Feeding the pepper after planting

Bulgarian pepper belongs to those garden crops that love to "eat", which means that it will have to be often and abundantly fertilized. Unlike its "relatives" - tomatoes, pepper is not afraid of overfeeding, on the contrary, there is a rule: the more leaves on the bushes of Bulgarian pepper, the greater the number of fruits ripen on them.

To learn how to feed pepper after planting in the ground, what fertilizers to choose for this, and how to make a scheme of dressing, you can learn from this article.

What does bell pepper need?

For normal development, pepper, like other vegetable crops, needs very little:

• water;
• land;
• the sun;
• complex of minerals.

If everything is clear with irrigation - the pepper likes frequent and abundant irrigation, then the other factors will have to be discussed in more detail.

Properly selected area - half the battle. For sweet peppers, it is necessary to select the area as lit as possible by the sun, which is on level ground or on a hill (the culture does not tolerate stagnant moisture).

The soil for pepper must be loose and fertile, the roots of the plant must be well saturated with oxygen and useful microelements - then the harvest will delight the owner of the vegetable garden.

Plot under culture choose from the fall, as it must first be fertilized and dig. Onions, carrots, legumes, pumpkin plants and greens will be good forerunners for bell peppers. But in the place of tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant do not plant peppers - these are plants from the same family, they share the same diseases and the same pests.

Now you can talk about the composition of the soil. First of all, pepper needs such minerals:

• Nitrogen is necessary for plants to build green mass, which is very important for a culture such as Bulgarian pepper. A sufficient amount of nitrogen in the soil will ensure the formation of many ovaries, as well as the formation of large and beautiful fruits. But an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers can harm garden crops - lead to a decrease in plant immunity, infection with viruses, slow down the ripening of fruits.
• Phosphorus is necessary for pepper at the stage of fruit formation and ripening. Another function of phosphate fertilizer is to improve the development of the root system, which, in turn, contributes to the speedy adaptation of plants after transplantation and better absorption of water and micronutrients.
• Potassium is responsible for the beauty of the fruit - the peppers become brighter, have dense and crisp flesh, do not wilt for a long time and remain elastic and juicy. Potassium fertilizers can increase the content of vitamins in fruits, make them more tasty.
• Calcium is needed by the culture in order to resist various fungal infections, such as top rot, for example. That is why calcium fertilizers are often used for greenhouse crops or in humid climates.
• Magnesium is also necessary for sweet pepper, without this trace element the plant leaves will turn yellow and fall off, which naturally affects the yield of the crop.

The gardener can find all the necessary fertilizer for pepper, both in mineral complex additives and in organic compounds.

Important! Experienced farmers do not recommend the use of fresh organic fertilizers directly for sweet pepper, it is better to replace organic matter with mineral additives.

But manure or bird droppings are recommended to be used during the autumn digging of the earth or as a top dressing for predecessor plants.

The fact is that pepper is not capable of assimilating complex fertilizers - for a good suction of top-dressing by the roots of a culture, organic components must be decomposed into separate components.

When and how to feed the pepper

Bulgarian pepper needs a few dressings, which will have to be carried out at all stages of cultural development.

For fertilizer, it is better to use ready-made formulations intended specifically for solanaceous crops or to independently prepare mixtures by dissolving mineral additives in water for irrigation or spraying.

Ground preparation for pepper planting

The main work of the gardener should be directed to pre-feeding the soil in the area where the pepper is supposed to be planted next season. Perform fertilizer start in the fall.

This can be done in different ways, experienced gardeners offer such methods:

• Dig holes in the plot, the depth of which is not less than 35 cm. Fill with fresh manure mixed with sawdust and straw at the bottom of these trenches. Cover all this well with earth and tamp, leave it until next season. As soon as the snow melts, they begin to dig up the land in the area. Two days prior to the expected planting of pepper seedlings, the ground must be watered with warm (about 30 degrees) solution of nitrate and urea. The next day, the soil is poured abundantly with a hot dark pink solution of potassium permanganate and covered with a thick plastic wrap. All this will help not only to feed the land, but also to disinfect it before planting pepper.
• You can also disperse in the fall humus, superphosphate and potassium sulfate over the site, evenly distribute the fertilizer using a rake, thereby enclosing them in the surface layer of the soil. In the spring, before digging up the site, the fertilizer complex is supplemented with urea and wood ash, which are also evenly distributed in the upper soil layer.

