To get a good harvest of vegetables, they are usually grown through seedlings. This is the case with tomatoes, aubergines, cabbage, celery and many other garden crops. Let's look at the peculiarities of growing pepper seedlings and learn how to do it right.
How to grow a good seedling pepper at home?
So, we usually start with the choice of seeds . You can grow sweet Bulgarian peppers or spicy, burning: their agricultural technology is not much different. Variety of pepper varieties allows you to choose any desired taste, color and appearance of this vegetable. Very popular today are such varieties and hybrids as Funtik, Junga, Buratino F1, Barguzin, Bagration, Katyusha, Alyosha Popovich, Isabella F1 and many others. Seeds should be purchased from well-known manufacturers, with the expiration date on the package - the fresh seeds of pepper, the more their quantity will rise.
It is also very important to observe the timing of seeding pepper seeds for seedlings. As a rule, this is done from the end of February to the middle of March. The exact terms depend on the climatic conditions of your locality. So, if you live in the northern regions with a short summer, you should sow seedlings a little earlier than in the middle band.
Preseeding training is not required, but highly desirable. It involves soaking seeds in a solution of hydrogen peroxide, a preparation of "Baikal" or in ordinary water. Prepared seeds grow earlier and more amicably.
Preparing a suitable primer for pepper seedlings is also important. A good soil mixture for growing peppers contains fertile black soil and sand, which are mixed in equal proportions with the purchased soil for seedlings. You can add a little vermiculite, which will loosen the soil and will not allow it to dry out. As for the container for cultivation, it is recommended to plant seedlings in special cassettes with a capacity of 50-100 ml, and when picking, to pass in 1-2 liter pots.
Germination of seeds is closely related to the temperature regime . The warmer in the room and the more sunlight gets your seedlings, the more early and friendly will be shoots. The minimum temperature for the conversion of pepper seeds to seedlings is 17-18 ° C, on the average it is 24-25 ° C and higher. Consider the next point: pepper does not like drafts and cold windowsills. Therefore, for successful germination, it is recommended to place a foam sheet under the seedling container.
Extra fertilization of pepper seedlings is possible with any complex fertilizer, which is diluted according to the instructions and is applied no more often than once a week. In order for you to grow strong seedlings, young plants need nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron. However, even if you regularly feed seedlings, but the plants receive little light, they will stretch and grow weak. Thus, pepper is much more demanding for lighting than for top dressing.
Watering pepper seedlings is required regular, like most plants. In this matter, this plant is relatively unpretentious: pepper does not need to be poured, but it should not be dried either. Especially this applies to tender, barely sprouted sprouts, which are best sprayed neatly from the spray gun or watered "under the spine".
Picks are needed
And, finally, consider the diseases of pepper seedlings . These include the black leg, late blight, black bacterial spotting, fusarium, white and gray rot . To these diseases bypass your plants side, adhere to the rules of care for seedlings, observe the temperature and watering regime, and when the first signs of damage, use the appropriate drugs.