"California miracle" (pepper): reviews. Variety description, growing conditions

Sweet Bulgarian pepper is a welcome vegetable in any garden. In Europe, enjoy this vitamin giant since the 15th century. Pepper came to us relatively recently and became well established, although it prefers warmer countries.

Its bright coloring adorns any dish, and such quantity of vitamins hardly can brag of still any vegetable. Pepper, description and care of which will be presented below, is the most popular among truck farmers and the most vivid representative of vegetables.

Varieties of sweet pepper

Variety of varieties on the shelves of shops is confusing not only beginners, but also experienced truck farmers. Grown peppers in a greenhouse, open ground or a greenhouse can be of different colors and different shapes.

All varieties of sweet pepper , depending on the maturation period, are divided into:

- Ultra-early, which reach the degree of technical maturity in less than 100 days;

- early, require 100 to 120 days before maturation;

- medium-term, mature on average for 130 days;

- late, will require at least 140-150 days;

- very late - more than 150 days.

The height of the bush makes it possible to distinguish the following varieties:

- undersized (up to half a meter high);

- medium-sized (up to 1 meter);

- tall (1.5 meters and more).

In a garden without a greenhouse and a greenhouse, "sweet", "sazachok", "heracle" grow well. Resistance to temperature changes was shown by "dawn", "hedgehog", "violet", "chord", "freckle", "dolphin".

For growing in a greenhouse, short-ripened early ripening varieties or hybrids like "bianchi", "eroshki", "jungi", "turquoise", "victoria", "geraca", "flamingo" and some others, that not only grow but also ripen . Moreover, these varieties are disease-resistant, well tolerate a decrease in temperature.

Tall thick-walled large-bodied varieties of late maturation and, in general, any other peppers in the greenhouse can be grown if it is glazed, polycarbonate, with warm or heated beds.

Pepper "Californian miracle": description

Growing this variety of pepper is a pleasure. To date, this is one of the most popular varieties.

The pepper variety "Californian miracle" is a medium-ripened, requiring from 100 to 130 days to achieve technical ripeness. The size of the bush is average. The height is 0.7 meters. One bush can give an average of 7-10 fruits. "California miracle" - pepper, the reviews of which among gardeners are exceptionally positive, has cube-shaped fruits, they are smooth, glossy, bright red. The aroma is pronounced, with an unobtrusive peel and a wall thickness of 8 mm. Few few can remain indifferent. Seeds of this variety have good germination in both open and closed ground. Strong spreading bushes with strong elastic branches are characteristic for the variety "Californian miracle". Pepper (testimonials testify) sometimes has bitterness. This may be a consequence of not very suitable conditions for cultivation. In most cases, the pepper is sweet, it can be consumed both freshly, in marinated or processed form.

Sweet pepper: when to sow on seedlings

Sweet Bulgarian pepper is a thermophilic vegetable. There will be no exception and pepper is a "Californian miracle". Cultivation begins with the preparation of seeds and their sowing to obtain seedlings. It does not tolerate the transplantation of the vegetable, so it is better to choose peat pots with a diameter of 10 cm for sowing. The root system of the plant develops slowly, so large pots are useless to use for such a vegetable as sweet pepper.

When to sow? This is the main question, which should be determined. Seeds are sown usually in February, so that by the time of transplantation their age was 60-70 days.

Seeds of pepper "Californian miracle" require pre-processing. It is desirable to soak them in any stimulating solution. Previously, they can be disinfected. To do this, you can use 1% solution of potassium permanganate, after which the seeds are washed. They are then left to be pinched on a damp cloth for a few days. Once they are pierced, they should be sown immediately into a well-moistened soil no deeper than 1 cm.

Pots with seeds should be covered with a film, plastic bags or glass. The variety of pepper "Californian miracle" rises in 5-7 days, and even earlier. The temperature at the same time in the room should not be below 20 ° C, optimally 25 ° C, any illumination.

Care of seedlings of sweet pepper

When the first shoots appear, the container should be rearranged to light or provide seedlings with additional lighting. Polyethylene or what the containers were concealed, is gradually removed, the plants get used to the new conditions for them. It is not necessary to water the seedlings, but the substrate must not dry out. The water should not be cold, at least 30 ° C, otherwise the plant can become sick, get sick, and then die. The air in the room where the seedlings are located should not be dry. There should be regular airing, but without draft. Pepper responds well to spraying.

Top dressing during this period is optional, especially if the conditions for growing pepper correspond to what is required.

Soil preparation

Planting seedlings in the unheated greenhouse is possible from the middle of May. If this is an open ground, then it is better to wait until the end of May - the middle of June. In any case, the landing requires preliminary preparation of the soil.

