Bell peppers and Capsicums are easy to grow even for beginners, you can grow them in your terrace garden or kitchen garden. All you need is a sunny spot and adequate watering.
Always use good-quality seeds to get good results.
Take a small pot and fill it with the seed starting mix or make your mix by mixing.
SEED STARTING MIX: 60% COCOPEAT, 40% VERMICOMPOST
Firm lightly and water well before sowing seeds.
Now, Place the seeds on the soil surface. Keep the seeds 1-2 inches apart for healthy growth.
GROWING SEASON: JULY MID TO FEB
GROWING TEMPERATURE: 16- 34 DEGREE c
Capsicum seeds will need to be lightly covered with soil, covered lightly, and gently pressed with your hand to get good seed-to-soil contact. Press the soil mix with your hand to ensure good seed-to-soil contact for good germination.
Sprinkle some water on the top, just enough to keep the soil damp. For the first 12-15 days do not allow the soil to dry out, but do not drench the soil either.
Keep the pot in full sun and make sure the soil is always moist while the seeds are germinating. ( EXPECT GERMINATION IN 7-9 DAYS)
Soil should be moist but not wet, so check the soil moisture daily to ensure seeds have the right conditions to germinate for strong healthy growth.
At this stage, the seedlings should be transplanted into a larger container.
Carefully take out the seedlings with the help of a small trowel, work the soil around the root ball and the seedling will come out easy without any damage.
CONTAINER SIZE:
15 INCH WIDE/ 18 INCH DEPTH.
Containers for growing medium to large-size capsicums should be 15-18 inches wide and deep. Two plants can be grown comfortably in one container. Make sure to make 3-4 drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. They allow excess water to drain out, thus helping to prevent the potting media from becoming soggy and causing root rot. Capsicum plants require light soil with good aeration for use a simple make consists of 50% Garden soil, 30% cattle manure, and 20% river sand.
Dig holes roughly 3-4 inches wide and deep. Plant the seedlings in the holes and refill them loosely. If you want to achieve larger harvests, grow in large containers to allow your capsicum plants to mature to their maximum size. Plants should be planted approximately 6-8 inches apart to have room to grow without overtaking one another. An Important transplant shock preventer is to make sure that your plant receives plenty of water after you move it. This is a good way to avoid transplant shock and will help the plant settle into its new location.
The temperature to grow capsicum plants should be moderate, neither too hot nor too cold. So pick a sunny spot with partial shade.
After bell peppers are transplanted into large containers, they will begin to mature in size. This can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks or longer depending on growing conditions.
Weeds compete with your capsicum plants for sunlight and nutrients in the soil. Remove weeds at the root to ensure they don’t grow back.
Capsicum plants use nutrients from the soil as they grow, so replenishing the nutrients with organic fertilizers ensures that your plants grow to their full potential. Give them a boost of organic fertilizers after every 5-10 days.
Add 2-3 handfuls per plant, mix well in the soil, and add water immediately after adding fertilizers to the soil. Peppers will grow more efficiently if they can feed off the organic matter. Some pepper plants don’t even need a separate fertilizer if a little compost is added to the soil at intervals.
Growing bell peppers requires regular watering to keep the soil slightly moist; growing medium should never dry out completely.
The leaf curl disease of capsicum or chilly is caused by the chili leaf curl virus which is transmitted by viruliferous whitefly and thrips. To control leaf curl disease organically boil neem leaves and ginger in 1 litre water for 12-15 mins. Once the mix has cooled down, add 2 tablespoons of turmeric powder. Mix well and let it rest for another 10-15 mins. Put the solution through a strainer to strain it. To use it add 100ml of this mix in 500 ml water. Mix well and spray on the affected plants. Starting from the top of your target plants, begin spraying the mix over all parts of the plant. Make sure to also spray the undersides of leaves where pests can hide and lay eggs. Be sure never to spray them on your plants during the sunny, hot part of the day, or it will cause foliar damage. Spray in the evening, when bees and other pollinators are not active.
After 2-3 sprays you will notice that the new leaves which are forming are normal and are free from leaf curl diseases.
As the plants continue to grow and mature, they will begin to form flowers along their stems. This is the beginning of the reproductive stage of growth. Bell pepper plants are self-textile, meaning that each flower is capable of self-pollinating. This makes growing bell peppers easy, even if you have just 1 plant.
Shortly after a flower forms, it should begin forming a little bell pepper. Not all flowers form a pepper, and that is completely normal.
At the time of fruiting plant needs more irrigation. By giving them water regularly, fruits grow well and the bursting problem also decreases. With enough sunlight and nutrients, bell peppers grow quickly once they begin to form.
All capsicums are green to start with before developing their full color which is red, yellow, orange, or purple.
Bell peppers can be harvested while they are still green, as long as they are fully grown size. Fully ripened bell peppers change color and tend to have a sweeter flavor and a slightly softer texture.
The best temperature for capsicum cultivation is 18C to 28C. Higher temperature conditions will result in flower/ bud/ fruit drop and end up with a lower yield than expected. Well-watered, well-nourished capsicum plants will have a better chance of keeping all the unwanted pests and diseases at bay.
Make sure you have a good spot to plant your capsicum. It’s a sun-loving plant and prefers a sunny spot to grow.
Bell peppers can be eaten at any stage during their ripening process.
Bell peppers are typically large enough to be picked around 12 to 15 days after the fruits first begin to form. A longer growing season, more sunlight, more fertile soil, and regular harvesting can all contribute to higher yields.
Green capsicum can be harvested at 60 to 65 days after transplanting, yellow capsicum at 75-85 days, and capsicum at 90-95 days.
NOTE: Red bell peppers not only taste sweeter, but they are more nutritious. Ripe peppers contain more vitamin C and beta-carotene than green ones.
Red peppers take longer to ripen, which is why they’re more expensive in the store.
Cut the stem with a scissor or knife and leave a small stalk on the fruit. Pick regularly to encourage more fruiting.
After harvest fruits should be kept in a cool place and avoid direct exposure to sunlight.
