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Pepper is a heat-loving nightshade crop. Here it is grown everywhere, in the southern regions - in open ground, in the north - in closed polycarbonate greenhouses. Pepper is in high demand not only because of its excellent taste, but also due to its high content of vitamins, microelements and other beneficial substances. Suffice it to say that it contains more vitamin C than lemon, and vitamin A - no less than carrots. In addition, pepper can be called a dietary product - 100 g of the vegetable contains only 25 kcal.
Although this crop is quite demanding in terms of growing conditions, if desired, you can harvest a good harvest even in regions with a cool climate. True, for this you need to follow agricultural technology, fertilizing schedules, and fight pests in a timely manner. Feeding peppers in a greenhouse is not very different from its fertilizers in open ground, but has its own characteristics.
Pepper requirements for growing conditions
Creating suitable conditions for pepper is half the success for obtaining a high yield. What does he need for a successful growing season?
- The soil should be light, fertile, with a slightly acidic, close to neutral reaction.
- Daylight hours for peppers should be no more than 8 hours. It requires warm soil with a temperature of 18-24 degrees and well-warmed air - 22-28 degrees. If it drops to 15, the pepper will stop developing and will wait for more favorable weather.
- It is advisable to water the pepper often, but little by little. If possible, install drip irrigation. Water for irrigation needs to be warm, about 24 degrees, but not lower than 20.
- Feeding should be regular, with a high potassium content.
It is equally important to know what conditions will certainly lead to failure when growing pepper:
- Dense soil is contraindicated for this crop - its roots do not like damage, they take a long time to recover, it is advisable to mulch the soil and not loosen it. In order for the root system of pepper to receive the amount of oxygen necessary for life, the soil must be water- and breathable.
- When planting seedlings, they should not be buried or transplanted from place to place.
- Temperatures above 35 degrees, differences between day and night temperatures of more than 15 degrees also do not contribute to the normal development of pepper.
- Acidic soil, fresh manure, high doses of mineral, especially nitrogen fertilizers are guaranteed to prevent you from getting a good harvest.
- Long daylight hours depress peppers, and direct sunlight can cause fruit burns.
Thickened plantings are a complex issue. In open ground, they make sense, since the bushes mutually shade each other and protect the pepper from sunburn, but contribute to the development of diseases - here it is important to maintain the correct distance.
Features of growing peppers in greenhouses
Of course, the most delicious peppers grow in the fresh air, under real sun, and not under artificial light. But our cool climate limits the choice of varieties that can bear fruit in open ground.
Variety selection
We grow sweet peppers of Bulgarian selection and Dutch hybrids. Bell peppers are quite edible at the stage of technical ripeness; they can ripen and take on their characteristic color while in storage. Dutch hybrids ripen poorly, at the stage of technical ripeness they have a bad taste and it is impossible to pick them before the first strokes of varietal color appear.
For pepper to reach technical maturity, it needs 75-165 days from emergence, and biological ripeness occurs after 95-195 days. Naturally, only early-ripening thin-walled varieties of Bulgarian selection and only a few Dutch hybrids specially bred for these conditions can ripen outside the greenhouse in the north-west.
Polycarbonate greenhouses with artificial lighting, irrigation, and heating make it possible to significantly expand the list of cultivated varieties and obtain a harvest of even late hybrids, which are particularly large in size and have thick walls. The main thing is that these varieties and hybrids are suitable for cultivation in closed ground.
Advantages of growing peppers in greenhouses
In the north-west, when planting seedlings in a greenhouse, you no longer have to worry about temperature fluctuations or daylight hours - all the conditions necessary for pepper can be created artificially, if necessary. It is easier to control pests or create the necessary humidity here.
Fertilizing peppers in a polycarbonate greenhouse is not too different from fertilizing this crop in open ground, if you are used to following the requirements of agricultural technology. The plant needs the same nutrients at certain phases of development, regardless of where it grows. You need to draw up a feeding schedule and strictly follow it.
In polycarbonate greenhouses, peppers begin to yield earlier and finish later; there it makes sense to grow tall varieties with long fruiting periods. The harvest that can be harvested from one square meter in open ground is much less than that obtained from greenhouse cultivation, where 10-18 kg of fruits are often collected from a bush, depending on the variety.
