Pepper Merchant

The Kupets variety is consistently among the top ten sweet pepper varieties. It really grabs attention right away. There are not many varieties that have such powerful fruits and such hardy bushes.

The merchant is a large-fruited, thick-walled red pepper with an early ripening period. Early maturity immediately makes it one of the varieties that can be grown in regions with a short summer, while the quality of the fruit is not inferior to the southern varieties. The Kupets was included in the State Register of Approved Varieties in 2001. The originators are the agro-firm "Poisk" and the Federal Scientific Center for Vegetable Growing.

Standard bush, with moderately spreading branches, vigorous - can reach 85 cm Leaves of medium size and medium density, slightly wrinkled, bright green.

The fruits are very large, up to 15 cm in length, up to 8 cm in diameter. By weight, they can reach 130 grams, the walls are very thick, juicy - in some places they are 8 mm. Peppers have a cylindrical shape, slightly tapering towards the ends, and look massive. The number of interchangeable cameras - 2-3 pcs. The peel at the stage of technical ripeness is green, at the biological stage it is bright red, with a beautiful varnish sheen. Fruits are stable, excellent transportability.

The taste is good, spicy, with a moderately pronounced aroma. The variety is versatile. It is equally good fresh - salads, appetizers, in cooking - soups, stews, in preservation of any kind. Pepper Merchant is excellent for stuffing - it has large, powerful and beautiful fruits, as well as for freezing - sweet peppers are generally one of those vegetables that do not lose their properties when frozen. The chopped mixture can be added immediately to any first or second course in the winter.

The variety is early maturing, the fruits are harvested 110-112 days after sowing.

The yield is excellent. In the open field, 1.3-2.2 kg of marketable fruits are removed. The yield of marketable products is very high, 92-100% of the fruits will look beautiful: even, smooth, good caliber. Fruits are often removed at the stage of technical ripeness - green. They are already edible, lie longer, do not take away nutrients from other ripening fruits, the yield becomes higher.

The variety is recommended for temperate and sharply continental climates: Volgo-Vyatka region, Middle Volga, Central Black Earth and Western Siberia.

30 cm between the plants, 60 cm between the rows.

The variety is intended for cultivation in private household plots and in small farms. Such varieties are less productive than commercial ones, but more plastic. They tolerate blemishes well in care, perfectly adapt to different growing schemes.

Sowing for seedlings is carried out in February-March. Supplementary lighting is desirable in February.In Western Siberia, there are a lot of cloudy days in March, it is recommended to light up in March as well - then the seedlings will be strong, stocky and healthy, and they will bear fruit faster.

Important: peppers are short-day plants. Experienced gardeners cover seedlings up to 30 days of age with a film from 8 pm to 8 am - such bushes will be more resistant to cold weather and will begin to set fruits earlier.

The variety is resistant to cold, able to withstand temporary droughts, temperature changes. However, like all peppers, it adores warmth. Seedlings are planted in open ground no earlier than the soil warms up to + 15 ° C.

For landing, choose a sunny, warm place. It is important that the sun is not too scorching - it can burn the plants. But the site should not be shady either - in the shade, the peppers weaken and become less fertile. Better to plant in open east and west areas. Damp, low-lying areas with dense clay soil should be avoided.

All peppers love regular watering, the Merchant is no exception. Water so as to balance the temperature. The goal of the gardener is to achieve always 80% moistened soil under the peppers. On hot days, you may need to water two times: morning and evening. During periods of moderate temperature, the number of waterings is reduced to 2-3 per week; in the fall, watering can be completely excluded. Particular attention is paid to watering during the flowering period, a lack of moisture during this period can lead to the fact that the ovaries will fall off. Before flowering, the best watering method is sprinkling. When the fruits begin to pour, watered at the root.

Several dressings will be required per season. Large-fruited peppers are a "capacious" culture that requires a lot of nutrients. The best form of feeding is diluted bird droppings. Potassium chloride supplements should be avoided.

Peppers love loose, cultivated, nutrient-rich soil with a moderate nitrogen content. An excess of nitrogenous fertilizers will have a bad effect on the harvest - the plants will go to the tops, they will be able to throw off the already existing ovaries.

The mechanical properties of the soil are important: it is desirable that it be loose, coarse-grained, not prone to sticking. Soil acidity - 6.0-7.0 pH. If heather, mint, buttercups, sedge, field horsetail or plantain grew on the site, then the soil is initially very acidic, it needs to be limed.

The variety is resistant to major diseases and pests of the crop. However, if in past years problems with any nightshade were noticed on the site, it is better to carry out preventive treatments without waiting for outbreaks of diseases.

Before sowing, the seeds are kept in a solution of potassium permanganate or extract from aloe leaves. The soil is shed before planting with "Fitosporin-M", potassium permanganate. Seedlings can be sprayed with an ash solution 2-3 times.

At the beginning of flowering, spraying with a 1% solution of copper sulfate is useful - this will prevent bacterial spotting. Garlic infusion helps against whiteflies and aphids: 1 head is infused in 0.5 liters of water for 1 week, filtered, diluted at the rate of 50 ml per 1 liter of water.

During the fruiting period, the soil is spilled with ash, it is also useful to powder the plants with it - this will prevent phyto-phorosis, alternaria, gray rot.

It is also important to comply with the rules of crop rotation and agricultural technology. Peppers are not planted in places where other nightshade crops have grown before, they are periodically sprayed with "Epin" and "Zircon", and the area is carefully cleaned in the fall. All this reduces the risks of contracting verticilliosis, tobacco mosaic virus and bacterial cancer of pepper. These pepper diseases are incurable.

Pepper makes a good impression and is liked by Russian gardeners. It is sweet, juicy, with "brutal" fruits. The taste is excellent, the skin is firm, the fruits are very sweet, versatile, suitable for any dish. It is important that the variety is not capricious. It is a large, active, healthy plant. Experienced gardeners call it completely unpretentious and undemanding. The variety will be of interest to anyone looking for a reliable, showy, large-fruited sweet pepper.