For most gardeners, growing sweet peppers is commonplace. Quite often, people grow peppers in open ground in the Moscow region. This region is more suitable than others for planting vegetables, as it has humid summers with optimal temperatures. In the Moscow region, it is recommended to plant mid-season or early varieties, as they take root here better than other types of pepper.
Before growing pepper seedlings for the Moscow region, it is recommended to decide on the most suitable varieties and familiarize yourself with how to plant peppers correctly.
Popular varieties
The climatic conditions of the Moscow region are suitable for growing peppers. However, it is still worth growing the most suitable types of this vegetable in this region.
Orange miracle
Orange miracle is an early-ripening variety that manages to fully ripen three and a half months after planting peppers in open ground. The height of the bush can reach one meter. However, when grown in greenhouse conditions, it can grow up to one and a half meters. It is recommended to immediately tie young bushes to reliable supports so that in the future the plant does not break due to load from fruits or strong wind.
During the growing process, orange, cube-shaped fruits appear on the bushes. They are quite large and weigh about 300 grams. The fruits have excellent taste, which is why they are often used in cooking to prepare all kinds of vegetable dishes.
Pinocchio
Pinocchio is a universal pepper, as it can be grown in a polycarbonate greenhouse and outdoors. The hybrid belongs to early peppers, since technical ripeness occurs within 75-90 days after transplanting the seedlings.
The bush of the plant is quite sparse, but tall - 100-120 cm. During cultivation, it is recommended to pin the bushes so that there are no extra shoots. If you refuse pinching, the fruits will not be very large.
Ripe peppers are cone-shaped and bright red. Their size is 15 x 5 cm, and their weight is 90-130 grams. Once harvested, Pinocchio fruits can be stored for several months. This is why they can be transported over long distances without problems. Most often, Pinocchio is grown to create preserves for the winter.
Atlantic
Atlantic are great for greenhouses and well-lit areas.However, residents of the northern regions are not recommended to grow this variety, as it does not cope well with low temperatures.
This hybrid differs from others in its productivity and tall bushes. The height of the grown plant reaches one and a half meters. When grown outdoors, it is recommended to tie this tall variety of peppers so that the wind does not knock down the bushes.
This variety has very large fruits, the length of which can reach 20 cm and the diameter - 15 cm. The average weight is 100 grams, but in greenhouses peppers can weigh a little more. Atlantic can also boast of its taste qualities. The fruit has juicy and thick flesh, which has a very fresh aroma. Peppers are used during the preparation of preparations for the winter and fresh vegetable salads.
Martin
Many vegetable growers grow Swallow on their plots. This variety has many advantages, which include ease of cultivation and high yield. This pepper is also valued for its excellent resistance to pests and diseases.
Unlike other varieties, Lastochka is mid-season, as it ripens only 120 days after planting. Pepper bushes are not very tall and grow only up to 60 cm, so it is not necessary to tie them up. However, some still prefer to tie them to supports for safety.
Swallow fruits have a cone-shaped shape. Their length is about 10 cm and their weight is 120 grams. At first they are colored light green, but after ripening their skin turns bright red. Most often they are used to create winter preserves and prepare vegetable dishes.
Planting seeds
Before you start planting, you need to decide when to plant peppers to grow seedlings.Peppers should be planted in February or early March. However, if it is planned that pepper will be grown in a greenhouse, then the seeds can be planted earlier.
Seed preparation
Before you start growing seedlings, you should prepare the seed material. First, calibration is carried out, which is necessary in order to select the highest quality seeds for planting. To do this, you need to lay out all the seeds in a row on a flat surface so that you can sift out too small seeds. After this, you need to get rid of empty seeds that will not germinate. For such calibration, you will have to prepare a saline solution consisting of a liter of water and 40 grams of salt. All selected seeds are placed in the prepared mixture and soaked in it for 5-7 minutes.
Over time, empty seeds that do not need to be planted will begin to float to the surface.