When the seedlings are planted in the prepared soil, it can receive fertilizer in the already prepared form, which significantly speeds up the adaptation process of pepper and contributes to a better development of the culture.

Feeding seedlings

While pepper seedlings are in the house, they need to be fed at least twice. It is advisable to make the first top-dressing two weeks after planting the seeds, when only seed beds are formed on the seedlings.

This is done in one of these ways:

1. Use a solution of superphosphate and urea - the most valuable components for pepper seedlings. In 10 liters of water, you will need to dissolve 7 grams of urea and 30 grams of superphosphate, the seedlings are not watered with this mixture too copiously, trying not to damage the delicate stems and roots.
2. In a bucket of water, you can dilute 1.5 tablespoons of potassium nitrate, also pour the pepper in this composition.
3. It is possible to replace saltpeter with a special complex of fertilizers for Kemira Lux pepper. Dilute it as well: on a bucket of water 1.5 tablespoons.
4. You can cook for peppers such a composition: a tablespoon of superphosphate and 1.5 tablespoons of foscamide, dissolved in 10 liters of water.
5. In a bucket of water can also be dissolved 2 teaspoons of ammonium nitrate, 3 tablespoons of potassium sulfate and 3 tablespoons of superphosphate.

The result of the first feeding should be enhanced seedling growth, the rapid emergence of new leaves, good survival after picking, bright green foliage. If the pepper feels well and develops normally, the second feeding of the seedlings can be missed, but it is this stage of the fertilizer that is responsible for good acclimatization of the seedlings at the new place and for the development of immunity.

To re-fertilize seedlings can be the following compounds:

1. In a ten-liter bucket of warm water to dissolve 20 grams of complex feeding type "Crystal".
2. Use the composition of "Kemira Lux" in the same proportion, which was already mentioned above.
3. In 10 liters of water dilute 70 grams of superphosphate and 300 grams of potassium salt.

After this feeding should take place, at least two weeks - only after this period of time the seedlings can be transplanted to a permanent place (in a greenhouse or in unprotected soil).

Top dressing during transplant

Do not forget that for two consecutive years, pepper is not grown in the same place - this leads to the depletion of the soil, the culture sucks up all the necessary trace elements. Moreover, such landings are more susceptible to infection with characteristic diseases and attacks of pests whose larvae are in the ground.

If the soil has been prepared correctly in the autumn, it is quite sufficient to fertilize the following fertilizer right before planting the seedlings:

1. The composition of the mixture of mineral fertilizers and organic. To prepare the mixture combine 300 grams of humus or peat with 10 grams of potassium salt and 10 grams of superphosphate.
2. For each square meter of land, you can add 40 grams of superphosphate and 15 grams of potassium chloride.
3. Instead of potassium chloride, superphosphate wood ash can be added, it will take about one cup.
4. In warm water, stir the cow dung and pour the solution for pepper into such a solution — about a liter into each hole.

Now the plants will have enough nutrients, the pepper will develop normally and form many ovaries. If the soil at the site is highly depleted, it may be necessary to feed at other stages of cultural development.

Important! The plants themselves will tell about the lack of fertilizer in the soil - the pepper leaves will start to turn yellow, curl, dry or fall off. All this is a signal for further fertilizing.

Planting seedlings should also be properly:

• well, if the pepper was grown in separate cups - so the roots will suffer less during transplantation;
• two days before the transplantation, the seedlings are poured abundantly with water;
• all feeding should stop for two weeks before the landing of the pepper in the ground;
• you can deepen seedlings right along the cotyledon leaves;
• the wells should be about 12–15 cm deep;
• each well requires about two liters of water;
• seedlings need to be planted in the dirt, until the water is completely absorbed;
• Pepper is very fond of heat, so it is pointless to plant seedlings in the ground, heated by less than 15 degrees - the culture will not develop, its growth will slow down.

Important! Experienced gardeners and gardeners note that the best time for transplanting pepper is the time when the stem of the plant is still soft, not stiff, and the first bud is already visible on the bush itself.

Pepper fertilizer during growth

Peppers in different phases of development may need absolutely different minerals. The frequency of fertilizers depends on the composition of the soil on the site, on the climate in the region and on the varieties of bell peppers. During the growing season, the culture may need from three to five supplements.

