Pepper seedlings: how to grow them without picking. How to grow pepper seedlings at home without picking. When to dive

Every gardener faces the problem of a significant slowdown in the growth of pepper seedlings after planting them in separate pots.

This is explained by the fact that the roots of sweet peppers are very sensitive to the slightest mechanical stress.

To avoid such moments, try growing peppers without picking.

Seeds are sown from late February to mid-March. The seeds can first be soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate or a growth stimulant; you can simply hold them in warm water for several hours.

To plant seeds, it is better to use light peat soil, sold in stores, mixing it with garden soil approximately 1:1.

Fill plastic bags of sour cream or mayonnaise with this soil, slightly cutting off the bottom corner to drain excess water when watering. After this, the bags need to be folded in half lengthwise, you get such narrow “cups”. Fill them with soil and place them in a box or drawer close to each other.

After spilling the soil with warm water with the addition of potassium permanganate, place 1-2 seeds in bags and sprinkle a 1 cm layer of soil on top. Carefully cover the box with film and place it in a warm place (25-27 degrees) for seed germination.

Be sure to check the condition of the crops daily to prevent the soil from drying out. Usually after about 5-10 days shoots appear. The box should be immediately moved to a bright, warm place, but the film should not be removed immediately. When the seedlings are leveled, you can slightly open the edge of the film so that excess condensation does not accumulate; later it is completely removed.

To water the seedlings, use only warm, settled water. Pepper tolerates a lack of moisture very painfully, but it also cannot tolerate flooding of the root system. Therefore, you need to ensure that the soil is always moderately moist.

Growing seedlings are fed with a solution of mineral fertilizers or peat oxidate every 10 days. The air temperature is desirable at least 23 degrees during the day and 16-18 at night.

When the peppers grow and the roots fill the entire space, carefully unwrap the bags and add fertile soil. Of course, instead of bags for growing peppers, you can simply use individual plastic cups. But they are small and over time will become cramped for the root system, which will slow down the growth of seedlings.

And if you use larger glasses, then the small seedlings will sour the excess soil, undeveloped by the roots. When using bags, it turns out easier: as the roots grow, the volume of the “dishes” easily increases without unnecessary injuries for the kids.

With this method of growing, our whims grow uniformly and non-stop and are not exposed to any stress until they are planted in the greenhouse. But even then, their roots will not be damaged, because the peppers are easy to remove from the bags and, together with a lump of soil, are transferred to the prepared holes.

Thanks to this growing technique, strong, stocky seedlings are obtained with a well-developed root system and buds. Try this method - you won't regret it.

Sweet peppers belong to the same botanical family as potatoes and tomatoes, the nightshade family. It is grown for its large fruits, which are usually picked while still green, although they turn red over time.

Features of growing pepper

For normal growth, sweet peppers require approximately the same conditions as tomatoes, although they require higher temperatures and air humidity. This crop is best grown in a greenhouse. However, in areas with a mild climate, pepper grows well in open ground conditions in areas protected from the wind. In less favorable conditions, film tunnels or greenhouses with high side walls are used. This is exactly what the “HARVEST” greenhouse and the “HARVEST” greenhouse are.

Soil conditions. Peppers are grown in an open area with fairly fertile, well-drained soil. Sunny places protected from the wind are best suited for planting. In autumn, the soil is generously fertilized with rotted manure or compost. The soil on the site must have high moisture-holding capacity. In greenhouses, peppers are grown on soil, in pots or film bags with a nutrient mixture.

When growing peppers in open ground, before planting seedlings on the site, apply basic complete mineral fertilizer in the amount of 30-70 g per 1 m2. During the growing season, especially with the beginning of fruit formation, the plants are fed. When growing peppers in containers, plants begin to be fed at a younger age.

Watering must be done very carefully. Plant care. Sweet pepper plants require high temperatures for normal growth. But even in favorable conditions, growing seedlings lasts at least 10-12 weeks. During seed germination, maintain a temperature of 21 C; after emergence of seedlings it is reduced to 18 C.

Seeds are sown on a tray or in a box with high edges filled with compost; They are also sprinkled with a thin layer of compost on top. The plants are watered and covered with glass and newspaper. The glass is turned over daily so that drops of condensation do not fall on the seedlings.

When the seedlings become large enough, they pick. Seedlings are planted.

Planting in a greenhouse

March and later. Seeds are sown sparsely on moistened compost. They are sprinkled with a thin layer of compost on top and covered with a piece of glass and newspaper. The glass is turned over daily. During seed germination, the temperature is maintained at 21°C.

When the seedlings become large enough, they are planted in peat pots with a diameter of 7-8 cm. The seedlings are periodically fed.

10-12 weeks after sowing, the seedlings are transplanted into pots with a diameter of 20-25 cm and placed in the greenhouse at a distance of 45 cm from each other. Peppers continue to be regularly watered and fed with fertilizers.

One at a time in peat or plastic pots with a diameter of 7-8 cm with a compost-based nutrient mixture. Seedlings are fed with liquid fertilizers. If desired, you can use ready-made seedlings.

Planting in a greenhouse. Sweet peppers are planted in heated greenhouses (temperature 15-18°C) already in March; in unheated greenhouses, planting is carried out no earlier than mid-April. Three plants are planted in a standard plastic bag with a nutrient mixture. When planting peppers in 20-25 cm pots, they are placed at a distance of 45 cm from one another.

Planting in open ground.

In mid-May, seedlings are planted according to a 45x45 cm pattern, after which simple shelters are installed on the site.

Formation of plants. Sweet pepper is a bush plant. When the height of the plants reaches 15 cm, their apical growth points are removed. This promotes increased branching. If necessary, plants are tied to a trellis or bamboo poles. Peppers grown in unheated greenhouses and in open ground are usually short, up to 60 cm high. Much larger plants grow in heated greenhouses

In open ground, ripening occurs at the end of August - September. The fruits are removed as needed. If you leave the green fruits on the plants for another two to three weeks under greenhouse conditions, they will turn red.

