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Despite the fact that growing heat-loving peppers in Siberia is a difficult task, many gardeners successfully harvest. Of course, to do this, you need to fulfill a number of conditions, starting from the correct choice of vegetable variety, ending with preparing the place for growing. It is important to know when to plant pepper seedlings in Siberia in order to obtain fruits in a given climate zone.
What determines the time for planting peppers?
To correctly calculate the time for sowing pepper, you need to know: how long the process of grain germination, seedling growth, appearance of color and fruit takes, as well as the desired period for the start of the harvest.
The time to plant seeds depends on:
- From the place where the pepper will grow until the harvest ripens: in the open ground, greenhouse or greenhouse. It is necessary to replant peppers to a permanent place when they are not yet blooming (on average, at the age of 60 days from the start of germination). Peppers begin to be planted when the soil is warmed to a temperature of at least 15 degrees. In a greenhouse this will happen earlier than in a greenhouse; the last thing the soil will do is reach the desired temperature in the open ground.Accordingly, you need to start germinating seeds for greenhouses earlier than for a greenhouse or open ground (about two weeks).
- From the early ripening of pepper varieties. Extra-early varieties begin to bear fruit within a period of up to 100 days from the appearance of the sprout, early-ripening varieties - at 100-120 days, mid-ripening - after 4 months, late - after 5 months. Due to the fact that in Siberia there are not enough sunny days for growing late-ripening pepper varieties, it is worth choosing early or mid-ripening varieties for planting.
When choosing the date for planting pepper seedlings, you should consider the following average indicators:
- The appearance of the first leaf occurs in the period from 15 to 20 days from the moment of germination.
- The bud appears on day 45-50.
- Pepper begins to bloom in the period from 60 to 100 days and flowering lasts about a week for each flower.
- The first fruit ripens a month after the pepper has flowered (a total of 80 to 130 days from the appearance of the sprout).
An example of calculating the time for sowing pepper seeds: For planting, there is a variety that bears fruit four months from the start of germination; the harvest is planned to be obtained from August 1. To calculate the date of planting seeds, you need to count back 120 days from August 1. It turns out April 3. From this date you need to count back another 14 days. The required date is March 20.
The weather in Siberia is not stable, and a situation may arise when the seedlings are ready to be transplanted into a greenhouse, and the ground temperature is below +14. If you wait for favorable conditions when planting, the pepper will outgrow, which means it will be worse to take root in the new place and will not have time to bear fruit in the short summer period.
When planting seeds, it is very popular among gardeners. moon calendar. According to it, peppers should be planted on days when the moon is waxing.
Varieties of peppers suitable for growing in Siberia
Peppers need warmth and light. Under Siberian conditions, these indicators are clearly not enough for good pepper yield. However, recently varieties have been developed that are more resistant to frost.
Varieties of peppers that have proven themselves when grown in Siberia:
- Early ripening: “Siberian Prince”, “Tusk”;
- Mid-season: “Siberian format”, “Siberian felt boots", "Eastern Bazaar", "Siberian Bonus";
- For open ground: “Gift of Moldova”, “Cardinal”, “Orange Miracle”.
When buying seeds in a store, it is important not to lose sight of their expiration date (usually up to four years). It is better when the seeds are fresh, because the longer they are stored, the smaller the amount that germinates.
Useful video about when to plant peppers:
Preparing for landing
Before planting peppers, you need to properly prepare the seeds, soil and containers for seedlings.
