A greenhouse is a unique place for any plant, where you can create the most convenient conditions for a good harvest. But is it possible to plant tomatoes and peppers in the same greenhouse, or combine the cultivation of individual crops under one roof? This question is of practical value for every gardener. To erect the structure itself and provide conditions inside the greenhouse for the sake of one crop costs a lot of work, time and money.
Why some vegetables don't go well together
Practical experience suggests that some vegetables do not get along well together.Processes that are invisible to us occur at the micro level:
- Pollination. Close crops can exchange pollen. As a result, the harvest may be unexpected. For example, it is not recommended to plant sweet peppers together with bitter ones. As practice shows, the bitter one will win. That is, you will get one bitter pepper, there will be no sweet pepper in its pure form.
- Phytoncides. Vegetables not only consume microelements and water from the soil, but also give back so-called phytoncides. These are specific substances that determine the individual properties of each plant. Their purpose is to repel pests and microorganisms. For example, if you germinate pepper next to fennel, such proximity can lead to the death of the crop. Fennel is very aggressive. Each plant seems to say to the other inhabitants of the soil: “This is my territory, and I will fight for it.”
- Evaporation into the environment. Many people have probably noticed that each culture smells differently. This specific smell will not mislead an experienced gardener. These are also phytoncides that can be felt next to tomatoes and whose purpose is to repel flying and crawling pests. A simultaneous function is to attract insects for pollination.
But how can pollen, evaporation into the air and soil provoke the oppression of some cultures by others? This effect is more pronounced when plants of different species interact. How can a culture that is adjacent to other plant species not influence another?
The answer to this question lies in studying the rules of farming. Agricultural technology allows crops of the same species to be planted in open ground at close distances. Their defense systems are similar and do not perceive each other as enemies. Tomatoes and peppers belong to the nightshade family and, as close relatives, will not conflict much.
What happens inside the greenhouse
In greenhouse conditions, we observe, in fact, an ideal picture of vegetable content:
- There is no weathering of the soil.
- Many pests and bacteria living in open ground are denied access to this plant world.
- There are no natural factors such as wind, rain or hail, which are not uncommon in an outdoor garden.
- Cross-pollination with other inhabitants of the flora does not occur. In fact, proximity to greenhouse vegetables does not affect other vegetables that live outside the greenhouse.
- High humidity.
- There are no sudden temperature changes. We will not freeze tomatoes at night; the tomato will survive a smooth change in temperature, which is what happens in its natural environment, only in a milder form.
It turns out that in a greenhouse, tomatoes and peppers can only interact with each other. But since cross-pollination does not threaten both crops, their proximity is conditional. Both crops belong to the nightshade family. All other factors are positive.
Mutual influence of tomatoes and peppers
Still, if you grow tomatoes and peppers together, it is wise to take some advice from experienced vegetable growers:
- The conditions for keeping the two crops are slightly different. Water after watering in the greenhouse evaporates and remains in the air. Tomatoes and peppers together like a high water content in the air, but tomatoes require periodic air blowing.
- When planning plantings, it is necessary to plan red or hot peppers closer to the walls of the greenhouse - they will be warm and comfortable there. Tomatoes need ventilation, which can be provided by air flow from the entrance of the greenhouse. It is best to plant them along the path on both edges.
- The distance between crops should be at least the width of two beds. The plants are, of course, related, but not so related. At close range, tomatoes and peppers will begin to conflict through the root system and foliage, taking away water and microelements from each other. We must not forget about phytoncides: plants will begin to fight each other.
- But is it possible to plant several varieties of tomatoes or peppers in one greenhouse? This issue must be treated with extreme caution. Of course, the pepper will not pollinate the tomato and the tomato-pepper will not grow. But red and bitter peppers living in the same greenhouse will become quite friendly, and as a result, both varieties will become bitter.
- What can be said about planting tomatoes of different varieties in one greenhouse? All nightshade crops are self-pollinating, so if you plant tomatoes of different varieties nearby, this does not pose any danger to the population. Experienced gardeners specially shake nightshade crops living in the same bed under the same roof for better self-pollination: more ovaries appear and productivity increases.
When growing super-elite varieties, it is not allowed to grow crops from seeds of the first and second reproduction together. This limitation includes peppers and tomatoes: these are related plants, and in order to obtain a super-pure product, even the theoretical influence of crops on each other is excluded.
At the same time, the compatibility of pepper during pollination with other crops is zero. This eliminates the hypothetical possibility of uncontrolled cross-pollination.
How to plan a greenhouse
The main issue for vegetable growers is the maximum possible use of the crop area in order to obtain good yields; the proximity to other crops somewhat complicates the achievement of this goal.In greenhouse conditions, this point becomes especially relevant. The conditions for keeping vegetables in a greenhouse environment are almost the same, and finding a compromise on this issue is quite difficult.
When planting peppers along with tomatoes in a greenhouse, you can follow a few simple tips:
- Plan the total planting area, indicating the location of each crop.
- When planting peppers in a greenhouse begins, you can look at the agricultural calendar or be guided by your own experience. As already mentioned, growing peppers along with tomatoes requires caution when choosing a place for the latter.
- To differentiate as much as possible between the conditions for keeping peppers in the greenhouse and tomatoes, you can stretch plastic film between them.
Ventilation
In some cases, during the daytime, constant natural or forced ventilation is used throughout the entire area where you plant tomatoes. But how to grow peppers in such a draft? During blowing, individual beds are isolated using plastic film or retractable glass covers. This is only beneficial for green, red, bell or other varieties of peppers.
It is necessary to ventilate tomatoes periodically, the frequency depends on climatic conditions. When the first signs of phytocytosis (fungal disease) appear, the intensity of blowing or its frequency must be increased. It is useful to carry out preventive spraying with an antiseptic solution once a month. The greenhouse is closed at night: this will maintain temperature, humidity and prevent the entry of cold air.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to warm up the greenhouse with a stream of warm air. This happens during extreme weather conditions.In some areas, other crops are planted next to the pepper in the greenhouse to produce early seedlings. Typically, in these cases, one or more heat guns are used with a maximum output temperature of no higher than 40 degrees.
Peppers and tomatoes in one greenhouse are located on the sides of a path, which is always wider than the inter-row distance. The flow of warm air is directed through the center of the greenhouse.
Lighting
Sometimes gardeners go even further and organize special illumination with monochrome radiation of a certain frequency. But is it possible to grow two crops from the nightshade family and use additional lighting? It turns out that in this case the plant preferences coincide.
When vegetables are irradiated with special light, all vital processes in plants are accelerated.
It turns out that tomatoes next to peppers accelerate their growth and increase productivity equally well. The attraction of plants to light is known to all gardeners, but, as it turned out, for the normal development of a crop, lighting of a certain spectrum is necessary.
If we grow tomatoes and peppers in the same greenhouse, then for these crops we can distinguish two points related to additional lighting:
- The red and blue spectrum will help the stems and leaves grow.
- Green light will cause intensive fruit growth.
Photosynthesis processes in plants directly depend on lighting. In the dark, crops die, but in normal lighting they grow well. Lack of light causes the following negative effects:
- Thinning of the stem.
- Changes in plant color. The stems and leaves will turn pale green and lose their rich color.
- The sprouts stretch out in search of light, the seedlings become weak and do not take root well.
Proper use of agricultural experience in private farming is a guaranteed result of a good harvest. By studying nature, you can learn not only whether tomatoes and peppers can be planted in the same greenhouse, but also a lot of information about plant life.