Pests and diseases

For aphids and spider mites, plants are sprayed with quickly decomposing insecticides, such as karbofos or keltan.

There are not many diseases in sweet peppers. If there is a lack of moisture on the surface of the fruit, some areas become gray-brown in color and sink inward. They then soften and may become covered with gray mold (Botrytis cinerea). Therefore, it is important to water peppers promptly and well, especially if the plants are grown in containers - bags or pots.

When the plants reach a height of 15 cm, their apical growth points are removed, leaving 3-4 side shoots. If necessary, plants are grown on supports.

Throughout the entire growing season, when aphids or spider mites appear on plants, they are treated with quickly decomposing insecticides, such as karbofos.

Growing pepper seedlings in a greenhouse

Pepper cannot be grown using the seedless method, because its seeds take a very long time to germinate - about two weeks. Peppers are slow growing in the initial growth stage, so the seeds are sown quite early. The age of seedlings when transplanted into the ground should be 60-70 days from the date of planting.

Seeds are planted in trays with a distance of 1-2cm between them. Before the seeds germinate, the tray is covered with glass to prevent the soil from drying out.

When the sprouts have formed 2-3 true leaves, they are picked. This happens after about a month.

Dive peppers into cups with a diameter of 6-7 cm. It is advisable to plant two plants in one cup. Peppers grow well together.

It is important that the pepper does not overgrow. It should be planted when flower buds begin to form, the plants are 25 - 30 cm high and have 8-12 leaves. Peppers can be planted earlier if the weather permits. Pepper is planted into the soil at the same level at which it grew in the cup; this differs from most crops, which are planted deeper.

Growing pepper seedlings

Starting from the end of February, the epic of growing indoor and garden varieties of pepper begins. In the Urals, Siberia and central Russia, pepper cannot be grown using the seedless method, because, firstly, its seeds germinate for a very long time - 10-15 days, secondly, pepper grows slowly in the initial stage and, finally, the age of the seedlings when transplanted into the ground should be 60–75 days from the date of planting.

Seeds are sown in a seedling container at a distance of 1–2 cm between them. Before the seeds germinate, the tray is covered with glass to prevent the soil from drying out.

When the sprouts have formed 2-3 true leaves, they are picked. This happens after about a month.

Dive peppers into cups with a diameter of 6–7 cm. It is advisable to plant two plants in one cup. Peppers grow well together.

It is important that the pepper does not overgrow. It should be planted when flower buds begin to form, the plants are 25 – 30 cm tall and have 8–12 leaves. Peppers can be planted earlier if the weather permits. Pepper is planted into the soil at the same level at which it grew in the cup; this differs from most crops, which are planted deeper.

Pepper seedlings are very capricious: improper nutrition of the seedlings - offended peppers will respond to this with poor health, so that the seedlings do not “sit down”, fertilizing with ammonium nitrate is necessary already in the phase of 1-2 true leaves.

Two weeks before planting in the ground, fertilizing with fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is necessary. Properly grown seedlings at the age of 60 days have 12–15 true, intensely green leaves, a dense stem, and reach a height of 20–30 cm.

A lot has been written about growing pepper seedlings.. We bring to your attention material on the article “Growing peppers. Technology of Alex Kazansky”, in which you will find a lot of new and useful things:

Let's start with a description of the pre-sowing preparation and seedling period.

On February 24, I began pre-sowing preparations. Disinfection of seeds - 20 minutes in a dark solution of potassium permanganate. Bubbling - 2 hours. 12 hours of soaking - snow water with a few drops of epin (according to the instructions). All these operations were carried out once and immediately with all the examined varieties and hybrids. For this I have a simple device:

30 gauze squares measuring 10x10cm;

30 small pieces of colored wire 30cm long. Each wire at one end has a cardboard or plastic tag with a specific number, under which the observed person is listed.

Next, seeds of a certain variety or hybrid are taken and placed on a gauze square. A bag is made from a gauze square and twisted with the free end of the wire with the required number. Having completed the operation with all those observed, you can simultaneously begin the above-described actions (disinfection, bubbling, soaking).

It should be noted that the described device, and those that will be described further, are made once and last for many years.

On February 25, I planted them in small containers. Each container contained five rows of different names. And here, in order not to get confused, I resorted to a little trick.

In a store or market you can easily buy a small roll of self-adhesive price tags, which you have often seen stuck with prices in stores and stalls.

So, by sticking this price tag on the side of the container and putting down the number of what we are observing, we fully track and do not get lost in our 30 varieties.

Anecdote: I'm sitting on the toilet. Suddenly the phone rings. My 6.5 year old child picks up the phone and politely says: “Mom can’t come over now. What is she doing? I don’t know.” And he yells loudly to the whole house: “Mom, are you peeing or pooping?!”

Having placed the containers in a plastic bag and placed them near the central heating radiator (but not on it), I am waiting for friendly shoots.

On the fourth day, March 1, I was pleasantly surprised to see the first shoots. On March 2, 30% of the total number of seeds planted had already sprouted, and on March 3 - 60%. Thus, in practice, I was convinced of the positive aspects of bubbling and soaking compared to the previous year, 2017. That year I only carried out disarming and the first shoots were noticed after only ten days.

After 40-50% of the seedlings appear, I place the container on the south-facing windowsill so that the seedlings receive more light and the temperature regime is maintained. And I learned a little lesson this year! I planted up to 6 different varieties in one container. And each variety has at least a small difference in germination time. And the timing is especially influenced by the seed company and what pre-sowing operations were carried out on the seeds. And, of course, what is the lifespan of your or purchased seeds?