Seed preparation
- It is necessary to remove all seeds unsuitable for sowing.: with visible damage, puny. There are several ways to identify quality beans. The fastest: prepare a 5% saline solution, place the seeds in it for 10 minutes - the weak ones will remain on the surface. The best way: at any time (before the sowing season) plant a few seeds from a bag as a test without germinating them. As a result, by how many seeds have sprouted, it will be clear whether the material is of high quality.You will also know exactly when to sow and how long it will take for a sprout to appear;
- Grains suitable for planting must be processedto avoid contracting fungal infections. To do this, the seeds are placed in a gauze bag and soaked in a thick solution of manganese for half an hour. After processing, thoroughly wash the seeds without removing them from the gauze. The seeds of some companies are sold already processed; you should carefully read the annotation;
- Start germinating seeds (if you are not sure that the seeds will sprout). Place the seeds (separate from each other) between a damp cloth folded in half. To prevent the liquid from evaporating too quickly, the seeds need to be covered. Place the seeds in a warm (+25 degrees) place. You need to make sure that the seeds do not germinate more than 1 mm, otherwise the tip can easily come off during sowing. If this happens, you may not get the harvest.
Other ways to increase seed germination
- Heat activation. A month before planting, you need to put the seeds in a linen bag and hang it near the radiator, or put it in another warm place;
- Soaking in melt water. After treatment with potassium permanganate, the seeds are placed in melt (warm) water for a day. Then you need to put them in a saucer and in a plastic bag, after wrapping them in gauze. Cover the bag, but do not tie it, to allow air access. Place in a warm place for germination (not on a radiator). Seeds germinate on average within a week.
- Soaking in ash. The seeds are placed in water with wood ash (in the proportion of one tablespoon per liter) for one to two days. Next, they are germinated in the same way as when soaking in melt water.
- Oxygen saturation. You need to immerse the seeds in water, and using a compressor (an aquarium compressor will do), supply air there. Treat two weeks before planting for 24 hours.
- Hardening of seeds. You need to treat the grains with a nutrient solution, wrap them in a damp cloth and place them in the refrigerator (lower section) for two days. Then leave it in the room for 12 hours and put it back in the refrigerator for two days.
How to prepare the soil mixture
For proper growth, pepper seeds require loose, fertile soil. You can take ready-made soil for peppers, sift it and add pre-washed sand (in a ratio of 0.5/3 sand to soil). You can mix the soil yourself: one part of washed sand and two parts each of peat and humus (or rotted compost). Instead of sand, you can put ash. All ingredients must be mixed thoroughly. You can add fertilizer.
Many sources recommend: when to plant, disinfect the soil (using traditional methods or using special preparations). However, this issue raises a lot of controversy about the appropriateness of the procedure, since, along with the pathogenic flora, the beneficial flora is also destroyed. If you carry out disinfection, you should do it in a container for seedlings. Sowing seeds should begin one day after tilling the soil.
To prevent stagnation of water in the soil, the container must have holes through which excess liquid will be drained.
Sod should be taken from land on which perennial grasses grew. It is better to use humus that is three years old.
Sowing seeds
Peppers have a weak root system: the roots break easily and grow poorly, as a result, the seedlings have a hard time accepting transplantation. Therefore, it is advisable to plant seeds immediately in the container where they will grow before transplanting into the ground. It’s good if the container is at least 0.5 liters and 11 cm high.
When planting, you need to make sure that the seed sprout is directed upward. It is necessary to cover the seeds with soil at least 3 mm, otherwise the root system will form too close to the surface.
They need to be planted in soil whose temperature is not less than 25 and not more than 30 degrees. Pour warm (preferably melted) water, cover with transparent material and place in a warm, sunny place. For peppers, warmth is the most important condition for yield. It needs it at all stages of development, starting from planting seeds. At a ground temperature of +25 to +30, sprouts appear after a week, at +20 - after two, at +18 - after three weeks, at +14 - after a month. If the temperature is lower, seed growth stops.
At the moment when sprouts appear from the seeds, it is recommended to lower the temperature of the ground to +16 degrees - this way, the root system of the pepper will be strengthened. After two leaves grow, raise it to +22, and after picking – to +25.
Peppers also need light to grow. With sufficient light, the flower forms on the branch after the 9th leaf. If there is not enough light, another leaf appears in this place. Thus, the harvest time is delayed, which is unacceptable in short summer conditions. If there is insufficient lighting for peppers in Siberia, you can place a fluorescent lamp 6 cm above the seedlings and turn it on for up to 15 hours a day.