It would be superfluous to disinfect the soil in the greenhouse. It is necessary to do this in the beginning of spring. For these purposes, you can use special chemical compounds or just thoroughly wash everything in the greenhouse with soapy water. For pepper transplant it is necessary that:

- the soil in the greenhouse was heated to + 18 ° C;

- The land was fertilized with phosphorus and potash (40 g per m2), nitrogen fertilizers (30 g per m²);

- Loamy soil can be mixed with overgone sawdust, manure, peat;

- in the clay soil it is necessary to introduce semi-pereprevshie sawdust, coarse sand;

- in the sandy soil should be added peat, humus, reparted manure;

- a week or a few days before the bedding can be planted with a hot water solution of Mullein (5 liters of solution per each square meter of soil).

After applying fertilizer, the soil must be dug.

How to prepare seedlings for transplantation

Seedlings before planting in the ground must be hardened. To do this, pepper must first be briefly, and then for the whole day to expose to fresh air and sun, and for the night back to bring in.

A week before the landing in the greenhouse, pepper seedlings can be fertilized with a solution of potassium fertilizers and sprinkled with a solution of Bordeaux liquid, which will prevent the occurrence of various fungal diseases.

Scheme of planting pepper

The scheme for planting sweet pepper directly depends on the size of the bush of the selected variety. Pepper "Californian miracle", growing of which occurs in the greenhouse, is planted according to the scheme of 40 to 40. And on average, 4-6 bushes per 1 m2.

Putting seedlings in a permanent place, you should not bury the seedlings, she will not have any side roots. Otherwise, the plant may rot and die.

It should also be taken into account for the root system, damage to which can lead to the fact that the pepper will be restored for a long time. Therefore, it is desirable to transplant together with an earthen lump in which the seedlings grew.

Further Care

Sweet pepper is well established in the middle latitudes of Russia, being considered a relatively unpretentious plant. But care still has some features, which allows you to get a good harvest from the "Californian miracle".

Pepper, the testimonies of which testify to the productivity of the variety, love water. The lack of moisture leads to inhibition of the development process and the dropping of the ovaries by the plant. Overmoistening can lead to illness. Water should be regularly, only under the root, and the water while it should be kept and warm.

Humidified should be not only the ground, but also the air in the greenhouse. To keep the humidity level normal, you can water the paths in the aisle or the glass of the greenhouse.

If the weather is hot and humid, then the lower side shoots must be removed. If the weather is hot and dry, then the plant should not be planted, since the foliage protects the soil from desiccation.

The root system of sweet peppers requires constant air access. Sealing of the upper layer leads to a decrease in yield. Loosen the soil under the plant carefully, since the roots are superficial, they can easily be damaged. To avoid weeding, the soil under the plant must be silenced. For this purpose, sawdust, mowed grass, humus, straw, which has already been bred, will do. The layer of mulch should be at least 4 cm.

Pepper is a fragile plant and requires a garter, since the stem and branches under the weight of the fruit can be damaged. And this is done not only with tall, but also with low-growing varieties.

Extra dressing of planted seedlings

During the season sweet Bulgarian pepper requires several additional dressings. The first fertilizer can be carried out with the appearance of several real leaves. The second feeding will be carried out a few weeks after the first. Careful to be with nitrogen fertilizers, feeding "Californian miracle." From such recharge, the plant will become more powerful, but the number of ovaries will decrease sharply.

We collect the seeds of sweet Bulgarian pepper

In fairness, it should be noted that the seeds of sweet Bulgarian pepper have the maximum germination only in the first year after assembly, and there will be no exception to the "Californian miracle" (pepper). The reviews confirm the popularity of the variety and indicate that the seeds collected by themselves are not inferior to those purchased. But you should follow several rules.

That the collected seeds of pepper were purebred and not perepylyalis with neighboring plantings, it is necessary in advance, before flowering, to choose a bush stronger. And how the first buds will appear, it will have to be covered with a small greenhouse. After tying the first ovaries that are best suited for collecting seeds, the shelter is removed, the ovaries are marked with threads so that they can not be confused with fruits from other peripyled bushes in the future.

Pepper: diseases and pests

For pepper, the following diseases are dangerous:

- late blight;

- white rot;

- macrosporium;

- Vertex rot;

- Septoria;

- black leg.

Pepper is very fond of slugs, whitefly butterfly, shovel, aphids, Colorado beetle and bear. To protect the plant from the bear, an hour before planting, the wells prepared for seedling are filled with water. After planting with a sprayer, the plantation is sprayed. The spraying procedure for the season can be carried out 2-3 times. As an aid, wood ash, which fights well with various pests, is suitable.

With aphids it is best to fight with milk whey. It takes a liter and a half on a bucket of water. After processing the plant with serum, it is desirable to pour the pepper again with wood ash.

Pepper "Californian miracle", the description and ways of cultivation of which were presented above, is truly a unique vegetable. Arriving to us from a distant warm Mexico, he was able to adapt well to the local conditions and at the same time he did not lose a drop of his usefulness, taste and aroma.