Hence the rule! Read what is written on the seed label, look at the date, and most importantly, plant each variety in a separate container. Then you will get simultaneous shoots of one variety in one container and you won’t have to stretch out the firstborns of one variety while waiting for the appearance of another.

It has been observed in practice that it is impossible to obtain super-seedlings with a lack of light and unacceptable temperature conditions (25-28′C during the day, 12-15′C at night). If not observed, the tendency will be towards pulling out and producing frail and unproductive seedlings.

When the first true leaf appears, I pick it out into separate 200 ml. cups. I carry out the picking, holding it by the cotyledon leaves, and not by the stem, so as not to damage the plant. I shorten the root by 1/3 to stimulate the growth of lateral roots and subsequently obtain a fibrous root system.

I make sure that the root fits into the nest being placed without bends or twists, especially upwards. This year, the first selection of powerful seedlings was carried out on March 9 and the second selection of the rest on March 16.

I am revealing the next secret of obtaining elite seedlings, this is the substrate, i.e. the mechanical composition of the soil in which the seedlings are located. The substrate should be loose, light and breathable, even with a minimal content of nutrients. In such a substrate, the root system will grow freely and receive a sufficient amount of oxygen.

I have been using it for three years now and am very pleased with the compressed peat manure soil. Firstly, its composition suits me very much, secondly, when pressed it takes up little space and thirdly, one briquette produces 2 buckets of excellent soil.

As for nutrition, until the stage of the first cotyledon leaves, the nutrition contained in the seed is quite sufficient, and then, with each watering of the seedlings, it is necessary to add a small dose of nutrition. Such constant application will be an excellent help in obtaining adequate nutrition and powerful development of your plant.

For feeding, you can use the following composition: for 10 liters of water, 2 tablespoons of single superphosphate (or 1 spoon of double superphosphate), 1 teaspoon of potassium sulfate and 1 teaspoon of urea. Or a ready-made complex fertilizer, well proven and tested by you (or those you trust) in half the dose according to the instructions. The water used is preferably snow water or from the tap, but must be left standing for at least a day.

By mid-April, the root system already occupies the entire volume of the allotted 200 ml. a glass and the plant itself is a pleasure to look at; one is already pleased with its power and its juicy green color. On April 21, I carry out the last pick in a container of at least 1 liter.

The plant can be freely removed from the cup with a lump of substrate densely entwined with roots if you turn it over and, if necessary, tap the cup on the edge of a hard surface. Having moved into a new container and without damaging the root system, the plant, without stopping growth and without enduring stress, continues to vegetate more than successfully and fill the allocated new container with roots.

During the last pick, or rather at the beginning of April, I try to assign my charges to a permanent place, before landing in the ground - on an insulated balcony. On the balcony the air is fresh and there is enough light (south side) and it is much easier to maintain the temperature regime by opening the windows when it is hot and turning on the heater when it is significantly colder.

At the beginning of May the first color begins to appear. Without hesitation and without regret, I pick these flowers. Thus, the plant does not spend its resources on nursing the first few fruits, but continues to actively grow.

I repeat this operation constantly and stop only a week before landing at a permanent place. At the same time, in early May, if necessary and depending on the variety, I pinch the main stem, which activates the growth of lateral shoots, on which many ripening fruits are formed.

By the time of planting in a permanent place (this year - May 26), the plants amaze with their beauty, power and container completely filled with the root system. Plants are planted in holes without damaging the root system and without being delayed in growth using the above method.

Placed on pre-prepared beds well filled with organic matter, they are covered with film or non-woven material (tunnel cover). It should be noted that the length of the film or material only reaches the outer arcs, hanging down by 10-15 cm.

Those 10-15 centimeters hanging down and individual end pieces of film (pockets) are attached to the outer arcs with wooden clothespins, allowing the ends to be freely and quickly opened or closed if necessary.

When fruiting, peppers love warmth and feel comfortable and make you happy if they are surrounded by warmth of 28 degrees during the day and at night not lower than 18C. Thus, if in the summer you have someone living next to your pets, then they can easily adhere to the preferred regime by varying the end pockets.

And so, to obtain powerful elite seedlings, and subsequently a guaranteed abundant harvest, you need: a light, breathable substrate; feeding in small doses; light and temperature conditions; double gentle transplantation into free containers (first into a 200 mg cup, and then into liter containers); beds well filled with organic matter and acceptable temperature conditions.

If you remember from my last year’s saying about peppers, I planted them on February 24, and the seedlings were already ready for planting in a permanent place in the garden in early May. This year, 2002, I decided to move the landing date to the beginning of March, on the first weekend. The timing is optimal and will allow you to have excellent seedlings by the second half of May.

Another attractive thing about sowing during this period is that the seedlings will receive more sun at an early age and it’s just a stone’s throw until April, when they will move to an insulated balcony. I am also a supporter of later sowing because over the past years of pepper farming, I have learned to control the growth of seedlings: increase the night temperature by a couple of degrees, keep the substrate moist and it grows by leaps and bounds. I already spoke earlier about the fact that the substrate should be breathable and watering should be supplied with small doses of nutrition.

As part of the pre-sowing preparation, I used decontamination for 20 minutes in a dark solution of potassium permanganate, followed by thorough rinsing under running water. Then he soaked for 12 hours in a new, biological preparation - Zircon R. In terms of characteristics, this drug is not inferior to the famous Epin R, and in many reviews it surpasses it.

Facilitating devices for simultaneous work with several varieties in the form of tags, gauze bags, remained the same from last year and made the work much easier. I took into account last year’s shortcoming (I sowed different varieties in one container) and already this year, each variety or hybrid sat in its own container.”

As we already know, it is a very heat-loving crop and also has a long growing season.

And therefore, in order to get a good harvest, and even as early as possible, it is necessary to grow this crop using seedlings.

Pepper grows well, both, and, but you and I won’t be able to sow it directly into the ground, either in the north or even in the south. So we will master all the intricacies of planting sweet peppers through seedlings.

