When to sow pepper seeds for seedlings: optimal timing and growing rules

To get a good harvest of peppers, it is important not only to plant the seeds correctly, but also to provide them with a sufficient amount of heat, light and moisture. If all these requirements are met, you can grow sweet and tasty peppers.

Content:

• Preparing for landing
• Growing Requirements
• Cultivation and care activities

Preparing for landing

The optimal time for sowing seeds for seedlings is February-March. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the plant variety. It is better to sow early varieties in February, and later ones in March. When growing peppers, you need to pay special attention to the soil. Peppers grow well in loose, breathable soil. The soil must contain all the necessary nutrients.

The acidity level in the soil should be within the pH range of 6-6.5. For high acidity, it is recommended to add dolomite flour (15-17g of flour per 1 kg of land). When growing seedlings, you can prepare the following soil mixture: take garden soil and humus in a 2:1 ratio. It should be remembered that using garden soil on which tomatoes were previously grown potato, eggplant is not recommended.

Add a little wood ash and equal amounts of peat and sawdust to this mixture. Instead of sawdust, you can use coarse sand. Next, the soil needs to be mixed, calcined or treated with potassium permanganate. After this, you can fill the boxes with soil and start sowing.If purchased soil is used for seedlings, it needs to be improved. To do this, add 1.5 kg of sand and 1-2 tbsp to 5 kg of soil. dolomite flour, ash and mineral fertilizers. Seeds also need to be prepared for sowing.

It is necessary to select low-quality seeds. To do this, dilute 30 g of salt in a liter of water, mix and add the seeds. All the empty ones will float to the top, and the good ones will sink to the bottom. Next, drain the water along with the empty seeds and select high-quality seed. They need to be washed under water and dried.

Pepper seeds need to be hardened. During the daytime, they are kept at a temperature of 20-22 degrees, and at night they are placed in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf.

The hardening procedure must be completed for 3-5 days. To prevent diseases of seedlings and young seedlings, seeds should be treated in a solution of potassium permanganate. They need to be placed in a cotton bag and immersed in the solution for 15-20 minutes. Next, rinse with water. To ensure that seedlings grow well, you can treat the seeds with growth stimulants: Ideal, Novosil, Epin, etc.

Growing Requirements

Sowing of seeds is carried out in prepared boxes, cups and other containers. The seeds should be deepened no more than 1-2 cm, and the distance from each other should be 2-3 cm. After sowing, place the container in a warm place and cover with film. Since pepper is a heat-loving crop, it is important to observe the temperature regime.

Video about growing pepper seedlings:

Before the emergence of seedlings, the temperature should be within 20-28 degrees, then after their emergence the temperature is reduced: at night 15-17 degrees, and during the day - 20-22 degrees. On sunny days it is necessary to shade the plant in order to seedling didn't stretch out.The soil should be moistened every 1-2 days using a hand sprayer.

Cultivation and care activities

After the emergence of seedlings, there is no need to water the plant for 2-3 days, but only moisten the soil surface using a spray bottle. If cotyledons appear, then watering begins with warm water, about 30 degrees. It is important to maintain water balance and not allow the soil to become waterlogged or dry out. In case of insufficient lighting, additional illumination is carried out with fluorescent lamps.
After 14 days you can feed the plant. For roots it is better to use potassium humate.

For 10 liters of water you will need 25 ml fertilizers. No more than 300 ml of fertilizer should be applied per seedling. The last feeding is carried out during the flowering period, when there are already 6-8 leaves. You should take boric acid (1.7 g), iron and manganese sulfate (1 g), copper sulfate and zinc (0.2 g). Dilute all these components in 10 liters of water and add 0.5 liters to each plant.

It should be remembered that after each feeding it is necessary to water the plant. Peppers need to be hardened 2 weeks before planting in the ground. During this time, you should gradually reduce the amount of watering and lower the air temperature. Containers with seedlings must be placed in an unheated room for 4-6 hours. In such conditions, gradually increase your stay. With the appearance of 2 leaves, you can pick into separate containers.

If you pick earlier or later, this can lead to growth retardation. Before replanting, the soil must be moistened to avoid damage to the root system. Picking is best done in peat pots. They can then be planted together with seedlings in open ground.The seedling is dug up and, together with the earthen lump, is separated from other plants. It should be remembered that the spine is not shortened.