Growing Sweet Peppers From Seed: A Complete Guide for Beginners
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Sweet peppers earn three medals at once, according to scientists: for their high content of carotene and vitamins P and C. That makes the plant a welcome vegetable in every garden plot or kitchen garden. 
When and how to sow sweet pepper seeds?
Sow sweet pepper seeds in the first half of February, on a day favourable in the lunar calendar. Treat the seeds using the standard scheme so they germinate cleanly and resist disease:
- Disinfect for 30 minutes in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate, then rinse.
- Soak for 10 hours at a temperature of plus 25°C until the seeds swell.
- Harden the seeds in the refrigerator.
- Alternate exposure to warmth and cold over five days.
Which containers and depth work best for seedlings?
Sow the sprouted seeds into reusable polyethylene containers measuring 8×15 cm with no bottom, two seeds per container, at a depth of 1 cm. Grow the seedlings without transplanting, because the absorbing root system recovers poorly and needs roughly two weeks to regrow once disturbed — avoiding the pick-out keeps the young plants growing without a setback.
How to prepare the soil mix for pepper seedlings?
Prepare the soil for the containers in autumn for the best result. Mix humus and garden soil in a ratio of 3:1, and before planting add two glasses of ash per bucket of this mixture. Proper soil preparation gives the seedlings a balanced, fertile base to start in.
How to treat the soil so seedlings stay healthy?
Treating the soil mix carefully is the key to healthy seedlings. Place the containers in a standard 5 kg vegetable crate lined with newspaper at the bottom. Pour boiling water mixed as a 0.5% solution of potassium permanganate over the soil in the containers, then water again with clean boiling water. Cover the crates with film so the soil steams through.
This steaming kills disease-causing bacteria and weed seeds in the soil. Potassium permanganate also acts as a growth stimulator here. Sow the seeds into the warm soil and always water it with warm water.
What temperature do pepper seedlings need?
At an air temperature of 23–25°C, sprouts appear after about 10 days. Keep in mind that at 14°C pepper seedlings stop growing and the stem becomes woody, so a poorly developed plant produces only small fruit set. Temperature control is therefore one of the decisive factors in raising strong seedlings.
How should you water pepper seedlings?
Watering pepper seedlings skilfully is very important. If the soil becomes waterlogged, the amount of oxygen in it drops, the roots suffocate and rot, and plant growth slows down. Because of this, water peppers often but not excessively, since their root system sits shallow. The crop grows better with a 12-hour day, so it is best to supplement the seedlings with daylight lamps.
How to harden seedlings and move them outdoors?
Harden the seedlings by moving them into a film greenhouse on 15–20 April. Transplant them into open ground in the first ten days of June, and before that treat the seedlings with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture to prevent disease. The hardening period gradually adapts the plants to outdoor conditions and lowers transplant shock.
What planting scheme and care does sweet pepper need outdoors?
Plant the seedlings on a 50×30 cm scheme and water them generously with a 0.5% solution of potassium permanganate. Loosen the soil after every watering without fail. Before planting into the ground, add a handful of ash and two handfuls of humus to each planting hole. These steps give the transplanted peppers nutrients and aeration right at the root zone.
The most important thing in growing sweet peppers is to create conditions that prevent the stem from becoming woody. Do you know the secrets of growing vegetable crops? Register on the site and share them with our readers.