How to grow pepper seedlings? This is the question we will try to answer in this article. We cannot control the weather outside the window, but we can successfully create the desired microclimate at home.

Placed in cozy pots on a warm, southern windowsill, the peppers grow beautifully and, then transplanted into the garden, turn into strong plants and produce a good harvest.

In addition, growing pepper seedlings has the following advantages. For vegetables grown by seedling method:

The fruiting period increases.
The fruits begin to ripen 2.5-3 weeks earlier.

But before we start sowing the seeds, we need to choose the right varieties of peppers that we will grow.

I advise you to pay attention to the following basic parameters:

Duration of summer in your area. If it is short, then choose early and mid-early varieties. If you have enough warm days for 2-2.5 months, then you can plant mid-season peppers. Well, if you are lucky and live in the southern regions, then late varieties will also ripen well.
The shape of the fruit is also important. Peppers with cone-shaped and cylindrical shapes with thick walls are good for salads, those in the shape of “cubes” are great for stuffing, and medium-sized peppers are better suited for pickling.
Color of bell peppers: dark colored ones, for example, sweeter ones.
Bush growth. Tall varieties are usually planted in greenhouses, and low- and medium-growing varieties are usually planted in beds under film covers.

Now, let’s immediately begin to answer the main question - how to grow sweet pepper seedlings.

Step 1. Determine the sowing time

It is necessary to plant pepper seedlings in a timely manner to obtain good planting material.

This is a very important point in growing sweet peppers - determining the correct time for sowing seedlings. After all, if we plant the seeds too early, the plants will outgrow the pots.

The timing of sowing pepper seeds depends on several factors:

Features of the variety. It is better to sow early varieties of peppers 60 days before planting them in the garden, and later varieties - 70-75 days.
Place of future cultivation. Keep in mind that young pepper seedlings should appear in a heated greenhouse at the end of April, in film greenhouses, hotbeds - from mid-May to the end, and seedlings are planted in the open air in the first ten days of June.
Growing seedlings with or without picking. Peppers grown without picking will be ready for planting a week earlier.
Climate conditions in your region.

For many gardeners, the answer is simple - start growing seedlings in early February, but given the short daylight hours, the young peppers in this case need additional lighting.

If desired, you can use LED phytolamps, turning them on for 12 hours.

But most experienced gardeners plan to sow seeds for seedlings in late February and early March.

If the seeds are sown early, you may encounter some troubles: the plants will set the lower fruits, which leads to the depletion of the peppers. Such seedlings may become sick, become worse at rooting and delay fruiting.

Pay attention to the quality of the seeds themselves! Many manufacturers over-dry seeds to increase shelf life. This feature is usually written on the packaging.

Step 2. Prepare the seeds

Sweet pepper is a capricious plant; its seeds can quickly lose their viability. To avoid this, they should be well prepared for sowing.

♦ Seed selection. Prepare a saline solution (30 g of table salt per liter of water). Drop the pepper seeds in there and stir well.

After 5-10 minutes, strong, high-quality seeds will appear at the bottom, and weak ones will float. We need healthy seeds - we will wash them well and let them dry, spreading them out on a piece of paper.

♦ Etching. How to grow pepper seedlings and get strong seedlings? Etching is required.

This method will disinfect the seeds and give them the first hardening against diseases.

A weak solution of manganese will help us (a gram of potassium permanganate per liter of water). Let's keep the seeds there for 15-20 minutes, rinse and dry.

♦ Processing. In order for our peppers to grow strong, the seeds need to be treated with microelements 2 days before sowing.

Place the seeds in gauze bags and place them in a solution with microelements (you can use “Ideal” or “Epin”).

We keep the seeds there for about a day, after which we take them out and dry them (no need to rinse).

You can also use folk remedies for processing. Soak the seeds in a solution of ash (2 g of wood ash per liter of water) - leave the mixture for a day. And we keep the bags with our seeds in the solution for 3 hours.

Advice. You can do without soaking the seeds at all. Bubbling (processing seeds in water saturated with oxygen) is considered a very effective method of preparation.

This method dramatically increases the germination of pepper. For bubbling, use a regular aquarium compressor. Seeds should be treated in this way 2 weeks before sowing.

Take a large glass jar, fill the container 2/3 with water (the water should be about +20° C). Lower the compressor there so that its tip is located at the bottom, and turn on the device. As soon as bubbles begin to appear in the water, immerse a bag of seeds in it for a day.

♦ Hardening of seeds. Sweet pepper seedlings must have good immunity.

Hardening will help the pepper to adequately cope with weather troubles and any diseases. Seed hardening is carried out immediately before sowing.

Soak the planting material in slightly warmed water, wait for the seeds to swell and immediately place them in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf. Keep them there for a day. Then immediately start sowing.

Step 3. Getting ready for sowing

Our pepper does not tolerate picking well, so it is better not to plant seeds in a large container. Individual cups of 100 ml volume would be ideal.

As the pepper grows, we will simply “transfer” it into larger containers.

♦ Soil for seedlings. The soil for our seeds must be nourished and insulated.

To warm up the soil, first pour hot water into containers with soil, and stretch the film over it (evaporation will collect there).

Soil for sweet peppers can be in several variations:

Ready soil. There are special, already prepared mixtures for growing pepper seedlings on sale. This is the most reliable option for sowing. Such land has already been cultivated and protected from diseases and pests.
Self-prepared soil. To do this, mix a bucket of seedling soil with peat (4 parts), turf soil (2 parts), old sawdust (1 part), humus (1 part), river sand (0.5 l) and wood ash (2-3 tbsp. l.).
Coconut substrate. It can also be found in stores; this substrate is also excellent for growing young peppers.
Earth with hydrogel. Adding hydrogel to the soil is an excellent way to maintain soil moisture. But you should add gel balls that have already swollen in water. If you put dry granules in the soil, when they swell, the balls will begin to displace the soil from the pots.
Peat tablets. One of the most convenient options for growing seedlings. Subsequently, the plants (when picking or transplanting) are simply transferred along with the tablet to other, larger containers.

