Pepper Big Boy

Pepper Big Boy is a variety grown both outdoors and in a greenhouse. In this article, you will learn how to grow this pepper so that it is really big, how to protect it and get a good tasty harvest.

The variety appeared in 2011, and the next year it was already included in the State Register of the Russian Federation. We owe its creation to a galaxy of breeders, including Nastenko N. V., Kachainik V. G., Gulkin M. N. Interestingly, in addition to this variety, the company "Aelita" also has Big Mama, Papa and Girl.

Big Boy is intended for cultivation in the open field and in conditions of a stretched film. Pepper is sweet. The plant is semi-spreading, growing of medium height.

The variety grows up to 90-110 cm. The leaves of the plant are dark green, small in size. The number of fruits on one bush reaches 6-8 pieces on average.

Large fruits have a cylindrical shape, as they ripen, they change color from dark green to deep red. The mass of one pepper is 260-280 g.

The pulp of the fruit is fleshy and juicy. They have a pleasant aroma and, according to experienced tasters, have an excellent sweet taste. The variety is universal for its intended purpose.

In terms of ripening Big Boy is an early variety. The number of days from germination to the moment of crop formation is approximately 105-115. Ripening months - from July to September inclusive.

Big Boy is a high-yielding pepper. 7-7.5 kg of harvest is harvested from one square meter.

The plant can be grown in the following regions:

• North;
• Northwest;
• Central;
• Volgo-Vyatsky;
• TsCHO;
• North Caucasian;
• Middle Volga;
• Nizhnevolzhsky;
• Uralsk;
• West Siberian;
• East Siberian;
• Far East.

If you are planting seeds in open ground, then it must be prepared in advance. The procedures begin in the fall: the site is dug up, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied. In the spring, the soil is loosened and all the weeds are removed.

Ideally, if the soil is loamy, with a neutral acidity level. The pH level is 6-6.7. The site should be in the sun, protected from the winds. Among Big Boy's predecessor crops, he likes onions, herbs, legumes and cucumbers.

Big Boy is a thermophilic variety, and it is also a "water bread". Insufficient watering provokes a slowdown in plant growth, it is also important not to forget about its root system: water is taken only slightly warm or at room temperature, which has been settled in advance.

To obtain a harvest earlier (about a month or a little more), the seeds are sown using the seedling method. This is often done in the northern regions. Sowing in this case falls on the interval from February 10 to March 10.

Experienced gardeners recommend selecting and disinfecting seed material before sowing. It is left in the potassium permanganate or fungicide solution.The seeds can then be germinated in a wet cloth. The seeds are spread evenly and left in a dark, warm place. The rag is periodically moistened, the first shoots appear in 10-15 days.

Self-prepared soil mixture is no worse than a store substrate. Pepper absorbs peat well in a mixture with rotted compost (or humus) and sand (proportion 2: 1: 1). The earth can also be disinfected with a weak pinkish solution of potassium permanganate, heated to a temperature of 30-50 degrees.

Both peat pots and plastic bottles or cups are suitable as containers. Additionally, if something was previously grown in the glass, they can be disinfected with the aforementioned solution. If you are planting in a large container, keep a distance of 2-3 cm between the holes. The depth of one is no more than 2 cm.

The planted seeds (or sprouts) fall asleep, watered abundantly and left in a room with a temperature of + 20-25 degrees Celsius during the day and at least +18 at night. When seedlings appear, the temperature is lowered to + 15-17 degrees. Seedlings are watered 2 times a week.

To prevent the plants from growing in one direction, the container is periodically turned the other side to the sun. When the second full-fledged leaves appear in the plants, a pick is made to the bushes.

Plants are transferred to open ground at a stable temperature of + 15-17 degrees. Until this moment, in two weeks the plants are exposed to the street for hardening for 20-30 minutes, gradually increasing the "walk" time. When planting, adhere to the scheme of 50x60 cm.The root collar is not particularly deepened. Plants are well watered and mulched.

Big Boy is unassuming in further care. Water the bushes once a week. From time to time, the soil must be loosened to saturate the soil with oxygen and the normal functioning of the root system and the entire plant as a whole. If you're growing a variety in a greenhouse, it's a good idea to tie it up. The room is periodically ventilated.

The formation of the bush is not difficult. Stepsons, as well as branches and fruits growing inward, are recommended to be removed. When secondary shoots appear, the weakest ovaries are removed.

Before the first ovaries, herbal infusions are used as fertilizers. When fruits appear and gain weight, potash-phosphorus fertilizers are applied. All fertilizers are placed in pre-moistened soil. Pepper can be difficult to tie under the film, so you can use a simple brush and dust the flowers with pollen.

There are few diseases affecting Big Boy. However, they are all intractable or not cured at all.

• Verticillosis. The disease draws strength from the bush and is not detected visually. Plants in this case do not survive until the end of the flowering period.
• Blackleg. It affects weak and young plants. The disease attacks the roots through the soil. To prevent the disease, the soil is loosened, greenhouses or film shelters are aired.
• Phytoplasmosis. It manifests itself in the form of yellowing of various parts of the plant and curling of leaves. Further flowers and fruits fall off.

In such cases, the bushes are completely removed, along with the roots, and burned. Preventively, tools, soil and premises are disinfected.

Of the diseases that can be cured, we note the following.

• Top rot. Wet spots appear on the bush, which become dark. This happens when there is an excess of nitrogen in the soil and a lack of calcium. It is treated with the introduction of calcium nitrate.
• Deciduous mold. Occurs due to an increased level of humidity. The spots are brown on the top of the leaf and gray on the bottom. It is treated by disinfecting the soil in the autumn with a solution of copper sulfate. In other cases, the bushes are treated with fungicides.
• Late blight. Brown spots increase in their area and cause the death of pepper leaves and fruits. It is treated with "Fitosporin" or preparations containing copper.

Neglected diseases can take away a good part of your harvest, so plants should be treated and processed on time.