Content
Bell peppers are one of the gardeners' favorite vegetables. Today, choosing the right seeds is difficult, as there are many varieties and hybrids. Pepper Lesya is an amazing plant with a lot of advantages. The peculiarities of the variety, the rules of cultivation and care will be discussed in the article.
Description
The variety was created by Ukrainian breeders. Pepper Lesya can be grown throughout Russia and in the CIS countries due to the unpretentiousness of the plant. Differs in ultra-early maturity, the first fruits are harvested after 4 months from the moment of sowing seeds for seedlings.
Bushes
Lesya's pepper bushes are low, grow up to 60 cm, very spreading. There are many smooth leaves, they are the same size as peppercorns. The plants are high-yielding, each bush is capable of producing up to 35 fruits with proper care.
Attention! To prevent the stems from breaking, the Les variety must be tied to a support.
Fruit
From the description of the Lesya variety on the package, as well as, according to gardeners' reviews, it is clear that the peppers are not too large, up to 10 cm in length, heart-shaped. Each of them has a long nose, sometimes it is bent. Fruits with a smooth and shiny surface, no ribs.
The cut clearly shows that Les peppers have thick fleshy walls within 8-10 mm. The weight of one fruit is about 160 grams, and each one has up to 30 fruits. So much for the yield! This characteristic is perfectly confirmed by the photo of the Lesya variety.
Lesya's pepper conquers with its sweet taste, juicy and aromatic pulp. In technical ripeness, the fruits are dark green, when ripe they become dark red. The color is so intense that it paints the hands.
According to the description and, according to the reviews of gardeners, Les' pepper is universal. Suitable for use:
- fresh;
- for stuffing and baking;
- for frying and freezing;
- for preservation and drying.
Characteristic
To better understand the features of the Lesya variety, let's dwell on some of the characteristic features:
- The peppers are early ripe and fruitful.
- The fruits do not crack on the bushes and during storage.
- Keeping quality is high, peppers do not rot.
- It can be grown outdoors or in a greenhouse.
- The dense fruits of the variety are not damaged during transportation, even over long distances.
- Seeds can be harvested from ripe fruits, because this is a variety, not a hybrid.
- Weather conditions practically do not affect the yield, especially since Les peppers are drought-resistant varieties.
- Plants are resistant to many diseases, although preventive measures should not be abandoned.
What to do before sowing
The sweetest and most delicious Lesya peppers are obtained by seedling. For an early harvest, seeds are sown in late February or early March. Sowing dates can be postponed to mid-March, then the peppers will begin to ripen later.
Seed preparation
To get a good harvest, you need to specially prepare the seeds:
- Calibration. Dissolve the stimulant in a glass and add Les' sweet pepper seeds. A viable seed will fall to the bottom, and feeble seeds will float on the surface, unable to give a full harvest. Unsuitable seeds are harvested, and the rest are left in solution for 6 hours. Instead of a stimulant, you can use aloe juice, it contains trace elements necessary to stimulate growth.
- Soaking and germination. The seeds of peppers, including the Les' varieties, are so arranged that they are difficult to germinate.Therefore, it is necessary to stimulate this process.
Pour the seeds with clean warm water for half an hour, then put them in a linen cloth for germination. Keep the seed in a warm place in the light.
After 5-10 days, tender white dots will appear from the swollen seeds. But it is undesirable to wait for the roots to appear. Such seeds are inconvenient to sow, and it is very easy to injure the roots.
Preparing soil and containers
Lesya sweet pepper loves fertile soil. If it is not possible to purchase a ready-made substrate, the mixture is prepared independently:
- humus or compost - 2 parts;
- garden land - 1 part;
- river sand - 1 part.
In addition, one tablespoon of wood ash is added for each kilogram of soil.
As for mineral fertilizers, they are not applied when preparing the soil for sowing seeds. They will be required for feeding.
The soil must be disinfected. There are different ways, each gardener chooses the most convenient for him. Here are some options:
- Steaming the soil in the oven for an hour at a temperature of 100-150 degrees.
- Warming up in a microwave oven at the maximum mode for 5-6 minutes.