Advice on how to grow pepper seedlings. So that the pepper can better adapt to its permanent place in the garden, add a little soil from the area where you plan to plant the plant to the soil. Don’t forget to treat it with potassium permanganate or steam it in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

Place a drainage layer on the bottom of the cups; small pieces of polystyrene foam, broken pieces of red brick or expanded clay can be used as drainage.

It is better to take opaque cups themselves - the sun negatively affects the healthy formation of the root system.

♦ Choose a place. Bell peppers really don’t like the cold; they need direct rays of the sun.

The ideal place for seedlings will be southern window sills, always flooded with light. On very warm days, seedlings can be placed on insulated balconies/loggias (place insulated material under the cups with seedlings).

Step 4. Sowing seeds

♦ Sowing pepper seedlings. Fill the cups ¾ full with soil mixture, lightly compacting the soil with your hand.

Then we water the soil a little and make grooves 1 cm deep. In each glass we put two pepper seeds at a distance of about 2-3 cm from each other, sprinkling them with soil (it will be convenient to use a toothpick).

Cover the cups with seeds with polyethylene and place them on the windowsill.

Instead of film, you can use a glass coating on top of the cups. This method will provide our plants with an optimal microclimate, which is very important for the healthy growth of seedlings. To protect sweet pepper seeds as much as possible from possible drafts, seedlings can be equipped with mini-greenhouses - install thick, reliable wire along the edges of the boxes and stretch plastic film over it, completely covering the soil with the seeds.

Experienced gardeners advise placing pots with seedlings at a distance from each other. It has been noticed that bell peppers do not like to touch their leaves and immediately begin to stretch out. The neighbors are bothering him!

Step 5. Proper care of crops

It is very important to maintain the correct growing conditions for pepper seedlings. Once we have planted the seeds, they should be kept until the first shoots appear at a temperature range from +25° C to +27° C.

The first sprouts may appear after 7-15 days (depending on the type of vegetable). Spray the soil in the boxes with water from a spray bottle every two days.

Advice. As soon as the pepper makes itself known with its first shoots, we remove the film covering. At this time, you need to provide the plant with additional illumination with phytolamps - this will accelerate the growth of seedlings and strengthen them.

Lack of light provokes elongation and deformation of seedlings. In this case, adult peppers may suddenly stop growing, their roots begin to rot and die.

The optimal daylight hours for sweet peppers are 9-10 hours. We will light the pepper during the day (from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.).

♦ Temperature conditions. An important factor in obtaining healthy seedlings is temperature. The best daytime temperature for seedlings is +23°-25°C, night temperature +16°-18°C.

If the temperature drops below +12° C at night, the plants will begin to lose leaves and may die.

♦ Watering. Young seedlings should be watered only with warm water, preferably in the morning. Water the peppers not often, but quite generously - watch the condition of the soil!

After watering, do not forget to loosen the soil. For water, use rain or melt water. If you take regular one from the tap, be sure to let it settle beforehand.

Advice on how to grow pepper seedlings. Loosen the soil more often - it is vital for pepper roots to receive oxygen. The roots of this plant are the most “sick” place. They should absolutely not be damaged - deformation leads to inhibition of growth and the cessation of further fruiting.

♦ Hardening. Already strong seedlings (10-12 days before planting in the garden) should be hardened off - taken outside for a short time or windows opened.

For hardening, it will be useful to spray the seedlings with herbal infusion (for the infusion you can use garlic, onions, pine needles, marigolds or calendula flowers).

Hardened seedlings will become resistant to pests.

Important! If you have sprayed the seedlings, you should not take them outside or into the sun with wet leaves! Droplets of water on the leaves can cause burns.

♦ Feeding. How to grow healthy pepper seedlings? Feed the young vegetables! During the entire period of growing seedlings, peppers need to be fed 2 times:

When 3-4 true leaves appear.
When growing 5-6 true leaves.

It would be ideal to add a solution of mullein (to 10 parts of water, 1 part of manure) or dry bird droppings (it must be filled with hot water at +80°-90° C, based on 20 parts of water per part of the droppings, it should be infused for about 2 hours).

In order for the fruits of the pepper to become large and juicy, it is useful for the seedlings to carry out foliar feeding by spraying the young plant with a solution of complex mineral fertilizers.

♦ To dive or not? Although many gardeners do not recommend picking peppers (when transplanted, seedlings are reluctant to take root in a new place), many successfully grow seedlings using picking.

Picking. Don’t miss the moment when it’s time to plant grown peppers (ideal time for planting: 15-20 days after germination, when the sprouts have 2 leaves). During the picking process, you should not pinch the main root of the plant. Picking is recommended if sweet pepper seeds are sown in particularly nutritious soil with a high nitrogen content. After picking, the young seedlings find themselves in conditions close to garden conditions.
No diving. This method is simpler and safer. The grown plants are carefully transferred with a lump of earth into larger containers. In this case, the root system is not damaged and the pepper has a greater chance of growing into a healthy crop.

Problems and troubles

When growing pepper seedlings, any gardener may encounter problems. There are not as many troubles for young seedlings as for adult plants, but they can be:

♦ Seedlings have sharply slowed down in growth. This can happen in peppers after diving, when the roots were accidentally damaged during transplantation. Therefore, if you are a beginner gardener, try to do without picking seedlings.

Sometimes peppers can slow down their growth if there is not enough fertilizer. Its “hunger” is indicated by the light green color of the leaves, paler in comparison with other seedlings. Don't forget to feed your pets!

♦ Black leg. How to grow pepper seedlings without disease. Pepper loves moisture and watering, but in no case should you water it too actively and diligently.

