Growing bell peppers from seedlings

Peppers in a summer cottage are best grown from seedlings (read about proper cultivation of pepper seedlings). This is when the plants will be stronger, grow faster, and begin flowering and fruiting earlier. Of course, many gardeners don't have the opportunity to constantly monitor their garden: this applies to those who work in the city during the week and only come to their dacha on weekends. In this case, the vegetables grow on their own and adapt to the weather as best they can. Many of them can't withstand, for example, a week-long drought and die. But if you have the opportunity to observe how the vegetables are growing in your beds and provide timely support, it's best to do so according to all the rules. Growing bell peppers in open ground from seedlings is a rewarding activity that will bring you joy and good results!

How to water peppers?

Peppers are watered using the hole-based method. This means using a watering can with holes is not necessary: ​​the key is to thoroughly fill the holes with liquid, rather than covering the leaves and flowers. To ensure plump peppers, don't allow the bed to dry out completely. Peppers may produce fruit in drought conditions, but the fruit will have very thin walls. After each watering, wait half a day and then gently loosen the soil around the plants. This will not only provide moisture, but also oxygen, which will help the peppers grow stronger.

Feeding peppers with organic mixtures

Organic fertilizer When growing peppers, it's essential to use it. This liquid, in any form, smells unpleasant, but it's a valuable "drink" for vegetable crops! Feed your peppers with the fertilizer twice a month, and you'll see the plants immediately come to life—the leaves become more vibrant, and the plants themselves develop much faster.
Mullein and herbal infusions are excellent fertilizers for peppers (as well as other nightshade crops). An organic watering mixture is very easy to prepare: mix 1 kg of mullein (or 3 kg of nettles) with 30 liters of water, cover, and leave in a sunny spot to ferment. After a few days (if the weather is sunny) or two weeks (if it rains), the mixture will ferment and can be used to water the holes in the pepper bed.

Removing old leaves on pepper bushes

Although pepper leaves aren't as large as those of tomatoes and eggplants, they still need to be plucked. Not all of them: just the very bottom, yellowed leaves (they fall off at the slightest touch) and those blocking the sun from the peppers. This rule is especially important in September, when you need to harvest ripe peppers as quickly as possible. To ensure they ripen before frost and don't rot in the autumn cold, you can break off as many leaves as possible from each plant: this way, all the plant's energy will be directed toward fruit development.

How to grow strong pepper bushes from seedlings?

There are additional recommendations on how to grow strong pepper plants and get a bountiful harvest. To see if they work in your garden, try these tips on several plants and then (toward the end of the warm season) compare the results. So, the tips for growing peppers are simple:

— Double tops. Pepper bushes bear fruit from their tops. Therefore, to get more fruit, you need to increase the number of tops on the bushes. To do this, three weeks after planting the seedlings (when the bushes have taken root but have not yet begun to bloom), break off the top of the bush by hand—a tuft of upper leaves. After a while, two branches will grow from this spot, which will develop into two tops.
Peppers love to grow in pairs. To ensure stronger, more robust pepper plants, plant the seedlings in pairs. In other words, plant the peppers in two rows instead of a large bed. The pepper plants will support each other and grow stronger faster.

Growing bell peppers from seedlings is a very exciting activity. And if you organize it correctly, you'll be delighted with the results of your gardening efforts!

By the way, find out How and when to plant pepper seedlings in 2017.