Sowing pepper seedlings in Siberia and the Urals according to timing and the Lunar calendar

Climate of the Urals

In the Ural region it is not always possible to grow and harvest pepper in a short time.
In the south of the Urals, summers are warm. The average temperature here is kept at +20°C. To the north, summers are much cooler. In some settlements, the thermometer in summer shows no higher than +15 degrees. Such conditions do not allow growing vegetables even in protected soil, since the bushes are deprived of light and heat. In the south of the Urals, warmth remains for 4-5 months. In the north of the region, the number of warm days suitable for growing vegetables is no more than 60. This is clearly not enough to form and achieve technical ripeness of pepper.

Advice! For growing in the Urals in open ground or in greenhouse conditions, pepper varieties with early ripening and good resistance to cold are more suitable.

Useful materials

Read other articles on the topic of pepper seedlings:

• Proper cultivation from seeds and do they need to be soaked before planting?
• How to grow black peppercorns, chili, bitter or sweet at home?
• What are growth stimulants and how to use them?
• The main reasons why leaves on shoots curl, seedlings fall or stretch, and why shoots die?
• Planting dates by regions of Russia and features of cultivation in Siberia and the Moscow region.
• Learn the rules for planting bell and hot peppers, as well as how to pick sweet ones.

The best varieties of bell pepper for the Urals and Siberia

Due to the cool climate, early-ripening and cold-resistant peppers are used for planting in the Urals. More often, varieties bred for greenhouse conditions are grown here. In smaller quantities there are varieties created for unprotected soil. To get a good pepper harvest, the plants are transplanted into permanent beds on time, providing them with additional insulation.

Pepper varieties for planting in a greenhouse

Varieties obtained for cultivation in film or polycarbonate shelters are not grown in unprotected beds. In the Ural region, in conditions of unprotected soil, their yield is greatly reduced. Sometimes they don’t have time to bear fruit at all. With timely planting and proper care, greenhouse peppers give a good harvest.

Yellow bull

A hybrid variety intended for cultivation in the Siberian region. It produces large, thick-walled fruits with a pleasant pulp taste. The average weight of the “Yellow Bull” pepper is 400 g. The pods with tender, fleshy pulp have a sweetish taste. When ripe, the color of the fruit changes from green to golden.

Cockatoo

The plant produces elongated fruits with red flesh. Tall bushes of the “Kakadu” variety are suitable for growing in greenhouses made of polycarbonate or glass. To obtain a timely harvest, plants need a large amount of light. When the conditions necessary for fruiting are created and proper care is taken, it takes up to 130 days for the crop to ripen.

Red Bull

Many vegetable growers call this pepper giant because of the huge size of the fruit. As they ripen, the color of the pods changes from green to dark red. The length of the fruit is 20 cm. Several chambers with a small number of seeds are formed inside each pod. The fruits have moderately dense pulp. The wall thickness is on average 1 cm.

Casablanca

After the bushes are planted in a permanent place, the fruit ripening period is 95 days. In the southern part of the Ural region, where the climate is more favorable, Casablanca peppers can be grown in unprotected beds. The variety produces large peppers with juicy pulp. The wall thickness on them is up to 6 mm. The “Casablanca” variety is very productive.

Claudio

A hybrid variety of bell pepper with a short fruit ripening period. The collection of ripe pods begins 72 days after sowing. As peppers ripen, they take on a red hue. The fruits have excellent taste, thin skin and juicy pulp. The wall thickness is 7 mm. Several chambers are formed inside the pod. Pepper “Claudio” forms tall, highly branched bushes.

Pepper varieties for planting in open ground

Sweet peppers are cultivated in unprotected beds only in the southern part of the Ural region. Seedlings can be planted only after warm weather has finally established itself, when the threat of return frosts has passed. The harvest in open ground ripens slowly. The number of fruits obtained from one bush is less than that of plants in greenhouses. Their advantage is resistance to viral and fungal diseases and low temperatures.

Veselinka

The variety was bred specifically for cultivation in the Siberian region. The bush reaches medium size in height and produces a small amount of fruit. Its yield does not exceed 3 kg per 1 m². As they ripen, the color of the pods changes from green to orange. The fruits are small in size. Their weight does not exceed 80 g.

Novosibirsk

Pepper is unpretentious to growing conditions. It has good productivity. With good care and suitable conditions, the yield of the Novosibirsk variety reaches 10 kg per 1 m² of planting. The cylindrical pods become red as they ripen. The pulp has a pleasant taste without bitterness and a bright aroma.