Excess water in the soil can lead to the appearance of a dangerous seedling disease - black leg. Soil initially contaminated with fungal spores and not previously disinfected can also lead to infection.

When the disease occurs, the root collar of the plant becomes soft, the pepper withers, thins and “lies on its side.” It can be pulled out of the ground very easily, as the diseased roots die and become thinner.

The causative agents of the disease are pathogenic fungi, which are activated when the soil is too wet and highly acidified.

Densely planted peppers may also suffer from the disease.

To prevent the disease, pour calcined sand onto the surface of the soil and do not allow the soil to become waterlogged!

Carry out proper care for pepper seedlings by following these tips:

Water the seedlings very carefully, being careful not to get them on the stems. It is better to water the tiniest sprouts from a pipette between the rows.
Do not keep seedlings under cover for a long time! Ventilate them more often and make sure that water does not accumulate on the ground and that there is no dampness around the stems. You can even blow on the plants periodically to prevent air stagnation.
Avoid cold window sills! The frozen soil dries out very slowly, and this is what fungal spores need to become active.
Do not thicken the crops! Cold air accumulates in the “thicket” of seedlings - a real paradise for disease.
Avoid sudden changes in temperature for your pets - their immunity may be damaged and weakened.

Qualities of "adult" seedlings

Knowing how to grow pepper seedlings, what competent agrotechnical measures are necessary, and taking care of our young pets, we will be able to grow strong seedlings that will successfully turn into adult, healthy plants.

And for successful transplantation into the garden, they must meet the following characteristics:

The seedlings are 60-80 days old.
The height of young peppers should reach 17-20 cm.
Healthy plants must have 7-10 well-developed leaves.
They may have small buds and a strong stem 3-4 mm thick at the roots.

Our seedlings will be ready to move to their permanent place of residence when the soil in the garden warms up to +14°-16° C (in the root layers this is a depth of 10-15 cm).

And when there is no longer a threat of sudden frosts (as a rule, this period occurs at the end of May-beginning and mid-June).

Before planting, young seedlings need to be well watered to reduce possible damage to the roots.

We learned about the traditional method of growing sweet pepper seedlings.

But I want to invite you to watch a few videos by Yulia Minyaeva about another method of growing seedlings - “in a snail”. I really liked it. I will try to plant some of the seedlings using this method.

See you soon, dear readers, and good luck in growing strong and healthy seedlings!

Surprisingly pepper growing Using this technology, it creates seedlings that are strong, stocky, with a strong root system and with buds that appear very on time, just in time for the date of planting the seedlings in the ground. What is this technology based on? Based on the knowledge about the root system of plants, which the botany teacher gave to all of us in the fifth grade. Here, read about the roots ““. There is an error in the first picture. Can you figure out which one?

Growing pickled peppers. The troubles of seedlings and the gardener's problems.

All textbooks, all encyclopedias for gardeners talk about the usefulness of tomatoes. This is not true: the roots of sweet and hot peppers are very delicate, they are very sensitive to the most insignificant, seemingly careful actions of the gardener, for them picking is always stressful.

And the man... and the pepper...

This can be compared to a person who fell and broke his leg. It seems to be alive, it doesn’t seem to hurt anymore, because the limb was encased in a cast, but you can only walk on crutches. This is the situation in which a pepper seedling finds itself when picked.

The pepper seedlings will take root and grow, but the root system will grow defective, unable to supply the plant with the necessary nutrients. The gardener will have to do this work for the plant.

Don't want to do someone else's work? Then grow without picking.

Growing peppers without picking: when to sow.

Let's not stop the pepper from living...

Picking stops the growth of pepper seedlings for two weeks. A good option when the gardener replants the pepper only once. Then not much time will be lost, but for pepper, as a crop that grows very slowly, even these two weeks are a real failure, which will then affect the yield in the soil.

Calculation of sowing dates.

We calculate sowing dates differently; we do not add to the number of days those fourteen that we voluntarily take away from the seedlings. This means for me, who lives in Altai and plants peppers in the ground in early June, the seed sowing date is mid-March, but not mid-February or early March. Although exceptions are possible for purchased very dried seeds.

Then all work proceeds according to the standard protocol: soaking, soaking in potassium permanganate or a growth stimulant, which I do not encourage, and placing the seeds in a bowl, one or two seeds in each bowl or cell of the cassette.

Growing peppers in a large container.

Reusable utility containers.

You can recommend plastic milk or kefir bags or other similar containers that can be transformed. That is, roll it up like a shirt sleeve, pour soil onto the bottom, spread out the seeds, cover them with a new portion of soil on top, water and wait for shoots.

It is important to place improvised soft glasses in drawers or boxes tightly from the very beginning, because they cannot stand on their own. The box is covered with film, placed in a warm place, that is, everything is done as described in the article “”. The soil should always be moist, seedlings should be fed every 10 days.

When the seedlings grow, when two true leaves appear and the third real one begins to peck, the roll is raised a little, soil is added and this is done several times. Growing seedlings, whose root system is developing and require additional nutrition and a larger volume of soil, receive all this easily, the plants are not injured.

It is not advisable to use large plastic cups; in them, the soil lump will not be absorbed by the roots for a long time and the soil may turn sour if a lot of soil is poured at once. If you do everything sequentially, that is, add soil as the plant develops, then this method is more acceptable, because the glasses can stand on their own, without supports or support from neighbors.

Is everything so good?

A seemingly very successful roll-off container has its drawbacks. When transplanting seedlings into the soil, the soil ball usually falls apart. After all, it does not have a clear geometric volume, it is just a shapeless mass, and the roots are injured, which is bad for the plant.

