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Bell peppers belong to the nightshade family. At home, it is a perennial, in Russia it is grown as an annual crop. There are many varieties and hybrids of this vegetable of various colors and shapes. Choosing the best one for yourself is not an easy task. Sowing time for seedlings is not far off, so it's time to decide. We advise you to pay attention to the variety of sweet pepper Swallow. The mere fact that it is still planted by gardeners, although more than 50 years have passed since the variety was introduced into the State Register of Agricultural Achievements, says a lot.
Pepper Swallow, reviews of which gardeners are only positive, is not lost among many recently bred varieties and takes its rightful place. Let's take a closer look at this variety, and for this we will draw up a detailed description and description of the Swallow pepper and accompany it with a photo.
Description and characteristics
Pepper Swallow is the result of the selection of plants of an even older, but productive variety of Moldova. The swallow compares favorably with the parental form with a higher bush height, increased productivity and an earlier ripening period. And now in more detail about the sweet pepper of the Swallow variety, which is presented in the photo.
- The bush is of medium height - up to 65 cm. It has a standard shape. With a heavy crop load, it needs a garter to a support.
- Ripening period - medium early. Technical ripeness begins on the 116th day, but in unfavorable weather this period can be postponed to 121 days.
- The fruits are large, can grow up to 100 g with a considerable wall thickness - up to 7 mm. The length of one pepper is up to 10 cm. The shape of the fruit of the Swallow pepper variety is cone-shaped. Their color at the stage of technical ripeness is bright light green, and when fully ripe, it is saturated red. From the Swallow pepper, you can collect seeds for sowing next year. They are taken from the fruits in the first three tiers. The peppers should be fully ripe on the bush.
- This variety of pepper is intended not only for amateur gardeners, but also for commercial production. It ripens well if you pick it green, it is stored for a long time and is well transported. You can cook summer salads from Swallow pepper, it is also good for any canned food.
- Pepper Swallow is unpretentious, grows well with minimal care and perfectly tolerates all the vagaries of the weather.
- A decent harvest - up to 6 kg per sq. m with good care. He gives it amicably.
To collect such a crop, you need to work hard.
Growing features
Pepper Swallow can be sown with seeds only in the southern regions, where there is early spring and long summer. Those who live to the north need to grow seedlings.
Pepper seedlings - how to grow
It is very important to sow seeds for seedlings on time. Sowing too early is associated with the need to light up the seedlings, which not everyone can do. With late sowing, the plants will not have time to develop before planting. It takes 60 to 80 days for the peppers to grow well, depending on the variety. For the Swallow variety, this period is about 70 days. If you plan to plant peppers in a greenhouse, you need to sow seeds for seedlings in mid to late February. For open ground, you need to do this later - at the beginning of March.
How to prepare seeds before sowing?
- Both from your own and from purchased seeds, you need to select only full-weight ones, dry and frail ones will not germinate.
- Seeds need to be disinfected in order to destroy pathogens that can be transmitted with seed. Usually, a solution of potassium permanganate with a concentration of 1% is used for this. Soaking is carried out for about 20 minutes. You can use a fungicide solution for dressing seeds. After dressing, the seeds are washed.
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Soaking in a growth stimulator is a must. It increases the vigor of seed germination, and the plants themselves will be healthier. Most often, humate, epin, zircon, ash solution are used.
- Seeds that have hatched are guaranteed to sprout. It is better to germinate them on cotton pads moistened with water. They need to be put on a saucer or plate and wrapped in plastic wrap or put on a plastic bag. The disc must be kept moist at all times. The seeds are ventilated several times a day by removing the bag or unrolling the film.
The nashed seeds are sown in steamed soil intended for growing nightshade crops. You can sow them in a common container to a depth of 1.5 cm and with a distance between seeds of 2 cm.
Therefore, it is better to immediately sow Swallow pepper seeds in separate containers with a volume of about 100 ml. The seeds that have been nailed are laid out one at a time, those that did not germinate, it is better to sow 2 at a time.
The excess plant after germination is not pulled out, but carefully cut off. After the formation of 2-3 true leaves, the plants are transferred into cups or cassettes, with a volume of about 0.5 liters, trying not to destroy the earthen lump. Seedling keeping conditions:
- daylight hours for her should last about 12 hours, if it is shorter - the plants are supplemented with phytolamps;
- pepper is a thermophilic culture, the temperature for it should be about 20 degrees at night, from 23 to 25 during the day;
- this vegetable does not like drying out of the soil layer, therefore watering should be regular only with warm, settled water;
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if the soil for seedlings is well filled with nutrients, you can do without top dressing; if you do not want to let everything go by itself, then feed the seedlings twice with a solution of a complete mineral fertilizer that does not contain chlorine, combining top dressing with watering. If you want the bushes to branch better, which automatically increases the yield, pinch the tops of the plants after 4-6 internodes. Better to do this with scissors.
- hardening of pepper seedlings Swallow before planting is a necessary event, it is carried out 2 weeks before the plants are moved to the garden, gradually increasing the time spent in the fresh air.
Transplanting
By the time of planting on the Swallow peppers, there should already be the first buds. By this time, stable heat is established.
The soil for the pepper should be fertilized as it prefers soil with a high humus content. Its reaction should be neutral, so you cannot do without ash in the beds. In addition, it is a source of potassium, which pepper loves very much. On heavy soils, a good harvest of Swallow pepper cannot be obtained. For early varieties, to which the Swallow belongs, fertilized sandy loam is most suitable. If you decide to plant mid-ripening or late-ripening peppers, you will need loam or black soil.
Seedlings of pepper Swallow are planted according to the scheme: 40 cm between plants and 60 cm between rows. Plants are not buried when planting. The holes shed very well and be sure to mulch the soil under the plants. The next watering is only after 5 days. All this time, the seedlings should be covered with lutrasil or other covering material. It will protect it from the sun's rays and reduce moisture evaporation.
Pepper preferences Swallow
Pepper is a capricious culture. For its successful cultivation, the following conditions must be observed:
- He loves warmth. In regions with cool nights, even outdoors, temporary film shelters are needed. Otherwise, all the forces of the plants will be spent on overcoming the stress of the cold, and not on the formation of the crop.
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Watering. Pepper loves water very much. It responds to its deficiency by dropping buds and a shortage of harvest, since the fruits grow less than it should be according to varietal characteristics. Excess moisture in the soil makes it difficult to assimilate nitrogen, this also causes the yield to fall. Usually, in the absence of rain, the pepper is watered as soon as the topsoil dries a few centimeters. It is better to water from a watering can. This increases the humidity of the air, which is necessary for good pollination of flowers.
- Top dressing. Pepper Swallow loves to eat, so feeding should be regular - every 2 weeks. Make them a complete mineral fertilizer with trace elements. When growing Swallow pepper, one should not get carried away with nitrogen fertilizers, so that the plants do not build up green mass instead of fruits.
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Mulching. This is a very healthy exercise for sweet peppers. The soil covered with mulch retains not only moisture, but also prevents it from overheating in heat and hypothermia in cool weather. Loosening and weeding are eliminated. Therefore, much less labor is spent on growing mulched peppers.
Conclusion
Pepper Swallow is a proven and reliable variety. Due to its plasticity, it easily adapts to any growing conditions and does not suffer so much from weather changes. The Swallow pepper variety is an excellent choice. More information about growing Swallows can be found in the video:
