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Sweet pepper has long been firmly established in the household plots of Russian gardeners, despite its southern origin. It was once believed that in the middle zone, and even more so in the Urals and Siberia, bell peppers could be grown exclusively in greenhouse conditions, and pepper grown in open-air beds was exclusively the prerogative of the southern regions of Russia. But the emergence of new varieties and the experiments of tireless gardeners allowed many to realize that not everything is as complicated as it seemed at first glance. Nevertheless, beginners usually approach the selection of a suitable variety with great responsibility and caution - they really want to get a good and tasty harvest of such an attractive southern crop as sweet pepper the first time.
The California Miracle pepper can, without any doubt, be recommended to both beginners and professionals. It’s not for nothing that this variety has been so popular for many decades both in our country and throughout the world. It seems that it has absorbed all the advantages of most varieties of sweet peppers, and has practically no disadvantages. The characteristics of the fruits and the description of the California Miracle pepper variety discussed in this article will help those who have doubts finally make their choice, and help beginners grow a decent harvest.
Description of the variety
Among professionals, and even among many summer residents, there is a widespread opinion that bell pepper fruits of really high quality in size and taste can only be obtained by growing hybrids. The varieties can be used for blanks, but in terms of their main characteristics they are significantly inferior to hybrids. The only exceptions may be certain new varieties whose properties approach those of hybrids.
It seems that the California Miracle pepper variety is an exception here too. After all, this variety has been known in the world and in Russia for a very long time. It is believed that it was bred in America about a hundred years ago and came to our country through amateur gardeners who began to grow it in their plots and distribute it throughout the country. Today, almost every self-respecting seed company offers California Miracle pepper seeds with its own variations. Even the names of the varieties may vary slightly. It is sometimes called the Miracle of California or even in the English manner - California Wonder.
Be that as it may, this variety of pepper has been grown even in Russia for many decades, and it cannot be called new. Nevertheless, in many of its characteristics it may well compete with most hybrids, and from the point of view of unpretentiousness in cultivation, even surpass them.
Judge for yourself - the bushes of this pepper grow powerful, with thick trunks, good foliage and elastic shoots that can hold up to one and a half dozen large full-fledged fruits at the same time.Despite the fact that the bushes can reach 100 cm in height, they do not need a garter.
The experience of cultivating the California Miracle pepper in many regions of Russia and reviews about it indicate that almost everywhere, except for the most northern regions, it can be grown in open ground. Although, of course, in greenhouses and greenhouses its yield will be slightly higher.
The ripening period that characterizes the California Miracle pepper is average. That is, it takes about 115-120 days for the fruit to ripen from the moment full shoots appear. True, it should be noted that by this moment the peppers become quite edible and even tasty, but their color is still green. In order for them to turn a rich red, yellow or orange color, it is necessary for another 15-25 days to pass. This is where one of the features and possible disadvantages of this variety lies - in order for full biological ripeness to occur, it needs a little more time than many other varieties.
But to obtain seeds from your peppers for sowing next year, you need to wait until the biological maturity of the fruits. For these purposes, as a rule, the most powerful and productive bush is chosen and several of the largest fruits are left to ripen on it.
However, you can do it differently. Simply harvest at the stage of technical maturity and put it to ripening. In a few weeks, all the peppers will acquire the color shade assigned to them according to their biological properties, and the seeds from them will be suitable for sowing.
Plants of the California miracle are particularly stress-resistant and can withstand many weather adversities - lack of sun and lighting, low temperatures and others. This, of course, will affect the harvest, but the fruits will still set and will still be juicy and sweet.
The variety is also resistant to many diseases, such as Verticillium wilt and tobacco mosaic virus. It was disease resistance that apparently allowed this variety to exist for so many years, changing little and traveling around the globe.
Colorful family of peppers
Traditionally, California Miracle peppers turn red at the stage of biological ripening. But time does not stand still, and along with the fashion for multi-colored peppers, varieties of the California miracle of other colors appeared: yellow, golden, orange and even black.
The California miracle yellow pepper has been grown for quite a long time, and differs from its red counterpart only in the even thicker walls of the fruit (up to 12 mm), while other colored varieties appeared later.
All these colorful representatives of the California miracle pepper do not differ from each other in anything except color. All the most significant characteristics, including ripening time and yield, are identical.