It’s easier to sow in cassettes, and then transfer each sprout to a new cassette-type container with large cells. This is done when the seedlings have already been transferred to the greenhouse and there is plenty of space to accommodate them. Or when transferred to a balcony, where there is also much more space than on a windowsill or an improvised rack for seedlings. The main thing here is to remove the slightly dried lump of soil and simply rearrange it into a larger container. This action does not interfere with the plant in any way, and then there will be no problems when transferring the seedling to the ground.

Oh, how I want...

That seems to be all I wanted to tell you about pepper growing without picking.

Try growing just a few pepper roots without picking, compare the results and make your choice. I hope that you will be attracted by the beauty of the seedlings and the minimum of work.

Related materials:

Hot Pepper Varieties

In our cold Siberia, sweet and hot peppers have been grown for only 45 years. And then in many areas it can produce crops only under film...

Picking pepper or talking about seedlings again

My pepper seedlings live in cassettes. I put 2 seeds in each cell, this is to make sure that at least one will certainly sprout, and not a single cell...

Kira Stoletova

Planting peppers in seedlings is a difficult and time-consuming task. But it is possible to make work easier by eliminating one of the processes. Growing pepper seedlings without picking is possible, and healthy seedlings can be obtained with minimal investment of labor.

Preparatory activities

Pepper does not like stress. Picking it injures, damaging the delicate roots. A non-picked plant has a much more powerful and larger root system.

To grow peppers without picking, you need to perform several preparatory measures: prepare the seeds and soil.

Seed preparation

To grow a healthy crop, seeds are selected with great care. You need to soak them for 1 hour in clean water (melt or distilled). Transfer to a weak manganese solution for another 20 minutes.

Place the soaked seeds on a cloth soaked in honey and water (0.5 teaspoon of honey and half a glass of water), wrap them in it. Leave in a warm place for 24 hours. After the time has elapsed, carefully unwrap it. The roots will hatch during this day, try not to damage them.

Land preparation

The soil for pepper seedlings is loosened without picking and enriched with nutrients. It must breathe so that the plants do not experience discomfort.

Drainage is placed at the bottom of the pots and filled with soil mixture with peat and vermicompost. It is better to sow in ordinary plastic flower pots, 7x7x8 cm in size and 1 liter in volume. It is not recommended to grow seeds in peat pots. They dry out very quickly, drawing all the soil moisture onto themselves. It is difficult for roots to grow through them due to the density of the structure.

Growing seedlings

In order for a vegetable to grow longer in the same place, you need to plant no more than 2-3 seeds in each pot. Plant to a depth of no more than 2 cm. Sprinkle the top with soil. It is better to grow in the ground from your own garden. It is tested, without pathogenic bacteria.

After the sprouts appear, the stronger one is selected and left. The second, weaker one, is better not to pull out. You can damage roots that are not yet strong. It's better to just cut it off with scissors.

Before sowing peppers for growing without picking, you need to decide on the place where the seedlings will stand. It should be well lit, without drafts and differences in night and day temperatures. It is better not to use a window sill. Direct exposure to sunlight through glass can cause burns on the tender first leaves.

In the first days, pots with ungerminated seeds are covered with film or glass. It is better to put them immediately in a warm and dark place. After the sprouts appear, the covering material is removed. Temperatures up to 20°C during the day and up to 18°C at night.

Transshipment

Peppers can be grown without the traumatic picking procedure using a different technology. It's called transshipment.

After 4 true leaves appear on each seedling, it is time to move the seedlings to another location. To do this, you must first moisten the soil in the pot well. A wet lump is easier to remove and the roots are not injured.

The entire earthen lump is transferred to another container, larger in size. Immediately after this, you need to spray with EM fertilizer or water with honey.

Water for the next 14 days with clean water.

Without picking, seedlings begin to be fed from the third week with organic liquid fertilizers and ash. You can't overfeed. It is necessary to ensure proper lighting and periodically turn the pot with different sides to the light so that the entire green cover develops evenly.

Transplanting peppers into the garden

Growing peppers without picking differs in the time of transplanting into the ground. Such plants are very strong and can endure this procedure a week earlier than the picked ones. Planting peppers without picking in the garden is done in late May or early June. This vegetable loves heat very much. The soil must warm up well so that the roots can grow and adhere tightly to it.

Before planting peppers in a garden without picking, you need to take care of its nutrition. To do this, the holes are sprinkled with a mixture of humus and ash. Seedlings are pre-treated with the following preparations:

Baikal;
Fitosporin;
EM drug.

If vegetables will grow on the windowsill at home, then it is better to use:

vermicompost;
complex fertilizers;
mineral fertilizers.

To make it more decorative, you can trim the bush and give it the desired shape every month. The plant can delight with its fruits and appearance for many years. Warmth, light and peace at home will give him this opportunity.

Features of growing without picking

When growing peppers without picking, avoid the following mistakes:

cannot be planted in large containers;
you cannot plant different types (bitter and sweet) side by side;
observe the transshipment and transplantation regimes characteristic of this vegetable.

Some vegetable growers want to immediately sow seeds in large pots to avoid not only picking, but also transshipment. This is absolutely impossible to do. If the sowing was deeper than 2 cm, the soil will become acidic, the seeds may not sprout at all, or the sprouts that appear will have weak roots. Then it will be difficult for them to take root in the garden bed. This will affect the time of fruit production and the amount of harvest.

It happens that seedlings become very elongated for various reasons: they are overgrown or there is an excess of light. When transshipping, you cannot fill it higher than required. Additional roots never form on the stem of this vegetable, as happens with tomatoes. The stem may rot.

Some problems arise due to high humidity or extreme cold: there are no buds and flowers. In this case, you need to spray Bud or Ovary solutions in the first half of the day.

Tomatoes or cucumbers will help control aphids if planted nearby. This is convenient for small garden plots or home greenhouses.
For biofuel, it is better to take hay, not rotted compost or leaves. Manure cannot be taken, the crop will grow at the top and will not set buds. If the presence of nitrogen in the soil is higher than normal, the ovary will be shed.
It is not recommended to plant different types of crops side by side. In such conditions, pollination of one species with another occurs at close distances. Sweet - it will become bitter.