So, at different stages, pepper should be fertilized with the following compounds:

• Immediately before the start of flowering of the bushes, as well as at the stage of fruit ripening, pepper most urgently needs fertilizers with nitrogen. If this component in the soil is not enough, the culture will "signal" by drying out and the death of the lower leaves, as well as the paleness of the tops of the bushes.
• Phosphorus is necessary for sweet pepper at the very beginning of development, when the seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place. Damaged roots are not able to independently absorb phosphorus from the soil, this component must be added.
• When fruits are tied up and formed, the bushes need potassium most of all, its deficiency is compensated by potash fertilizers.
• In August, when the fruits are already finishing their development and gradually ripening, pepper needs water most of all. Water culture as needed when the soil dries, but this should be done at least every 7-10 days.

All fertilizers need to be applied along with water for irrigation - this will prevent burns of the roots and stems, contributes to a better absorption of trace elements. Water for irrigation should be moderately warm, it is best to use separated or rain water.

Excessive fertilizer use can adversely affect the yield of pepper and the general condition of the plants. But an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers can harm human health - the excess nitrogen not absorbed by the culture is converted into nitrates and poisons the body.

Attention! It is necessary to begin top dressing of Bulgarian pepper not earlier than in two weeks after landing of seedling in soil. With the same interval it is recommended to carry out all subsequent feeding of vegetable culture.

Organic fertilizer for pepper

Since simple organic matter (in the form of dung, chicken manure) is not very useful for the crop, and mineral fertilizers are more likely to affect the health of the summer resident, they are also expensive, people have created a lot of recipes for more accessible and useful fertilizers for sweet pepper.

Among such folk remedies can be identified:

• brewing sleeping black tea. Only black leaf tea is suitable for making fertilizer, 200 grams of this tea is poured with three liters of cold water and left to stand for a week. Top-dressing of this kind contains a lot of useful substances: magnesium, potassium, iron, calcium and sodium.
• Potassium is necessary for the active growth of pepper. It is possible to get this component from usual bananas, and, more precisely, from a peel of these tropical fruits. The peel of two bananas is poured with three liters of cold water and left for 2-3 days. Strained through a sieve with a mixture of peppers poured over.
• The shell of chicken eggs also contains a mass of useful trace elements, here there is calcium, and phosphates, and magnesium. The shell must be pounded into a fine powder, then it is filled with a three-liter jar by about half, the rest of the volume is filled with water. This composition is stored in a dark place until a characteristic sulfuric odor appears, after which the fertilizer is ready for use. Such a composition must be applied in the period of setting and development of fruits.
• If the bushes show signs of a fungal infection, they can be treated with iodine. To do this, a couple of drops of iodine and whey are added to the water (liter) - bushes are sprayed with this mixture.
• You can feed the pepper and yeast. Regular bakery fresh yeast is poured with warm water and some sugar is added. The mixture should ferment for a couple of days, after that the fertilizer is ready, you can safely water the peppers.
• Chicken droppings can be used to fertilize peppers only in dissolved form, dry droppings can severely burn the stems and roots of plants. Bred litter with water in a ratio of 1:20, this mixture just water the bushes.
• Young nettle will also be an excellent source of trace elements. For cooking, cut greens should be poured with water and placed in a warm place. After a couple of days, the grass will begin to settle to the bottom of the tank, which means that the fertilizer has already fermented and can be used. For greater efficacy, purchased trace elements can be added to the nettle solution; the composition can be used every 10 days.

Important! You should not use fresh cow dung for pepper fertilizer - this crop does not like it.

Planting seedlings in the greenhouse and in the open ground is accompanied by the same preparation of the soil, including fertilizer and soil disinfection. But the following additional feeding may be slightly different, since on simple beds the land still contains more beneficial microelements, and even the fungal infections of garden peppers are less common than greenhouse ones.

Fertilizers for bell peppers must be selected in accordance with the growing season of the crop, and also depending on the condition of the plants. It often happens that the initial top dressing at the stage of planting of seedlings turns out to be enough - the whole season the pepper feels perfectly in the soil rich in microelements. In any case, the gardener should monitor the condition of the plants until the autumn, until the pepper gives the last fruits.

Only because the harvest of sweet pepper will be plentiful, and the vegetable itself - tasty and healthy!