Many summer residents are interested in highly productive varieties of various horticultural crops that can be bred on their site. Among vegetables, bell peppers are very popular as a healthy food culture with high palatability. Sweet pepper Tusk is a productive variety of large-fruited peppers, which can be grown both in film greenhouses and in open ground.

Variety selection and description

This early-ripening variety, beloved by many gardeners, was bred in Siberia in the mid-70s by Soviet breeders. For the special Siberian conditions of the early and short summers, as well as the lack of sunlight in this hybrid, tendencies to early ripening were formed. From the appearance of the first seedlings to the technical maturity of the fruit, only 3–3.5 months pass.

The plant forms very tall bushes with shoots up to 160 cm long, its fruits have a cylindrical or slightly pronounced conical shape, smooth glossy peel. The weight of one fruit ranges from 110–120 g, the thickness of the fruit walls is on average 1 cm, the taste is sweet, the pulp is juicy, not fibrous.

Advantages and disadvantages

Given the characteristics of this hybrid, both positive and negative sides of its cultivation can be distinguished.

• The advantages outweigh the possible disadvantages:
• resistance to common diseases;
• frost resistance and resistance to temperature extremes;
• good response to plentiful watering and top dressing;
• high planting density (up to 5 bushes per 1 sq. m);
• excellent taste;
• early ripeness;
• large fruit size.

Important! When stored, the tusk hybrid performs well - it does not lose moisture and does not deteriorate, but it is easily damaged during transportation due to the fact that it has a thin skin and juicy flesh.

• The disadvantages of this hybrid are much less:
• need for frequent watering;
• possible tying fruits of irregular shape (curved).

How to grow seedlings on your own

To get a good harvest, you have to try and grow healthy seedlings. Choose seeds for sowing carefully and buy them only from trusted manufacturers to get plants with the expected yield.

The timing

If you do not have a greenhouse, then you will need to start planting seeds for seedlings in February - so you can get sprouts of the desired strength and height for transplanting them into open ground. Focus on the period from February 20 to March 5 and remember that seedlings need to be planted at the age of 60–70 days.

Did you know? The homeland of sweet pepper is considered South America. Its wild forms can still be found in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica. This vegetable came to the European continent at the end of the 15th century as a result of Columbus' American expeditions.

Soil and capacity

You can use both the ready-made mixture for sowing the Tusk, and prepare it yourself. The recipe for the soil mixture consists of 2 parts humus or compost, 1 part wet wet river sand and 2 parts peat.

Instead of peat, leafy soil is also allowed - its high friability improves the soil structure, allows moisture and oxygen to nourish the entire root system and not stagnate in the upper layers. In order for all the components to mix well, they must be poured onto a plastic film and loosened manually.

Try not to use fertilizing and fertilizing at the initial stage, since peppers form the root system for a long time, and in the first one and a half to two weeks of life the nutrients contained in the cotyledons will be enough for them.

It is also recommended to add sand from the calculation of 1 part of sand to 6 parts of soil to the store soil mixture. This will improve the structure of the soil and will stimulate an even distribution of moisture in the soil mass.

To disinfect a prepared or acquired mixture, use one of the following methods:

1. Disinfection. Place the soil mixture in a plastic container with the holes made in it, prepare a disinfectant solution of 10 liters of pure water and 3 g of potassium permanganate. Then water the soil and put the container in a warm place for a day.
2. Calcination. Pour the soil into cloth bags or a heat-resistant container, place the soil in an oven preheated to 200 degrees and soak it for half an hour. Note that this method destroys not only pathogenic organisms, but also beneficial substances, so the soil will need additional treatment with a nutrient solution.
3. Freezing Suitable for the soil mixture, which was prepared in small volumes or in the late autumn period. Place the container or bags with soil in the freezer of the refrigerator for one and a half to two weeks, or take it to the balcony for all winter months. This will allow the soil to clear itself of pathogenic microflora, foreign seeds and prepare for planting seedlings.

Pepper seedlings are poorly tolerated for picking, since the root system in their early period of life is especially weak, so the best solution would be to plant in individual peat pots.

When planting in seedlings, there will be a need to dive plants, and not even experienced gardeners get this procedure without damaging the stems and root system of plants.There is another way of sowing seeds for seedlings - this is peat tablets. Using peat tablets is considered the easiest way to grow a sweet pepper culture - just wet the tablets so that they swell and place the seeds in the holes made at the top of the tablets.

Seed selection and preparation

To select quality store seeds, check the packaging for their production date and shelf life. Note that the optimal germination of pepper seeds is observed in the first year after their collection.

Trust only trusted seed producers, pay attention to the quality of the packaging - it must be well glued, printed and must provide information about the company that released these products.

Important! To increase productivity, the treated seeds must be washed with clean water without removing from the bags, and then soaked for half a day in the growth stimulator "Epin" (2 drops for every 100 ml of water).

To prepare the material for sowing, inspect it, remove from the total mass all damaged and low-quality seeds. Collect the selected seeds in a gauze bag and soak them for disinfection in a fungicide solution, such as Fitosporin, Vitaros. For the same purpose, you can use a concentrated solution of potassium permanganate (exposure for 20-30 minutes).

