 6 to 10 and from 16 to 22 hours.

In cloudy weather, additional lighting must be used throughout the day.

Plant illumination is done using a wide variety of devices: ordinary incandescent lamps, stand-alone lamps, thin phytolines or specialized powerful LEDs for grow boxes and greenhouses.

On warm days, it is helpful to take the seedlings out to a sunny, outdoor location. So its stems will be thicker, and the leaves will acquire a rich color.

Picking

In order to get strong, healthy pepper seedlings by May, in early April they are dived (transplanted) into pots with a nutrient mixture.

• Seedling pots

The pots can be plastic, paper or peat, with a diameter of 7 to 10 cm. It is better to refuse clay containers and plastic bags. The former easily injure the young root system, while the latter do not allow it to breathe.

The soil in the pots should be loose, moisture-absorbing, breathable, and pH neutral.If the reaction is pH> 6.5, a small proportion of dolomite flour or lime is added, otherwise the seedlings may die. Pepper does not tolerate high acidity.

• First pick

During the first pick, the seedlings are buried almost to the cotyledon leaves, filling the pots with a nutrient mixture by about 30%.

• Second pick

During the repeated picking (in the phase of the second or third true leaf), the pots are filled with a nutrient substrate by 70-80%. Sprinkle on top with a slightly warm calcined mixture of sawdust and sand and dust it with ash.

The work must be done very carefully. Pepper is softer than most other plants and does not tolerate rough handling.

If the seedlings have developed ahead of schedule

Pepper seedlings tend to "outgrow". If this has happened, and the time for planting in open ground has not yet come, it is recommended to trim.

During pruning, the top of the seedling is shortened by 15-20 cm, freed from excess leaves and placed in a container with water for rooting and subsequent planting in the ground.

In the rest of the plant, the first stepson is used instead of the main shoot.

Disease and pest control

Under unfavorable growing conditions, pepper seedlings can suffer from pests or diseases.

Fungal microorganisms enter the seedlings through the soil or infected seeds. Viruses are transmitted from one plant to another, and non-infectious lesions arise due to a violation of the temperature regime, waterlogging, poor substrate and other unfavorable factors of this kind.

To avoid diseases, it is necessary to closely monitor the condition of the plants and timely carry out preventive treatment. The main recommendations are presented in the table:

table 2

Placing seedlings in the beds

Seedling placement scheme depends on the size of the territory, soil fertility, pepper variety and other parameters.

Row spacing in small, hand-cared areas has traditionally been shorter. In large areas, processed using specialized mechanisms, more.

The spacing between plants depends on the variety. Between compact, medium-sized varieties, 50-60 cm is enough, and between spreading tall ones - about 60-70 cm.

Planting and care advice

Pepper seedlings are planted in open ground 60-70 days after the appearance of the first shoots, when it is already sufficiently strong and grown. Each bush by that time can have 8-10 leaves and even 2-3 buds.

It is best if the disembarkation time falls on the II-III decade of May (depending on the specific region of the country), when the risk of frost is minimized. Most peppers are extremely thermophilic and do not tolerate cold weather.

The most suitable would be a well-lit, draft-free plot of land with loose fertile soil. But not the one where eggplants or tomatoes used to grow.The best precursors to pepper are cucumbers.

The soil is preliminarily prepared by applying fertilizers depending on its type: rotted sawdust and coarse sand (in equal amounts) are good for clayey areas, humus for peat areas (the optimal proportion is 10-15 kg of humus per 1 m² area of ​​the site).

Dig holes just before disembarking. The depth of the holes should be such that the entire root system of the plant is freely located in them and it remains possible to cover it with earth to the first leaf. As a rule, 10-15 cm is enough.

The bottom of the holes is lined with a mixture of humus, ash and mineral fertilizers. Seedlings are carefully examined, cleaned of excess leaves (leaving the very top) and placed in a ridge at a slight angle. Then it is poured with a solution of potassium permanganate (recommended proportion: 5-6 g per 10 liters of water) and left to "rest".

The next watering is carried out no earlier than 4-5 days after planting. The minimum volume of water is gradually increased.

Loosening of the soil is carried out one and a half to two weeks after planting and after each precipitation. Previously, it was undesirable, since the fragile roots of the pepper are located near the surface of the ground and are easily damaged. But it's not worth delaying either. Loosening makes the soil lighter and allows the plant to get enough nutrients, air and moisture.

Following the recommendations given in this article requires a minimum amount of time and effort. Take care of young pepper seedlings, and in the future the plant will certainly thank you with delicious and fragrant fruits!