Sultan

A variety with a long growing season. Therefore, it needs to be planted early. The fruits reach full ripeness 165 days after sowing; harvesting can begin a month earlier. The bushes are low-growing, their height does not exceed 50 cm. Vegetable growers are attracted by large pods, the weight of which reaches 200 g.

Triton

The variety is unpretentious to growing conditions. Therefore, even in the cool Ural climate, obtaining a harvest of Triton pepper is not difficult. Bushes of this variety are not very tall. Their height does not exceed 50 cm. Medium-sized fruits ripen early. The variety has good yield.

When to plant pepper seedlings in the Urals according to the lunar calendar in 2021

For pepper, with its long growing season, you will need to sow the seeds quite early. The correct selection of varieties also plays an important role, since early and mid-season varieties are more suitable for the Urals.

The seedlings must be at least 60-65 days old, and climatic conditions must be taken into account. Even in a greenhouse in these areas, it is better to plant peppers no earlier than the end of May. The capricious heat-loving crop does not tolerate temperature fluctuations, so it is better to wait for stable heat.

As for the choice of varieties and hybrids, it is better to choose those that are intended for cultivation in regions of risky agriculture, are resistant to diseases and are distinguished by early fruiting. The following varieties and hybrids of peppers performed well in the Urals:

• Winnie the Pooh is a variety familiar to many gardeners, early, productive, and low-growing. Strong bushes can be planted densely, this does not reduce the yield. The height of the bushes is up to 30-40 cm.
• Dobrynya – very early, up to 90 days, sweet pepper. It has excellent taste and is unpretentious.
• Latino is an early hybrid, the time until fruit harvest is about 110 days.
• Poplar is also an early ripening variety, with medium-sized fruits.
• Freckle F1 is an early hybrid with beautiful orange-yellow prism fruits.
• Montero is a tall variety of early ripening pepper (up to 100 days). Very productive.
• Among the mid-season varieties of sweet pepper, we note Bogatyr, Player, Atlant.

When deciding on the timing of sowing pepper, gardeners are usually guided by data from special sowing calendars (according to the phases of the moon). And although the best days for sowing are different every year, there are still certain uniform dates for sowing crops. In the Urals, the best time for sowing is from February to March, although some gardeners begin seedling “sowing” already in January.

IMPORTANT! Sowing pepper in January is possible, but in this case it is necessary to provide additional lighting to the plants.

By the way, seedlings will have to be illuminated in February and even in March, since heat-loving peppers need long daylight hours for good growth. Sowing seeds too early (in January) can cause the seedlings to stretch out and become more sick due to lack of light. But you shouldn’t be late with sowing either, since peppers in a short summer will not be able to produce the results they are capable of.

Growing seedlings

In the Urals, peppers are grown in seedlings, regardless of where the plants will then be planted, in a greenhouse or in open beds. Seedlings are planted at the age of 60 days. It takes another 2 weeks for the seeds to germinate. The sowing time is calculated taking into account the time of transplanting the seedlings to a permanent place. Warming up of the soil to +18 degrees is considered a suitable condition for replanting. The night air temperature at this time should be at least +15 degrees. Such conditions are created in the Urals at the end of May.

Important!

Seeds for growing seedlings are sown in early March. If you plan to plant in a greenhouse, seeds for seedlings are sown at the end of February.

Seed preparation

Pepper seeds take a long time to germinate. Therefore, pre-sowing treatment is mandatory for them. First, the seed material is checked for germination. To do this, prepare a salty solution from 1 liter of water and 1 tbsp. l table salt. The seeds are dipped into the liquid and mixed thoroughly to eliminate air bubbles. After some time, most of the seeds sink to the bottom, and some remain floating on the surface. They are empty and will not sprout, so they are thrown away.

The remaining high-quality seeds are soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection for 30 minutes. Then for another 20 minutes place in a mixture of 1 liter of warm water and 1 tbsp. l. wood ash to speed up germination. Instead of an ash solution, you can use any growth stimulator.

If store-bought seeds are used for sowing, they do not need pre-sowing treatment. Typically, industrially produced seed material is prepared in advance for sowing, disinfected and treated with stimulants. Such seeds are simply heated for several days by placing them in a warm place with a temperature of +25 degrees.

Soil preparation and sowing

To grow and care for seedlings, many vegetable growers use ready-made soil mixture for vegetable crops, purchased at a gardening store. If this is not possible, the soil is mixed independently from the following components:

• 2 parts humus;
• 1 part garden soil;
• 1 part sand.

