The content of the article
Sweet pepper for vegetable growers in the central and northern regions of our country for quite a long time remained a rare heat-loving crop growing in southern countries and regions. But in recent years, positive experience has been accumulated in growing these peppers in sheltered and insulated soils in places with a cold climate, and species have been obtained that can be grown in the central regions even in open ground.
Variety Agapovsky was bred by Russian breeders in the Moscow region. It possesses all the properties necessary for normal development in a climate that cannot be called favorable for sweet peppers - early, often sudden autumn cooling, unstable spring with late frosts, changeable weather in summer - from wet and rainy to hot and arid. That is why Agapovsky is invariably among the most popular varieties among Russian gardeners in the middle zone of the country.
Brief description of the variety
Sweet pepper variety Agapovsky is an annual vegetable crop. Its bush is not large in size, does not stretch in height, but has a rather thick and strong stem. Such compactness of its bushes allows them to be densely placed on the beds, causing positive feedback from many vegetable growers. The stalks of Agapov peppers are heavily leafy, the leaves are large, dark green in color.
The variety belongs to early ripening, from the moment of the appearance of the first shoots to the collection of fruits that have reached full ripeness, 99-120 days pass. Among the most outstanding characteristics is its high productivity, from one square meter of plantation you can get 9.5 - 10.3 kg of high-quality fruits.
Fruit Description
The use of Agapovsky peppers is very versatile. They are good both in raw and canned form, in pickles and marinades. They give a unique flavor in fresh vegetable salads and in garnishes for hot dishes. The fruits of Agapovsky are indispensable in the composition of lecho and all kinds of sauces. Especially popular in our country are these peppers stuffed with meat and vegetable fillings, and not only as a hot dish, but also in canned food. These peppers are excellent in dishes with stew, in various dishes of Caucasian and Asian cuisine, and also present in the national dishes of the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
Growing seedlings
Sweet pepper is a southerner in origin, so almost all of its species are usually grown in greenhouses and film shelters. The same fully applies to the Agapovsky variety, but since it is zoned for the Moscow region, its plants develop well and bear fruit abundantly not only in sheltered soil, but also in open beds.
The life cycle of peppers begins with the germination of its seeds for seedlings. Since picking negatively affects the development of this culture, it is preferable to grow seedlings in individual peat pots so as not to disturb their root system when transplanted to a constant place of growth.
Before the seeds are sown, it is advisable to soak them in warm water for 20 to 30 minutes.This procedure allows you to simultaneously reject non-viable seeds - they do not sink, but remain on the surface of the water. To get rid of possible bacteria and fungi, it is good at this stage to disinfect the seeds with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate. For this purpose, you can use special products containing manganese and boron - in this case, plants also receive trace elements useful for their successful development. For accelerated germination, you can place the seeds in moist cotton swabs in an airtight container until the time of hatching. In another case, after soaking, peppers are sown directly in peat pots to a depth of 1-1.5 cm.
However, for growing seedlings, you can use other soil mixtures, for example:
- humus with turfy soil (2: 1 or 3: 2);
- peat with humus (1: 1);
- peat soil with turfy soil (2: 1);
- as well as a mixture of peat, turf land, humus and rotted sawdust (4: 2: 1: 1).
In this case, the seeds are sown in containers in the grooves with an interval of 3-4 cm, at a distance of 1-1.5 cm between adjacent plants and to a depth of 1.5 cm.
After sowing the plants, the pots and containers are closed with a film or glass to maintain the necessary moisture and retain heat. Until the shoots, the room temperature is maintained at +20 degrees during the day and at least +15 degrees at night. It is very important at this stage to prevent drying of the soil: the pots are periodically sprayed with warm water. After the emergence of a sufficient number of seedlings, seedlings should provide access to sunlight. At this stage, so that the plants do not stretch very much, but form a strong stem, it is useful to harden, for which for a period of 5 to 7 days the day temperature is reduced to + 13- + 16 degrees, and the night - to + 8- + 10 degrees; after that, the temperature is returned to the level of + 20- + 22 degrees. Watering seedlings produced under the root of the plant no more than once a week, but plentifully.
When growing seedlings in common containers, after the formation of 2-4 true leaves, the plants dive, moving to more spacious containers (at least 500 ml). After 15 days, seedlings must be fed with a solution of urea and superphosphate (5 and 30 g per 10 liters of water, respectively). The second top dressing is carried out before transplanting the plants into the ground (in 3-4 days), using a solution of superphosphate and sodium sulfate (50 and 25 g per 10 liters of water). From leaving seedlings requires constant loosening of the soil for better aeration of the roots.
Landing and maintenance
Seedlings are planted in the soil about 50-60 days after the first sprouts are biting. 2 weeks before this, re-hardening of the plants is carried out in order to facilitate their adaptation to the growing conditions in the garden. For these purposes, the room with seedlings is ventilated, allowing a decrease in temperature first for 1 hour, and then the procedure time is brought to 6-8 hours a day. The readiness indicator of seedlings for planting in a permanent place - the height of the plant is at least 20 cm and the presence of 6-8 true leaves that have a saturated green color.
Seedlings begin to be planted in open ground in May-June, and in April in greenhouses and film shelters. Particular attention should be paid to the fact that the roots of the bushes after transplantation are carefully covered.
Peppers require timely watering, top dressing, loosening the soil and removing weeds from agricultural activities. Also, during the formation of fruits, plants require garter - for this you can use both special trellises and structural elements of greenhouses. Watering should be given special attention, since this variety does not respond well to a decrease in soil moisture. Watering is carried out in the morning and evening hours, with warm water under the root of the plant. To increase the productivity of peppers, gardeners practice such a technique as spraying bushes with sugar solution, which attracts insects necessary for pollination of flowers.
The variety does not require much effort to form the stem, it branches well, independently forming the desired structure of the bush. The main thing that needs to be done is to remove the first bud that appears in the central fork and takes a lot of strength from the young plant, inhibiting its further growth.
Immunity
The opinion of gardeners
Agapovsky peppers invariably cause the most favorable customer reviews. Amateur vegetable growers like these peppers because of their unpretentiousness in care, high productivity, and resistance to major diseases. Survey respondents from various regions noted that the size of the fruit is very convenient for cooking stuffed peppers, they differ in excellent taste, juiciness, pleasant aroma.
Some gardeners in their reviews indicated that when grown in open ground, the ripening time of the fruits is slightly increased, but this does not affect the taste of peppers.
Video: Agapovsky pepper
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