Quite a lot of summer residents are planting sweet peppers. One of the most common varieties is the California Miracle pepper. Its main distinguishing feature is its taste, as it is several times sweeter than other types.
Description
Characteristics include a description of the fruits and characteristics of the plant. California miracle is a mid-season variety.It takes about 115-125 days to reach technical maturity. The plant is a bush with elastic, spreading branches and a stem about 75 cm high. The seeds have good germination, thanks to which peppers can be planted in open and closed ground.
The fruits of the plant are quite large and sweet. They are colored bright yellow and have a cuboid shape. Their surface is covered with shiny and smooth skin. The weight of mature fruits can reach 165 grams.
The plant is heat-loving, but good yields can be achieved even in insufficiently favorable conditions. On average, you can collect 5-10 fruits from one bush.
Planting seedlings
Before growing California miracle peppers, you should start planting seedlings. This is done in mid-February, since young bushes need to be transplanted into open ground 100 days after planting. If you do this later or earlier, the growing season may slow down due to unfavorable climatic conditions.
Planting seedlings consists of several stages.
Disinfection
Disinfection is carried out to protect future seedlings from bacterial and fungal diseases. Seeds can be disinfected using dry and wet methods. The most common dry method is to expose the seeds to the sun for one week.
Numerous reviews indicate that the best solution for wet disinfection is a 1% solution of potassium permanganate. To do this, the seeds are placed in a heated liquid for 25-35 minutes. You can also use a 2% hydrogen peroxide solution. Before adding seeds, it is preheated to 35 OWITH.
You can protect the plant from bacterial diseases with the help of aloe juice. To do this, the seeds are kept in liquid for several days.
Soak
In order for pepper to have a good yield, its seeds must be soaked for 4-6 hours in warm water. After this, they are placed in wet gauze for pecking. Seeds should be stored in a plastic bag to prevent them from drying out quickly. They can be planted in the ground 2-3 days after soaking.
Selection of capacity
You should not buy large containers for planting. The California Miracle pepper develops rather slowly and its roots take up little space. It is better to plant seeds in small pots or special cassettes with cells.
Soil preparation
The soil for seedlings may contain pathogens of various diseases. To destroy them, you need to disinfect the soil. This can be done by heating the soil in the oven at a temperature of +125 OC. The second method of disinfecting land is much simpler. It is enough to water the soil with boiled water.
Planting
California pepper seeds must be sown in moist soil. The soil will need to be watered one more time immediately after sowing. Before the first shoots appear, the seedlings are covered with film and stored in a room with a temperature of about 20 OWITH.
Seedling care
After the first leaves appear, the pots with sweet peppers need to be moved to a room with additional lighting. You should also remove the plastic film so that the plant gradually gets used to the new conditions. The optimal daytime temperature for growing is 25 OC, and evening - not lower than 10-15 °C.
Seedlings need to be watered two to three times a week. To do this, it is recommended to use warm water with a temperature of about 35 OC. If you water it with cold liquid, the yellow pepper bushes may get sick and die over time.
The soil can be treated with mineral fertilizers several times a month. However, if all the conditions for growing pepper are met, then you can do without it.
Landing in the ground
You need to start planting bushes in open ground at the beginning of summer. If the plant is grown in a greenhouse, it can be replanted as early as mid-May.
Preparing seedlings
Before planting peppers in the ground, seedlings must be hardened off. This is done to improve the yield and survival rate of the plant. Gradual hardening helps California peppers get used to the sun's rays.
First, the seedlings are placed near an open window for several hours. After warming up, it can be moved to the street or balcony. You should not change temperature conditions too sharply, as this may affect the health of the plant.
Soil preparation
First, the soil needs to be disinfected. This is done several months before planting the California miracle. The soil is treated with special chemical solutions and fertilized. For this, potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers are used.
Loamy soil can be fertilized with a mixture of peat, manure and sawdust. Coarse sand with peat and humus is added to clay soil.
2-3 days before planting, the beds are treated with cow barn. Five liters of liquid are consumed per square meter of land. After this, the soil is dug up and you can begin replanting the seedlings.
Planting seedlings
When planting California miracle sweet peppers, the square-cluster method is used. The distance between the beds and bushes should be at least 35 cm. The depth of the holes is the same as the height of the seedling containers.You need to fill the plant with soil very carefully so as not to accidentally close the root collar.
Pepper care
The Yellow California Miracle is an unpretentious plant, but this does not mean that it does not need to be looked after.
Watering
If there is insufficient moisture in the soil, the growth of the plant will slow down. It needs to be watered regularly and at the root. To do this, use well-heated water. When growing bushes in a greenhouse, not only the soil is watered, but also the row spaces with paths. This will help maintain the required level of air humidity and increase productivity.
Soil care
Several times a month you need to loosen the soil. This is done very carefully so as not to accidentally damage the roots of the plant. To avoid frequent weeding, the soil must be mulched. To do this, the ground is covered with a layer of straw, sawdust, humus or mown grass.
Top dressing
Sweet bell peppers should be fed several times a season. The first feeding is carried out immediately after the first leaves appear on the bushes. The next one should be done only after 2-3 weeks. You should use nitrogen fertilizers very carefully, as they may reduce the number of ovaries.
Disease and pest control
There are several common pests and bell pepper diseases.
Aphid
It causes enormous harm to the plant, as it feeds on its sap. To get rid of aphids, bushes should be treated with insecticides. To do this, one spoon of the drug is mixed with ten liters of water. During fruiting, the plant cannot be sprayed.
Spider mite
This pest feeds on sap from plant leaves. You can get rid of it using a special solution.To prepare it, a glass of ground garlic is mixed with liquid soap, dandelion leaves and 5-8 liters of water. The strained liquid is applied to the leaves of the plant.
Slugs
Very dangerous pests that feed on the fruits and leaves of Californian. To prevent slugs from appearing on the bushes, you need to regularly loosen the soil and pollinate the plant with dry mustard.
Conclusion
California pepper is a fairly unpretentious variety that can be grown even by people without experience. To do this, it is enough to study the description of the variety and the characteristics of its cultivation.