For every 10 liters of prepared soil mixture, add 1 cup of wood ash. Pepper seedlings do not like transplants. Therefore, for more active growth, seeds are sown in individual peat or plastic cups. Several holes are made at the bottom of the containers to drain excess liquid and filled with prepared soil.

Place 2 seeds in each cup, deepening them by 1.5 cm. After germination, weak specimens are removed, leaving the strongest to grow. After planting the seeds, moisten the soil surface with warm water from a spray bottle and cover with film. The containers are left in a warm place with a temperature of +25 degrees. When shoots appear, the shelter is removed.

Seedling care

To obtain healthy and strong seedlings, pepper seedlings must be properly cared for and created favorable conditions for growth. Therefore, during the day the seedlings are kept at a temperature of +25 degrees. In the dark, they are transferred to a cooler room, where the air warms up to +15 degrees. This will help the seedlings quickly adapt after transplanting to a permanent location.

Important!

Plants are protected from drafts, but are regularly ventilated so as not to create conditions for the development of fungal diseases.

The soil in seedling containers must be constantly moist. Therefore, the seedlings are watered regularly. Irrigation is carried out as needed in the morning or evening. For irrigation, use settled water heated to a temperature of +25 degrees. The soil is moistened carefully by watering from a pipette or spraying with a spray bottle. Additionally, to reduce dryness, spray the air around the seedlings.

Leaves on seedlings appear 7-10 days after germination. After the formation of the third leaf, the first fertilizing with nitrogen is carried out to stimulate growth. To do this, use a solution of 10 liters of warm water and 1 tbsp. l. urea. Additionally, a little wood ash is scattered over the surface of the soil. The second feeding is carried out before transplanting to a permanent place. Use the same solution as a top dressing, adding 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate. Adherents of organic farming feed the seedlings with nettle infusion.

Before transplanting to a permanent location, the seedlings are hardened off. 2 weeks before the scheduled date, first open the window for several hours in the room where the seedling boxes are located. A few days later, during the day, the seedlings are taken out onto the balcony, shaded from the sun. If the air temperature does not drop below +15 degrees, the seedlings are left there overnight.

Planting pepper

To ensure that the planted seedlings quickly adapt to the greenhouse, they are hardened off. They begin to do this within 14 days. During the first week, containers with seedlings are moved indoors for a short time so that the shoots gradually get used to sunlight. In the future, you can care for sweet pepper plants in a greenhouse, creating comfortable living conditions.

Compatibility with other crops

Representatives of nightshades (eggplants, tomatoes) can be grown nearby due to similar requirements for humidity, the chemical composition of the soil, and its structure. However, with such proximity there is a risk of the development of specialized harmful organisms, which, having affected one of the crops, can easily spread to pepper. It is acceptable to place onions, carrots, and basil nearby.

Since any type of pepper is cross-pollinated, it is worth planting tall green manure as a separator between groups of varieties. The same requirement applies when placing seedlings of hybrids with a bitter taste. Incompatible crops with pepper: beans, fennel, kohlrabi. If necessary, they are seated in different areas of the protected structure.

Timing for planting seedlings

The time for transferring seedlings to the greenhouse depends on the heating of the structure. If there is one, pick out the seedlings after the formation of 6-10 true leaves. In the middle zone, in unheated buildings, the optimal time for replanting often occurs at the end of April-beginning of May. In the Urals and Siberia - the last ten days of spring - the first of summer. An important indicator that you can begin the procedure is the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm: it should be 10-12 °C.

Please note! Seedlings are planted in the beds in the morning or evening, without deepening the root collar.

Scheme of planting bell peppers in a greenhouse

Depending on the height of the bushes, as well as the availability of free space, the distance between pepper plants when planting differs. There are several popular ways to place vegetables.

Table. Pepper placement schemes

Transplantation into open ground

The bed for growing peppers is arranged in a well-lit place, protected from the cold wind. At the same time, the rules of crop rotation are taken into account. You cannot grow peppers where nightshade crops used to grow. The best predecessors for vegetables will be legumes, melons, onions, and garlic.

May be interesting How to plant potatoes correctly to get a good harvest? Do-it-yourself hydroponics at home Treatment of fruit trees in early spring from diseases and pests

Work on preparing the beds begins in the fall and is carried out in several stages:

• dig up the area well, adding complex fertilizers containing potassium and phosphorus;
• in the spring, re-digging is carried out, adding ammonium nitrate;
• A few days before transplanting, water the bed with a solution of copper sulfate for disinfection.