It is not difficult to pre-germinate the seeds - spread the seeds evenly on a moistened canvas and cover with the same cloth on top. Place them for a week in a warm and dark place, moisten the fabric of their spray bottle from time to time. Do not miss the moment when the seeds hatch, because the rudiments of the root system of peppers are very fragile and can be easily damaged when sowing.

Sowing seeds

Peppers of the Tusk type are recommended to be sown in rows with a row spacing of 3-4 cm and a distance between seeds of 2-2.5 cm. This scheme is used if you use a tray for pre-growing.

Those seeds that are sown in peat pots or tablets must be sown in two units per seat with a distance of 2.5-3 cm between the seeds. Subsequently, you can thin out and choose a stronger sprout of the two. The sowing depth in any case should be within 1-1.5 cm.

Seedling Care

The tray with pots or soil must be placed in a well-lit, warm place, moisten the soil from the spray gun and cover it with plastic wrap. As soon as the seedlings hatch (after 5–7 days), the containers with crops should be transferred to a light and warm windowsill.

In order to imitate the natural conditions for seedlings, it is necessary to raise the temperature to + 13 ... + 16 ° С in the daytime, and lower it to +8 ... + 10 ° С in the evening. After the first week, the temperature needs to be slightly increased: up to + 10 ... + 13 ° С at night and + 23 ... + 27 ° С in the afternoon.

Did you know? The first written mention of sweet pepper dates from 1494 - about him as an extremely useful vegetable that stops the development of colds, wrote an expeditionary doctor Christopher Columbus.

Watering seedlings during the first week is not recommended, then watering must be done weekly. Watering should be plentiful, but accurate - water is poured slowly under the root so as not to damage the stems and root system.

Lighting for young shoots is necessary so that they grow stronger and acquire a rich green color. Seedlings need to be illuminated with fluorescent lamps so that it receives at least twelve light hours.

As for top dressing, the first must be carried out after the appearance of the first true leaves, the second - 2–2.5 weeks after the first, and the third - 5–7 days before the expected date of planting in open ground. You can use both natural and chemical dressings.

The first category includes such mixtures:

• 0.5 tsp urea, 2.5 ml of potassium humate in 5 l of water;
• 0.5 g of ammonium nitrate, 3 g of superphosphate, 1 g of potassium in 5 l of water.

Natural dressings include such means:

• sleeping tea leaves - 1 tbsp. tea leaf in 5 liters of water, insist for 5 days;
• banana peel - 3 peels in 3 l of water, insist for 3 days;
• egg shells - lay crushed egg shells on a third of the height of a 3-liter jar, pour clean water to the top, and insist until a hydrogen sulfide smell appears.

Seedling hardening

The hardening procedure is the preparation of seedlings for open ground conditions. It is required to strengthen plants - hardened shoots of peppers have a developed root system, short internodes, large leaves, strong ovaries and a thick woody stem.Hardening involves the removal of boxes with seedlings on the balcony and keeping them at low temperatures. First, seedlings must be placed on the balcony for 1-1.5 hours, when the outdoor temperature exceeds + 14 ° C, and begin to do this two weeks before planting. Gradually, the hardening period must be increased to 4 hours per day.

Make sure that the temperature during hardening is relatively stable, without sudden changes. Keep in mind that direct sunlight causes burns on young foliage, so obscure the shoots with a thin cotton or gauze cloth. Drafts also affect seedlings negatively, so place pots with seedlings so that they are constantly in the fresh air, but do not fall into its flow.

During hardening, increase the length of periods between watering - let the foliage slightly wither, and only then water. This technique allows you to strengthen the root system of seedlings and prepare it for the need to extract moisture from the soil yourself.

Did you know? For the first time large-fruited sweet pepper varieties suitable for raw consumption were bred in Bulgaria at the end of the 17th century, which is why this vegetable is called Bulgarian.

How and when to plant seedlings in a permanent place

Planting in open ground is a serious stress for plants, so you must adhere to the timing of planting, choose a suitable place on the site, adhere to the scheme and depth of constant planting.

The timing

In the middle lane, transplants are planted in greenhouse soil in early May, and transplanted in open ground in mid or late May, depending on weather stability. At this time, the age of plants already reaches about 70 days, from 8 to 12 leaflets are formed on them.

At the time of planting, the upper layers of the soil should be warmed up to at least + 15 ° C, and the lower - to + 12 ° C. The possibility of morning frosts is not allowed, since they significantly harm young shoots, the daytime air temperature should be kept within + 18 ° C and higher.

Site selection

To seedlings were comfortable, and it is well rooted, consider the predecessor plants growing on the selected site. Crops such as tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, physalis, deplete the soil for the necessary micro and macro elements for pepper.

It is also not allowed to re-plant sweet pepper in the same area on which it grew last year. After planting and harvesting cruciferous plants, at least two seed shifts must pass for productive re-planting of sweet pepper.

As precursors that enrich the soil for pepper with useful trace elements, can be used:

• basil;
• marjoram;
• onion;
• zucchini;
• cucumbers
• pumpkin;
• early white cabbage.

