How to sow pepper for seedlings

Growing pepper seedlings has its own characteristics, in order to get a strong and healthy planting material, you need to take into account a number of nuances and clearly follow the rules. Everything is important here, from the timing of sowing, ending with the preparation for planting.

Let's figure out how to sow sweet pepper for seedlings and how to care for it.

Preparing seeds for sowing

The future crop directly depends on the initial seed preparation, which includes several important activities. Experienced gardeners have long chosen for themselves the optimal sequence of pre-sowing preparation, they are happy to share their experience and give valuable advice to beginning summer residents. We will analyze all the methods of correct processing in order, all of them, of course, do not need to be used, just select a couple, three options.

Sorting

Strong and strong seedlings resistant to various stresses will grow from dense and heavy seeds. The rejection is carried out in brine (tsp. Salt per glass of water), the mixture with seeds is mixed well for 2 minutes and left to stand for 15 minutes. Dummies and small grains will pop up, they will be thrown away, and the settled ones will be washed with water and dried in a strainer or on a paper towel.

Disinfection

Seeds must be disinfected immediately after sorting. Here you can go in two ways - pickle seeds in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate or in a 2-3% mixture of hydrogen peroxide, the second option is now the most popular. There is another way involving the use of the drug Fitolavin.

In any solution, the seeds are kept for at least 10 minutes, the purchased product is used according to the instructions. Store seed, the packaging of which says that the seeds are already decontaminated and can not be pickled, although additional protection, especially in the case of unfamiliar companies, will not be superfluous.

Warming up

This procedure is useful for those who store seeds in unheated rooms, it is carried out a month before sowing. Bags with grains begin to warm up at a temperature of 20 ° C, gradually increase it to 80. Another method involves heating the seeds on a heating battery.

Growth stimulant treatment

This is one of the favorite ways to prepare seeds for many summer residents. Although there is an opinion that stimulants can make even the weakest seeds, which will not give a strong sprout, hatch. The idea is correct, therefore, this procedure is carried out only after sorting.

As growth stimulants, you can use special preparations or choose something from folk remedies, for example, aloe or potato juices, infusion of onion husks and wood ash, honey, etc.

Soaking and Germination

Pepper seeds sprout for a long time, to speed up this process, they can be soaked, put in a gauze or cloth bag and placed in warm water for 10 or 12 hours. Every 4 hours, grains need to be removed for a short time and water changed.

Germination is carried out at a temperature of 20–25 ° C, they prepare a wide, shallow container, cover it with plenty of gauze or a paper towel moistened with water and lay the seeds on top. It should be ensured that the material does not dry out, the seeds should not be completely immersed in water. When the kernels hatch, they are immediately sown.

Quenching

Pepper loves heat, it is advisable to prepare it for atypical conditions in advance. Seedlings grown from hardened seeds will be more compressed (squat) and resistant to slight changes in temperature.The procedure is carried out with hatching seeds, overnight in the same bowl in which they were soaked, transferred to a room where the temperature is maintained at 10-15 ° C.

Sowing dates

Seeding time for seedlings depends on the region and place (unprotected or covered ground). More accurate information can be found on the packaging, but if the seeds are collected on their own, the following recommendations should be followed:

• seeds are sown 60, 70 or 80 days before planting;
• pepper is planted in open ground when the soil warms up to 15 degrees, mainly in mid-May. You can sow seeds at the end of March. In case of weather deterioration, planting should be covered with a film;
• for heated greenhouses, seeds are sown in late February, and seedlings are planted in April;
• in unheated greenhouses, seedlings can be planted in the first half of May, and seeds need to be sown in mid-March.

If sowing pepper seedlings for the first time, it is better to consult with those who have long been cultivating it in a particular region. The weather is changeable, sometimes it presents the most unexpected surprises; it is impossible to name the exact sowing date, which is suitable for everyone.

Sowing seeds

You can use any container, but first you need to rinse it well and disinfect it with a solution of potassium permanganate. It is not necessary to fill the containers with the soil mixture to the top; you should leave 2 cm sides so that you can then fill the ground.

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Seeds are laid out at a distance of 1, 5 or 2 cm, thicker is not needed, young seedlings will interfere with each other, creating a shadow. Now seedlings are sprinkled with soil (up to 1, 5 cm), slightly compacted and irrigated with warm, settled water. So that moisture does not evaporate quickly, you can build a small greenhouse, cover the container with polyethylene or glass. Seedlings should be kept in a room with a temperature of at least 25 ° C.

Seedling Care

As soon as the seeds hatch (after 5 or 7 days), the container is placed on a light windowsill, remove the shelter and reduce the room temperature to 15 or 17 ° C. Watering seedlings should be moderate and only with warm water. The soil should be moist, but not swampy.

To prevent the bores from bending toward the sun, during the day the containers are turned relative to the window or provide additional lighting with special lamps. Prior to the formation of 2 of these leaves, no additional care measures need to be taken.

Pick

This is a rather complicated procedure, it must be carried out very carefully, sowing seeds in separate containers is the best option. Not everyone has such an opportunity, and not every gardener will agree with this statement, some consider the picking process mandatory.

Transplanting seedlings is carried out when they acquire 2 real leaves. The soil is thoroughly shed with water when it drains, the bores are carefully removed from the general container, holding by the leaves, and together with a lump of earth they are transferred into a separate container (from 100 to 150 ml). The stem is buried no more than half a centimeter. The soil needs to be a little compacted and seedlings watered, if necessary, add earth.

In professional greenhouses, picking is carried out in another way, seedlings are planted at the cotyledon stage, while the entire stem is deepened. Peppers tolerate this kind of picking more easily, however, they are rarely used at home, as seedlings need to provide certain conditions that are optimal in all respects.

Seedling Care

Immediately after the picking, seedlings need to be placed on a light windowsill, but at first it is advisable to shade it a bit from sunlight. Now peppers need to be watered from time to time (in moderation) and provide them with a comfortable environment, the soil should not be cold, the optimum temperature of the earth is 15 ° C.

The first feeding is carried out 2 weeks after the dive, the second after another 14 days. Fertilizers are applied only in liquid form, it is advisable to use special means for seedlings, you can purchase them at any seed store.

At the end of spring, seedlings need to be transplanted (transshipped together with a lump of earth) into larger containers, from 0, 8 to 1 liter. 2 weeks before pepper planting, you can begin to harden the plants - take them out to fresh air or open a window, first for 10 or 15 minutes and gradually increase the time. During the hardening period, bushes should be hidden from direct sunlight and drafts.

Growing pepper seedlings is not an easy task, but if you do everything right and follow the advice of experienced plant growers, you can safely expect good results. Pepper loves attention and care, is there really any reason to refuse him!

Reviews

Igor. For planting pepper seedlings, I begin to prepare in the fall, gathering ground. I grow the culture in the greenhouse, so I begin to prepare the seeds in late February. Pepper is a capricious vegetable, but in fact, it is not so difficult to grow it, as it might seem, especially if you do it from year to year.

Alyona. I learned all the nuances of growing pepper seedlings by trial and error. My presowing preparation consists in sorting, disinfecting and soaking. Growth stimulants process only rare seeds. At the first stages, the most difficult process for me was picking, then I got the hang of handling bushes without disturbing the coma of the earth, it turns out that you just need to moisten the earth well.