In the Urals, it is recommended to plant peppers in warm beds. To do this, the selected place is covered with dark polyethylene to speed up the warming of the soil. Then lay the humus and pour it with a hot solution of urea from 10 liters of water and 1 tbsp. l. fertilizers Cover the bed with film again for several days. Before planting plants, lay a layer of fertile soil fertilized with wood ash, more than 10 cm thick.

Preparing warm beds

The area for peppers is prepared in advance. In the garden, select a sunny area, protected from cold winds, where legumes, cruciferous or pumpkin crops previously grew. Nightshades are bad predecessors for peppers. In the greenhouse, the soil is enriched with complex mineral fertilizers, laying them in granular form during digging.

Both in open and protected ground in the Urals, warm beds with a width of 70 cm are prepared in the fall, using rotted manure as “biofuel”. Row spacing – 80 cm. Basic steps:

1. Remove a half-meter layer of soil.
2. A 20 cm layer of drainage material is placed at the bottom, which is covered with manure (thickness - 30-40 cm).
3. The removed soil is returned from above.

Transplanting into a greenhouse

The seedlings are transplanted into the greenhouse in late May. The soil is prepared in advance by digging and fertilizing. A few days before planting, the soil is disinfected by spilling a solution of copper sulfate.

Holes for seedlings are made at a distance of 45 cm from each other for tall varieties. For peppers with medium-sized bushes, 35 cm between individual plants is sufficient. An interval of 70 cm is left between the rows. This way, all plants will have enough sun and air. The plantings are not thickened so as not to provoke the development of infection and the spread of insects. Before planting, pour 2 liters of warm water into each hole and add 1 tbsp. l. wood ash. The bushes are carefully removed from the cups and placed in the prepared holes without deepening them. The free space is filled with soil and compacted at the stem.

The danger of frost in the Ural region remains until mid-June. Therefore, even in greenhouses, vegetable growers arrange temporary shelters for young plants. To do this, arcs are installed over the seedlings and spunbond is stretched. In sunny and warm weather it is removed, but returned to its place at night. The shelter is finally removed in the second half of June.

Care

Peppers are watered frequently, but only a small amount of water is used for irrigation. In hot weather, up to 3 liters of water are consumed per plant. If the temperature is moderate, 1.5-2 liters of liquid is enough. Irrigation is carried out in the morning or evening, when there are no bright rays of the sun, only with warm, settled water. The liquid is poured under the root, preventing moisture from getting on the leaves. When the time comes for fruit ripening, the intervals between irrigations are increased to 3-4 days.

To reduce the number of waterings, loosening is used. The procedure is useful for improving the air supply to the root system. It also promotes more complete absorption of microelements dissolved in the soil. The first time the soil is loosened a week after replanting, after watering. At this time, the plants will already have time to take root and begin to grow. The soil is loosened shallowly so as not to damage the root system.

Important!

There is no need to loosen the soil if the surface layer of soil is covered with mulch. The protective layer improves aeration of the root system and prevents the formation of crust after watering.

To get a good harvest, be sure to carry out several feedings:

1. For the first time, the peppers are fed with organic matter. The working solution is made from mullein, diluting it with water in a ratio of 1:10, or from bird droppings. In the second case, the solution concentration is 1:20.
2. The second time, fertilizers are applied shortly before flowering. Feeding is needed to stimulate the formation of ovaries. This time, a mineral complex with a high content of potassium and phosphorus is used as a fertilizer. The solution is prepared according to the instructions for the drug.
3. The third feeding is carried out during fruiting. For it, a solution of mullein is used in combination with potash fertilizers.

For highly branching tall varieties of pepper, it is necessary to form a bush with the removal of stepsons. Varieties with small bushes usually do not need this procedure. Stepchildren are cut with disinfected scissors, immediately sprinkling the cut with charcoal to prevent possible infection. The work is performed during the day in hot weather. Then the exposed areas will dry out quickly.

When forming, non-fruit-bearing, damaged branches or those directed inward are cut off from pepper bushes. After the ovaries appear, all lower shoots located under the branches with fruits are removed. Pruning is carried out every week, removing excess branches. At the beginning of August, the growing point is pinched to stop the growth of the bush. Then all the inflorescences are cut off, since they will no longer have time to produce full fruits.

Diseases and pests

When grown in the Ural region, the greatest danger to peppers is aphids and spider mites. Of the infectious diseases, peppers most often suffer from white and gray rot.

To cope with insects, preventive treatment of pepper bushes is carried out using folk remedies:

• soap-ash solution;
• tobacco infusion;
• decoction of onion peels.

