How to grow sweet peppers – tips for summer residents

Bulgarian salad or, as it is also called, sweet pepper came to us from Central America. It is quite picky on our soils. But with the right care, grow an excellent harvest of bright, juicy, sweet peppers
won’t be a big deal.

How to grow sweet bell pepper: life hacks

• The soil
  . For planting sweet peppers in open ground, it is desirable that the soil be sandy, loamy or black earth with good ability to retain moisture. But on heavy clay and sandy soils, pepper grows slowly and gets sick in the heat. A plot on which onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes were previously planted is well suited.
• Place
  . When choosing a place for pepper, pay attention that it is hidden from the wind. For example, before planting, tall plants can be planted nearby, but so that they do not shade the pepper. Also, before planting pepper, it is best to warm the ground by covering it with arcs with a film.
• Landing time
  . Seedlings of sweet pepper are planted around the beginning of June. You can plant when at least 5-7 leaves appear on the stem.
  When to plant pepper / Photo: pinterest

• Planting Rules
  . Rows with seedlings are placed at a distance of 50-60 cm from each other, and peppers – at 40-50 cm. When planting, the plant is deepened to the first leaf. Different types of pepper on the site should be planted as far apart as possible, because the pepper is easily pollinated, and the sweet variety can produce bitter fruits.
• Adaptation
  . In the first time after planting, the pepper adapts, takes root and can get sick, and therefore the earth should be loosened for better air supply to the root system. In addition, until the plants take root, it is better to keep them under a film that can be slightly opened in the heat. You can immediately install garter pegs next to the peppers. This is a tender plant and when the fruit grows, the stem may break. To make the load on the bush less, it is desirable to remove unproductive shoots and lower leaves.
  Removing leaves on pepper / Photo: pinterest

• Watering
  . Peppers need moderate and regular watering. But it is important not to overdo it, especially until mid-summer – during this period the bush itself grows, and only then the fruits are poured. If the bush grows too large, then it may break under the weight of the fruit. From the second half of summer it is worth watering the peppers more abundantly. You can use nettle tincture. If the plant is crumbling, this is a sign that it is drying out.
  Peppers need moderate watering / Photo: pinterest

• loosening
  . The soil should be periodically loosened to a depth of 7-8 cm so that a crust does not form. The loosening procedure also protects the pepper from weeds.
• top dressing
  . In the cultivation of bell pepper, top dressing is important. It is best to combine fertilization with the next watering to protect the roots from burns.
  Top dressing is important for pepper / Photo: pinterest

1. After planting first time
   fertilize after two weeks – during this time the root system has time to adapt. To do this, dissolve 2 teaspoons of urea and superphosphate in 10 liters of water. For one plant spend 1 liter of solution. You can also feed with organic matter – rotted manure diluted in water (1:5) or bird droppings (1:20).
2. Second top dressing
   carried out when ovaries form on the pepper. For 10 liters of water, take 10 g of ammonium nitrate, 25 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potassium sulfate.
3. Subsequent top dressing
   with an interval of two weeks are needed if the development of plants has slowed down.
4. AT fruiting period
   you can feed the pepper by dissolving 10 g of ammonium nitrate and 200 g of ash in 10 liters of water.

• spraying
  . Pest control will help preserve the crop. It is good to spray bell peppers with wood ash three times per season.

Earlier we shared an interesting life hack on how to grow sweet tomatoes. They also told how to get rid of the bark beetle.