Nutrients Essential for Peppers
Like all plant organisms, pepper needs nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace elements. It needs the largest doses of nitrogen during the active growth of green mass, then, during flowering and fruiting, its application is somewhat reduced.
Phosphorus and potassium are necessary for pepper to flower and bear fruit; they are consumed by the plant throughout the growing season. But this vegetable needs little phosphorus, and it consumes potassium in fairly large doses, and prefers compounds that do not contain chlorine.
Of the microelements, pepper especially needs magnesium and calcium; they are provided throughout the growing season. Microelements are poorly absorbed when applied at the root. Peppers perceive them best with foliar feeding.
Organic matter is beneficial to the plant throughout the season, but it is better to give it in small doses. You just need to remember that pepper does not take fresh manure well and should be given in the form of infusions.
Fertilizing peppers in closed ground
Fertilizers are applied during soil preparation, during the growing season at the root and along the leaves by spraying.
Soil preparation
In polycarbonate greenhouses, fertilizing the soil should begin in the fall - at least 0.5 buckets of compost are added for each square meter of digging, and before planting seedlings in the same area:
- potassium sulfate or other chlorine-free potassium fertilizer - 1 teaspoon;
- superphosphate – 1 tbsp. spoon;
- ash – 1 cup;
- well-rotted humus - 0.5 buckets.
It’s even better to replace the fertilizers from the list above with a mineral complex designed specifically for growing peppers, applying it according to the instructions. After this, you should dig the bed shallowly, spill it with warm water and cover it with film, which must be removed only before planting the seedlings.
Root feeding
It is best to feed peppers with organic fertilizers - this will make it possible to obtain environmentally friendly products.
Organic fertilizers
If you have the opportunity, dilute a bucket of mullein with 3-4 buckets of warm water and let it brew for a week. In the same way, you can prepare an infusion of bird droppings or green fertilizer.
Next, when feeding the pepper, the prepared infusions are diluted as follows:
- mullein – 1:10;
- bird droppings – 1:20;
- green fertilizer – 1:5;
add a glass of ash to a bucket of solution, stir well and pour under the root.
The first feeding is given approximately two weeks after planting the seedlings in the greenhouse, when new leaves appear, spending 0.5 liters per bush.Then the pepper is fertilized every 2 weeks, increasing the volume of fertilizer to 1-2 liters.
Mineral fertilizers
If it is not possible to use organic matter, you can dissolve special fertilizers for peppers and tomatoes with water according to the instructions. Take a bucket of water:
- 40 g superphosphate;
- 30 g of potassium sulfate;
- 20 g ammonium nitrate.
During the growing season peppers are fed mineral fertilizers 3-4 times.
- First feeding. Two weeks later after disembarkation seedlings apply 0.5 liters of fertilizer under each bush.
- Second feeding. At the moment of mass fruit setting - 1-2 liters per root, depending on the size of the bush.
- Third feeding. Simultaneously with the beginning of fruit harvesting - 2 liters of fertilizer per root.
If there is a need or the fruiting period is delayed, it is advisable to give a fourth feeding.
Foliar feeding
Microelements are not vital nutritional components for pepper grown as an annual plant; their deficiency simply does not have time to become critical in one season. But the health of the plant, the duration of fruiting and the taste of the fruit depend on them.
Microelements are poorly absorbed when fertilizers are applied to the soil; they are given during foliar feeding. It is best to buy a chelate complex and use it according to the instructions.
Foliar feeding is also called quick fertilizer; if you notice a lack of some nutrient and need to urgently correct the situation, spraying will help.In the greenhouse, foliar feeding can be done every 2 weeks, combining them, if necessary, with preventive treatments against pests and diseases. It is useful to add an ampoule of epin, zircon or other natural stimulant to the working solution.
If you grow environmentally friendly products, you can use ash extract as foliar feeding, which contains all trace elements in addition to phosphorus and potassium. Pour a glass of powder into 2 liters of boiling water, let it stand overnight, then add to 10 liters, strain and you can spray.
Conclusion
Fertilizing peppers in a polycarbonate greenhouse is not too different from fertilizing in open ground; it’s just that with the correct organization of the work process, everything here can be done faster and the effect obtained better. Have a good harvest!