Prevention and treatment of diseases

To get rid of fruit rot, you need to use Uniflor-bud fertilizer (2 teaspoons per 10 liters of water). They need to work on the leaves.

PEPPER WITHOUT PICKING! SUPER WAY TO GROW PEPPER SEEDLINGS! Bell Pepper FROM SEEDS

We plant sweet pepper seedlings without picking. 1 part.

Conclusion

Avoiding picking will help make your work easier and enjoy the process of growing peppers at home. Using these tips, you can avoid mistakes, and growing a healthy and rich harvest will become simple and interesting.

Even in the most elegant bag, the seeds will not necessarily be exactly the right size.

Select the most filled ones and soak them for an hour in very clean water - melted or distilled.
Then dip it in a very weak, slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate for another twenty minutes..
Finally, wrap the seeds in a cloth and soak the cloth in water and honey..

To you 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon of honey is enough(unless, of course, you plan to plant an entire field with peppers).

Place the cloth with the seeds in a warm place and leave for a day.

Unfold carefully- after such careful work, the seeds release a root very quickly. Try not to damage it.

Land preparation

Pepper loves loose, breathable, rich in nutrients.

Therefore, it makes sense to immediately add it to the soil mixture peat And vermicompost, A put drainage at the bottom of the pots. Prepare plastic containers approximately the size 7x7x8 centimeters.

Why should containers be plastic? Because ceramics, pressed paper and peat pots are too permeable to moisture and dry out quickly. Choose plastic - let the water go to the seedlings, not the surrounding air!

When to plant?

Pepper that will grow in a greenhouse, planted, pepper for open ground - at the end. Please note: a plant that grew without picking is stronger than its fellows and will be ready for transplanting into the ground a week earlier than them.

Planting seeds

Now here’s an important point: in order for the pepper not to need picking and to grow in one place for as long as possible, We put exactly two seeds in each container (and cover them with a centimeter thick layer of soil).

Exactly two seeds. And not at all so that at least one germinates. After we have selected the best seeds and then carefully processed them before planting, you can safely expect 100% germination. Planting two seeds at a time is just another final selection stage.

Almost immediately after the sprouts emerge from the seeds, it will be possible to determine which sprout is stronger. Let's leave it there. A the weaker one will simply be pulled out. And then we will only have the best of the best!

First days

First 7-12 days Watching pepper grow is very boring: all the interesting things happen underground. The easiest way cover the pots with plastic and put them out of sight to some warm place. Dark, light - it doesn’t matter. Now the pepper only needs moisture and warmth. He will need light later.

Sprouts have appeared

With the appearance of sprouts Immediately transfer the pepper to a bright place, but don’t rush to remove the polyethylene. Pepper does not like sudden temperature changes, and on the window (you most likely put the seedlings on the windowsill) it’s already cooler than in the warm place where the pots have been standing so far.

After two days, you can carefully open the film and gradually remove it. Just look - no drafts! 20 degrees during the day, 18 at night, lots of light and complete peace.

IMPORTANT: Necessarily . Even when using ordinary white light lamps, the seedlings turn out to be much stronger and stockier than without any illumination at all. Well, let’s not even talk about phytolamps - with them you get not seedlings, but a sight for sore eyes.

And yet it's time to move

But now four true leaves appeared on each plant. By this time the potty is getting too small for him - it’s time to move.

But this will no longer be a pick, but transshipment- gently tapping the pot, remove the entire lump of earth from it and transfer it to a larger pot, approximately 10x10x15. If you handle the plant carefully, the roots will not be damaged, but it is still worth supporting the plant: spray it with water with honey or EM fertilizer solution.

The next two weeks - only clean water, but then you can start using liquid organic fertilizers and ash infusion once every two weeks.

Do not feed the pepper, otherwise the plant will begin to fatten. It is also useful to turn the pot towards the light, first on one side or the other, so that all the leaves are equally large and the plant itself does not lean to one side.

Life in the garden

Heat-loving pepper transplanted into the garden bed in late May-early June, and for the first time a film shelter will not hurt him. In the holes prepared for the pepper put a handful of humus and ash.

Pepper has a lot of work to do, so he can’t go hungry! Before transplanting, the seedlings themselves are watered with EM preparations, for example, "Baikal" or "Fitosporin".

On the window

If you decide to leave peppers to grow on the windowsill, then know: this will last for a long time. Peppers can grow and bear fruit for years.

Just constantly add fresh vermicompost to it and don’t forget about complex fertilizers. To ensure that the bush retains its decorative appearance, give it light pruning once a year, removing old and ugly branches.

Light, warmth, peace - remember? Take care of an adult bush in the same way as you took care of seedlings, and you will be happy and have many, many tasty peppers.

ATTENTION: Valuable ideas and why they don't work

Let's immediately plant the seeds in large containers - then we won't have to transfer them!

It's possible, but not necessary. In a large pot, the soil will begin to turn sour., and the first weak pepper roots will only feel worse. And this will definitely affect the yield of the plant, and not for the better.

My seedlings have stretched out - what if, when transshipping, we take them and cover them with earth at a higher level? It works!

It works with tomatoes, but it won’t work with peppers, because pepper does not know how to form additional roots directly on the stem. Therefore, no matter how much you bury it, it won’t make it any better, but such strange living conditions can easily cause pepper.

Growing peppers is great! I want to grow all kinds, both sweet and bitter, I just have a window to the south!

It’s better to be careful with all sorts of things. Within the same room, peppers miraculously pollinate each other(you can place them on different windowsills, but this will not disturb them!) As a result, instead of a sweet pepper bush and a hot pepper bush, you will get two bitter bushes. Maybe one is better, but sweet?