Important! Clovers, mustard and legumes are the best siderates for preparing soil for planting peppers. They need to be sown a month or a half before planting a vegetable, and then digging overgrown young stems into the soil.

As for the proximity to crops, it is not recommended to plant bitter pepper, eggplant, potatoes, fennel and beets in neighboring areas, as they suffer from similar diseases and are affected by the same pests. A good "neighborhood" is planting next to carrots, marjoram, dill, onions and basil.

If the soil in the selected area is loamy, then it must be fertilized before planting - for every 1 square. m of soil, you need to make 1 bucket of manure, evenly mixed with peat, and 0.5 buckets of fine sawdust. Clay soil requires an additional application of 1 bucket of wet sand for every 1 square. m

To make the peat soil more loose and fertile, one bucket of humus and soddy soil is scattered on it and dug up. Sandy soil is less suitable for peppers - based on 1 sq. Km. m it is necessary to bring in 2 buckets of peat, clay soil, humus and a bucket of fine sawdust.

Sweet pepper Tusk likes well-lit and slightly shaded areas, as well as moderately high temperature. To create optimal conditions for seedlings, plant it on the south side of the garden, if possible in the subtle shadow of young trees or bushes - this will prevent the appearance of sunburn. Drafts slow down the growth of seedlings, worsen the formation of ovaries, therefore, it is necessary to plant plants on a site protected from direct winds.

Scheme and depth of landing

There are several ways of planting pepper - garden, square-nesting. When planting in a row, the distance between the bushes should be at least 45 cm, and between the rows - 60–65 cm.

With a square-nest landing, holes are made in the corners of squares with a side of 60 cm or 70 cm, then two or three bushes are planted in each hole, respectively. The depth of the holes should slightly exceed the height of the seedling cup or earthen coma in which you transplant the plant (usually 7–9 cm).

How to care in the open ground

After transplanting seedlings into open soil, the most difficult stage of peppers' shoot care begins. It is necessary to monitor their watering, fertilize, garter and maintain high soil quality.

Watering

Pepper does not tolerate drought and reacts negatively to it, therefore it is recommended to water the plant twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. Peppers should not be watered in the afternoon, since moisture will act as a magnifying glass, sunburns will appear on the foliage and fruits, and the soil will dry out and crack. Practice root watering, and before moistening the soil, be sure to loosen it.

Sprinkling from a watering can can be used exclusively during the flowering and ripening of already formed ovaries. The temperature of water for irrigation should be within + 23 ° С, water of lower temperature provokes decay of the root system and the appearance of pests of peppers - slugs.

Soil care

The soil under the bushes of sweet pepper must be loosened regularly to facilitate the flow of air to the roots of plants, and accordingly, accelerate the formation of fruits and timely destroy weeds.

During the first two weeks after planting, it is not recommended to take care of the soil, since during this period the root system is strengthened, and its damage can lead to a decrease in yield. Weed the weeds at the same time as loosening, do the first loosening to a depth of not more than 10 cm. If a dried crust has formed on the surface, the depth can be increased to 15 cm.

So that the soil warms up and aired, loosen the soil after each irrigation and heavy rain. To do this, select the period in which the moisture has already gone, but the earth has not dried out yet. Mulching helps maintain the required level of soil moisture, prevents the occurrence of weeds and protects the root system from drying out.

Use grass cutting, straw, sawdust or compost to mulch - these materials inhibit the development of plant diseases, contain beneficial bacteria, and you can sprinkle them with a layer about 6 cm thick.

Fertilizer application

One of the best organic fertilizers for pepper are chicken manure and manure. To prepare a solution for irrigation, mix 1 kg of manure or 0.5 kg of manure with 10 liters of water and leave it to infuse for 5-6 days.

Mineral supplements will also be effective, such as:

• ammonium nitrate - 1 tbsp. on 10 l of water;
• superphosphate - 2 tbsp. on 10 l of water;
• potassium sulfate - 1.5 tbsp. on 10 l of water.

The resulting solution must be diluted in 10 l of pure water, and water the plants with this composition. The first feeding of seedlings is carried out 12-14 days after its planting in open ground, then this procedure is repeated every 3-4 days.

Remember that fertilizers must be alternated to get the plants a full range of nutrients. Nitrogen compounds are effective in the formation of inflorescences by a plant, phosphorus compounds stimulate the development of ovaries.

If you are unable to feed plants with the recommended frequency, adhere to the following watering schedule. Apply organic fertilizer two weeks after planting the peppers, and after another two weeks, fertilize with nitrogen compounds.

Bushes garter

Bushes of tusk pepper are tall, so they must be tied on a trellis or stakes. The lower bud should be removed to increase productivity, and then take coarse wire, thick twine or gauze, divided into narrow strips.

Garter material should be twisted around the upper part of the stem of pepper, twist the ends and tie to the support. You can also thread the stalks of pepper through the transverse rods of the trellis as they grow, and leave the ovaries on opposite sides of the trellis.

Sweet pepper Tusk is an early ripe frost-resistant hybrid that produces relatively large fruits with high palatability. Growing pepper from seedlings allows you to increase plant productivity and get the crop in the required time.