Fruit characteristics
The fruits of the California Miracle peppers fully justify the name of the variety with their appearance.
- Peppers have a fairly common cuboid shape with well-defined four ribs.
- The surface of the fruit is shiny and smooth.
- The color of peppers, as already mentioned, at the stage of biological maturity can be red, yellow, gold, orange or black, depending on the variety.
- The wall thickness also increases depending on the degree of ripeness of the pepper. And if at the stage of technical maturity it is about 5-6 mm, then after complete coloring it can reach 10 or even 12 mm.
- The size of the peppers is quite average; the fruits do not reach record sizes. The average weight of one fruit is from 90 to 140 grams.
- But the taste qualities of the fruit remain practically unsurpassed: the peppers are sweet and juicy already at the stage of technical maturity, let alone the time when they are fully ripe. In terms of sugar content, according to laboratory studies, they exceed most known varieties and hybrids of sweet peppers. They are characterized by a specific peppery aroma and freshness, which makes them ideal to eat fresh. However, California Miracle peppers will decorate any preparations and will be good in a variety of culinary dishes.
- The safety of the fruits is also at a high level, which allows them to be used for agricultural production. Peppers of this variety also tolerate transportation well.
Features of cultivation
California Miracle pepper seeds germinate quite amicably even without the use of additional treatments in growth stimulants. The germination rate of fresh seeds is quite high, reaching 96-98%. You just need to take into account one feature - the seeds of peppers of this particular variety can quickly lose their viability, so it is advisable to sow them within one to two years after collection in order to get the best result.
If you are interested in collecting your own seeds, then it is better to sow seeds for seedlings in advance, no later than February, so that the fruits have time to fully ripen in any summer conditions.
You can sow in general containers or in separate peat tablets and pots.
Pepper, in general, is not very favorable to picking and replanting, but if you sow rarely and carefully handle the plants with a small lump of earth, then this procedure can be carried out even several times during the growth of seedlings without much damage to it.
You should be careful with watering in the first month of development, especially if you keep the seedlings relatively cool. But in the first weeks of development, it is necessary to provide pepper plants with maximum light. Supplementary lighting must be turned on so that there is at least 12 hours of daylight. After the seedlings develop 2-4 true leaves, they can be fed for the first time.
About 2 weeks before the expected time of planting pepper seedlings in a permanent place, you need to start hardening them off. To do this, on warm sunny days, the seedlings are taken out to the balcony or outside and remain there for 15-20 minutes to several hours.
On the ridges, California Miracle pepper plants are planted according to a 40x40 cm pattern. Since as the pepper grows and develops, it most needs uniform watering, you can build a drip irrigation system for it. It is especially important not to forget about watering on hot days.
The California Miracle variety responds equally well to both organic feeding and the use of mineral fertilizers.So you can use what you prefer. It is necessary to feed at least three times during the entire growing season.
If the basic rules of agricultural technology are observed, additional treatments against pests and diseases are usually not required.
Reviews from gardeners
There are not just a lot of reviews about the California Miracle sweet pepper variety, but a lot, and every gardener is in a hurry to show his admiration for this variety. There are rarely dissatisfied people. And this happens either from the size of the fruits not meeting expectations, or from insufficient yield when grown in not entirely suitable conditions.
Conclusion
This is such a wonderful variety of sweet pepper - California miracle. It is a rare case when the name of a variety fully justifies its meaning. After all, growing tasty, productive and beautiful peppers without much hassle in the open ground in risky farming areas is truly a miracle. It is not for nothing that this variety is one of the three most popular varieties of sweet pepper in the world.
I live in Siberia. California miracles have been grown for many years, in open ground, really 140g. , but in a greenhouse 200-250g.I don’t do anything special / in the sense of fertilizing / only when planting in a hole I add phosphorus potassium fertilizer and after planting they cover it with humus, which is like soil, and to preserve moisture more I put hay or straw / I like hay better, it’s softer, the pepper is tender, turns out to be more accurate. And the fruits do not come into contact with the ground. In the article / does not require a garter / this is not the case even in open. gr. requires a garter, under the weight of the fruit, the Californian falls, twisting the root. I'm satisfied with the pepper. Please note that I don’t indulge in fertilizing, but with fertilizing, the harvest will probably be even better than me. Try it, experiment.