Having selected the highest quality planting material, you can begin to disinfect it. To do this, all the seeds will have to be soaked in a weak solution of manganese. The procedure should be carried out for half an hour, after which the seeds are removed from the container and washed with cool water.
You can also disinfect peppers using phytosporin. To prepare the solution, you need to mix two drops of the drug with a liter of water. The seeds should be soaked in this mixture for 30-40 minutes.
Soil preparation
Before planting peppers, you need to prepare the soil. In many ways, the growth rate of young seedlings depends on it. Some vegetable growers purchase ready-made soil mixtures in stores, but most prefer to make it themselves.To grow seedlings, it is recommended to use loose soils, which absorb moisture better than others.
To create a soil mixture, you need to mix the soil with peat, humus and turf ash. You can also add a small amount of sand if desired. In some cases, mineral fertilizers are added to the ground for better germination of seedlings. To do this, you need to add 10 grams of potassium salt, several grams of ammonium nitrate and superphosphate to a kilogram of soil.
A fairly common problem is the rapid evaporation of moisture from the soil. To prevent water from evaporating so quickly, a hydrogel should be added to the soil, which can be used to retain moisture in the ground.
Planting
To plant pepper seeds, it is recommended to use small boxes in which you can grow several bushes at once. First, each container must be filled with previously prepared soil mixture. However, you should not fill them to the very top. It is recommended to leave a few centimeters at the top.
When all the boxes are filled with soil, you can start creating holes. They should not be too deep so that the first shoots can appear faster. The depth of each hole should be about 1-2 cm, and the distance between them should be 4 cm. After all the seeds have been planted, the holes should be sprinkled with earth and watered. Then they are covered with film and transferred to a warm room.
Planting seedlings
It is necessary to transplant young seedlings into the soil at the end of spring, when the soil has time to warm up well. If it is grown in a greenhouse, then it can be replanted several months earlier.
Choosing a site for pepper
The quality and quantity of the harvest depends on the location of the area where the pepper will be planted. It is recommended to grow the vegetable in an area that is well lit and warmed by the sun. You also need to pay attention to the soil of the site. Pepper will not grow in sandy or clay soils.
Don’t forget about crop rotation, as peppers may not grow well after some plants. They are not recommended to be planted in areas where potatoes, onions, zucchini, tomatoes or legumes previously grew.
Soil preparation
Before you start planting, you need to do a soil test to find out how much fertilizer to add to it. If the soil is not too poor, then you should not add a large amount of fertilizing to it. An excess of nutrients can lead to a lot of leaves and stems appearing on the bushes, which negatively affects the number and size of the fruits.
It is necessary to add fertilizing to the soil in early autumn. It is recommended to feed the soil not only with mineral, but also with organic fertilizers. In autumn, the site should be fertilized with non-acidic peat and compost. For one square meter, 8-10 kg of fertilizer will be enough. It is also necessary to start digging up the site in the fall. This procedure is recommended to be carried out before fertilizing the soil.
In spring, the site is fertilized with mineral components. A few weeks before planting, it is worth adding potassium, superphosphate and urea to the soil. You can also add some nitrogen if there is too little nitrogen in the soil.
Landing
It is recommended to plant seedlings in the soil on cloudy days or in the evening. First, you should mark out all the beds on the site and make holes.When planting low-growing varieties, the distance between each hole should be about 30 cm. For tall bushes, the distance increases to 60 cm. The depth of the hole should correspond to the size of the roots of the seedlings and should not be too large. It will be enough to make a hole 8-12 cm deep.
Before planting the seedlings in the ground, the area should be spilled with water and sprayed with a pest control solution. It is not recommended to plant the pepper too deep so as not to cover the neck of the root with soil. If it is covered, then in the future the plant may become infected with blackleg. When all the peppers are placed in the ground, they will need to be sprinkled with earth and covered with film.
Conclusion
Planting seedlings in the Moscow region is not so difficult. To do this, just look at the best varieties of sweet peppers for the Moscow region and the reviews of gardeners who have been growing peppers for several years.