- Spilling boiling water with potassium permanganate crystals.
Some gardeners cultivate the soil for sowing seedlings of sweet peppers of any varieties with a solution of boric acid. Do not forget about containers, especially if they have been used for several years. They can be doused with boiling water, boric acid solution. Plastic seedling boxes are washed with hot water and laundry soap or other detergent.
Growing seedlings
Sowing of the Lesya variety is done with dry or germinated seeds. The germination time depends on this. Seedlings can be grown with subsequent picking or this operation can be dispensed with.
To do this, use ordinary plastic cups or peat pots, the volume of which is at least about 5 liters. It must be remembered that peppers of any varieties do not tolerate picking well and slows down their development.
Sowing seeds
The seeds of sweet pepper Les are laid out in prepared containers in moist soil to a depth of no more than 1 cm, so as not to impede seedlings. The step when sowing in a common container is at least 3 cm. It is more convenient to take swollen or germinated seed with tweezers so as not to damage the seeds.
After planting, the soil is carefully watered so as not to wash the seeds, cover with foil and put in a warm, well-lit place. The film is lifted daily for airing. There is no need to water until the first hooks appear.
When shoots appear, the shelter is removed. Further care consists in moderate watering so as not to provoke a plant disease with a black leg.
Picking
When 2-3 true leaves appear on the peppers, the plants planted in a common container are seated in cups with a volume of at least 500 ml. The soil is used the same as when sowing seeds. Plants, planted with seeds immediately in cups, are thinned out, leaving in each pot one, the strongest sprout.
After watering with warm water, Lesya's sweet pepper seedlings are removed to a lighted window and the temperature is slightly reduced. Two days later, they are again put in comfortable conditions, at a temperature of at least 20 degrees. With a lack of light, the seedlings are illuminated artificially.
Seedling care
It is necessary to monitor the top layer of the earth so that it does not dry out. Abundant watering is not allowed. Two weeks later, the seedlings of the Lesya variety are fed. You can use special mineral fertilizers for seedlings or pour wood ash dissolved in water. 1 tablespoon of sifted ash is poured into a liter jar, poured with hot water and insisted for two hours. The same solution can be used for foliar feeding as prevention of aphids.Only the solution is made two times weaker.
14 days before planting in a permanent place (in a greenhouse or ground), the peppers are hardened, gradually accustoming them to new growing conditions. By the time of planting, the Lesya variety has from 10 to 16 leaves.
Sweet pepper Les, reviews of gardeners:
In-ground care
The planting of Lesya sweet pepper seedlings is timed to the weather conditions of the region, the main thing is to establish positive temperatures at night. You can land in the greenhouse earlier. When growing peppers outdoors, it is advisable to use a shelter at first.
Planting seedlings
Since peppers love nutritious soil, peat, compost or humus are added before digging, and always wood ash. Each hole is poured with two liters of boiling water. You can add potassium permanganate.
The holes are made at a distance of 40x40 or 35x45 cm. For early sweet peppers of the Lesya variety, this is enough. When the soil cools down, seedlings are planted. It is advisable to take them with a good clod of earth, in this case the seedlings take root better.
They deepen the plants to the first true leaves and squeeze the soil well. Planting is immediately watered with warm water.
In the future, the peppers are watered in a timely manner only with warm water, loosened the soil, removed weedsare fed.
For feeding, you can use mineral fertilizers or organic matter: infusion of mullein, bird droppings, green grass. From time to time, peppers are powdered with dry wood ash.
Diseases and pests
Despite the resistance of the Lesya variety to many diseases, it is not always possible to avoid them. The fact is that there may be plants nearby that are easily affected by various viruses. For prevention, use special tools that can be purchased in the store. They are used strictly according to the instructions.
Combined planting helps to avoid diseases. Onions, garlic, parsley, marigolds and other, pungent-smelling plants, repel not only diseases, but also pests.
The most ardent enemies of pepper are aphids, slugs, and the Colorado potato beetle. A good effect is given by spraying the plants with an ash solution (1 kg of ash per 5 liters of water) or soapy water.