Description of the seed planting process
The container in which the seeds will be planted must be treated with a manganese solution. Place drainage on the bottom, a nutrient mixture for vegetables on top, then pour soil so that at least 4 cm remains to the top of the container.
Before planting the seeds, the soil needs to be watered. If several seeds are planted in one container, they need to be spread on the surface of the ground at a distance of one centimeter from each other and three centimeters between the rows. The same distance is necessary between the edges of the container and the seeds.
The seeds are covered with the remaining soil on top. For easier germination of peppers, it is recommended to mix this soil with sand.
Don't forget to install signs with the name of the crop, variety and planting date. It's better to make them not from paper.
To retain moisture and heat, the container must be covered with a transparent material and placed in a semi-dark, warm place.
Crops need to be ventilated every day, otherwise mold may appear.
As soon as the sprouts appear, the covering material must be removed and the container moved to a sunny place.
It is necessary to water the crops with warm water, while making sure that liquid does not accumulate in the pan. The sprouts are drawn towards the light, so that they do not lean in one direction; the container should be periodically turned to the opposite side.
You should start feeding pepper seedlings no earlier than when the first leaves appear, otherwise all the strength of the pepper will go into the greens. You can feed with liquid fertilizer for indoor plants (two teaspoons per 5 liters of water).
10 days before the seedlings are planted in the ground, you should start hardening the pepper: take it outside, where there is no draft, first for an hour, then gradually increase the time.Hardening is necessary for faster adaptation of peppers when transplanted into the ground, as well as to reduce the risk of seedling diseases.
How to plant seeds in peat tablets
The tablets promote proper growth of seedlings, as they contain all the components necessary for this. Pre-germinated seeds or dry ones are planted in them if there is confidence in seedlings.
The required number of tablets are placed in the container and filled with boiled (warm) water. The tablets swell from the liquid, increasing in size by 5 times and taking the shape of a cylinder. Excess water must be drained.
In the upper part of the tablet you need to make a depression of one and a half centimeters and place the germinated seed in it, cover it with earth on top. Then you need to follow the same steps as when planting seeds in the soil mixture. The main difference is that when growing seeds in tablets, no feeding is required.
Watering should be done when the tablet begins to decrease in volume. Water is poured to the bottom of the container, adding as it is absorbed, and not allowing it to stagnate.
Peppers should be transplanted from containers into pots when the roots grow through the mesh of the tablet. To do this, you need to fill the pot with 4 cm of soil, place a tablet in the center, carefully distributing the roots over the surface of the earth. Then you need to continue filling the pot with soil, compacting it slightly. At the end, the seedlings must be watered, starting from the edge of the pot.
Transplantation into the ground
The place for planting peppers should be sunny and draft-free, the soil should be neutral acidity, light and without weed.
The appearance of the first buds will tell you when to plant peppers in the ground. The ground temperature should be above +14. Seedlings are planted at a distance of half a meter between the bushes.
Transplantation should be done using the transfer method, having previously made holes of the same depth as the pepper grew in the container. It is advisable to add mineral fertilizer to the hole (a tablespoon is enough), which contains potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus.
After the pepper is placed in the hole, the roots must be covered 2/3 with soil, watered well (at least three liters of water at room temperature) and filled completely with soil. Install label. You can mulch the pepper with peat, straw, sawdust or last year's compost. If necessary, the bush should be tied up.
Until the pepper has taken root, there is no need to water it. Then, if there is no heat, watering is done once a day only at the root. Peppers should be watered sparingly; moisture should not be allowed to stagnate in the soil.
The soil must be loosened 6 times per season. The first time you need to loosen it is after the peppers are well rooted.
If you are planting different varieties of peppers, you should do this at a considerable distance from one another to avoid cross-pollination.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that it is quite difficult to grow peppers in Siberian conditions, it is quite possible if you choose the right variety, when to plant the seeds and follow all growing instructions.