If pests have already appeared, use more effective means. At the stage of active growth before flowering and fruiting, insecticide preparations give good results. Plantings are sprayed with the drug “Actellik” or other means of similar action. In a later period, it is undesirable to use chemical insecticides. Therefore, biological agents are used, for example, Fitoverm.

Pepper diseases most often develop due to high humidity and dense planting. Therefore, when growing in greenhouses, it is necessary to regularly ventilate the room. Be sure to follow the watering schedule without flooding the plants. The soil under pepper bushes should be moist, but not wet. The situation can be corrected by temporarily stopping watering and organizing good drainage. If suspicious spots and other signs of disease have already appeared on the plants, the bushes are treated with solutions of biological fungicides.

Harvesting

Pepper fruits do not need to be harvested when fully ripe. They can be consumed after reaching technical ripeness, when they have reached their maximum size, but have not yet changed color. At the ripening stage, pepper bushes do not form new ovaries. If the pods are not removed at the right time, the yield is reduced.

After harvesting, the fruits will gain color within 7 days. To do this, they are placed in a dark place and maintained at +20°C. At lower temperatures, pods ripen within a month.

Important!

Peppers are harvested in dry weather. High humidity causes fruit to rot. To separate the pod, it is cut with a knife or pruning shears. Attempts to break off the fruit lead to damage to the stem.

Reviews

Inna, 38 years old:
I constantly grow peppers in a greenhouse. Greenhouse conditions make it possible to successfully grow even mid-season varieties, although our climate in the Urals is not favorable for growing vegetables. To get a good harvest, I plant the bushes at a distance from each other and constantly monitor them so that no signs of disease appear.

Zhanna, 45 years old:
In cool climates it is better to grow early varieties. They have time to ripen even with a short summer. To protect the planted seedlings from frost, we cover them with spunbond after planting. Then the plants successfully survive frosts.

To successfully grow peppers in cool climates, the plants need careful care. Seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place only after warm weather has established and are protected from possible frosts. If you follow all the rules of agricultural technology, you can get a good harvest of vegetables even in an unfavorable climate.

Determining the timing of sowing seeds

The sharply continental climate of the Urals requires special conditions for growing peppers; they are mainly grown in an area under a film cover or in a greenhouse. Seedlings are planted in open ground around May 25–30. Despite the harsh climate of the Urals, peppers manage to ripen and delight vegetable growers with rich harvests of ripe and juicy pepper fruits.

Seeds sown during these periods in the future fit into all terms and produce a harvest 100 days after planting in open ground or in a greenhouse.

The harsh conditions of the Urals characterize the appearance of fruits at a time when the southern regions of Russia are already completely saturated with greenery and begin to prepare for the winter. Failure to comply with the timing of sowing pepper seeds can lead to 2 negative reasons:

1. Pulling out sprouts.
2. Delayed ripening of pepper fruits.

Short summers and lack of heat allow residents of the Urals to grow peppers only in greenhouse conditions. The seeds should be sown in such a way that the period from sowing the seeds to the ripening of the fruit is about 120 days, plus about 2 weeks for the time for the seedlings to sprout and get stronger.

The 2021 lunar calendar for the Ural lands determines the next date for sowing seeds for seedlings - February 20. The optimal timing is:

• On February 14–16, you need to sow sweet pepper seeds;
• 16–18 – sowing seeds of bitter pepper;
• On February 23, it is possible to sow sweet pepper seeds.

Important! From February 19 to 22 are unfavorable days for sowing, that is, during these periods you should refrain from sowing. If you did not have time to sow pepper seeds in February, then planting pepper in the Urals according to the lunar calendar 2021, you can sow them without any problems in March

The timing allows you to get strong seedlings; the following days are considered favorable:

If you did not have time to sow pepper seeds in February, then planting pepper in the Urals according to the lunar calendar 2021, you can sow them without any problems in March. The timing allows you to get strong seedlings; the following days are considered favorable:

• from 3 to 5;
• from 6 to 14;
• from 30 to 31 March.

There are cases beyond our control when a person does not have time to sow seeds either in February or March, then you should pay attention to the April sowing dates. To get strong seedlings, you should hurry up and strictly follow all the rules for sowing and caring for sprouts

In April 2021, the following dates are perfect: from April 9 to 12 on the rising moon, from April 24 to 25 and on the 30th.

People who plant seeds according to the lunar calendar have long preferred these dates and as a result receive a large harvest of juicy, brightly colored fruits.