Pepper Cow's Ear

Cow's ear is a large-fruited variety of domestic breeding pepper. The plant has a good yield and transportability. Thanks to this, it is chosen by gardeners from different parts of the country.

The Volovye Ukho variety has become one of the best achievements of the Poisk agrofirm. He easily left behind foreign hybrids with low palatability, which flooded the markets of Russia and neighboring countries in the 90s. The variety was developed by the employees of the enterprise Maksimov, Klimenko and Kostenko. They managed to create a pepper with high taste characteristics and excellent immunity. The record of the new variety appeared in the State Register in 2007, after almost a decade of variety trials.

Cow's ear belongs to sweet varieties with a universal purpose. The plant is offered for cultivation in open and closed types of ground. The bushes are famous for their large-sized fruits, and the marketable fruits fly off the shelves like hot cakes. Peppers can be stored for a long time without losing their qualities, they are easy to transport. Those fruits that are not ripe can be left to ripen in conditions suitable for this, and due to the thick wall of the peppers, a minimum of waste remains after peeling.

Despite the large number of advantages, the plant of the described variety is not devoid of disadvantages. So, the culture reacts poorly to unstable weather, the bush needs to be tied up in order to avoid breaking. Along with high immunity to diseases, it is constantly attacked by pests. But the main drawback of the variety is poor seed germination. Sometimes less than half of them emerge.

Spreading, medium-sized bushes gave the name to the variety. They are very similar in shape to the head of an ox, and the peppers hanging from them, respectively, are ears. The bushes branch well, the average height is 70 centimeters. The foliage of dark green slightly wrinkled foliage is moderate.

The fruits hang drooping on the bushes, and they are large enough, in the size of the palm of an adult. The length on average reaches 12-16 centimeters, but there are also individual peppers that can grow up to 20 cm. The weight corresponds to the size - 170-200 grams.

The shape of the peppers is conical, with slight bends from the stalk. The fruits are not always smooth. Curved and tapered specimens can grow on the same bush, but most of the crop will look quite attractive. Unripe peppercorns are colored in a dark green shade, and upon reaching biological ripeness they acquire a juicy red color. A unique feature of the variety is the presence of a strong gloss on the surface of the fruit.

The walls of the fruit are medium in thickness - about 6.7 mm. There are no more than 4 chambers with seeds inside, but there is not enough material for sowing.

The cow's ear forms sweet peppers with a delicate fresh taste. The pulp is very juicy, not sluggish, crispy, appetizing. After consumption, a tart aftertaste remains. The size of the peppers allows you to do whatever you want with them. Fresh fruits are eaten in slices and salads, used for stuffing. Chopped peppers can be made a component of lecho for the winter. And also fruits are added to various types of caviar, vegetable stews, soups and borscht.

Peppers reach their full maturity in about 120-130 days. These indicators are inherent in the mid-season group. Fruiting can be extended. Harvesting is carried out from July 25 to August 30.

A square meter of soil allows gardeners to harvest an average of 3.2 kg of crops. But in especially favorable years, and with decent care, this figure can be increased to 5 kilograms.

In general, the culture is suitable for every corner of the country. The best yield is observed in the Central Region, Central Black Earth Region, Krasnodar Territory. In areas with harsher or more variable climates, it is wise to grow peppers in greenhouses.

Between the bushes of the Ox's ear, 60 cm are usually left. And the row spacing should be 40-50 centimeters.

The cow's ear pepper is grown exclusively by the seedling method. In addition, it is very important to germinate the seeds before planting in the ground in order to increase the germination rate. The seeds are laid in the ground on March 10-20, but in the northern regions this can be done a little later. Two months later, the sprouts are transferred to a permanent place: a vegetable garden or a greenhouse by transferring them.

Cow's ear sprouts prefer regular and abundant watering. In drought conditions, plants wither in a matter of hours. At a comfortable air temperature, pepper bushes are watered every other day, but if the indicators have exceeded +30, then daily irrigation at the root will be needed. Every gardener knows that it is undesirable to get water on the leaves. In the case of this variety, it is strictly forbidden to allow this, even at moments of weak sun.

The variety loves fluffy soil and an abundance of oxygen, so you will have to take care of the soil. The soil dried up after watering is loosened, fluffing the surface layer. If there is no desire to constantly do this, the problem will be solved by the layout of the mulch on the plantation. Natural raw materials will reduce the amount of watering, loosening, and will also prevent weeds from germinating. Lay a thick layer of mulch.

From top dressing, this variety of peppers loves minerals. Volovye's ear is fed at least three times, in a complex manner. For this, purchased formulations are suitable, where the dosage and everything necessary have already been calculated by the manufacturer. But organic matter should be used as rarely as possible, or should be abandoned altogether, since almost all such fertilizers contain nitrogen, which pepper can itself be extracted from fertile soil.

There is no need to form medium-sized bushes, but when fruiting begins, you can remove the foliage thickening the plant and unnecessary ovaries. This will make the plant more fertile. But you need to tie up the plants, in view of the large-fruited fruits.

Ox-ear bushes need a light earth. It can be a nutritious medium or light loam. But it is best to plant it on sandy loam soil. The permissible acidity index is 6-6.8 pH.

In this regard, the variety is quite finicky. It is planted in sunny areas with low groundwater levels. The southern part of the garden will be preferred. Often, high beds are built for peppers of this variety.

Plants are very afraid of cold and excessive heat. If the sun bakes mercilessly, you need to provide for the presence of arches with nets to protect the bushes. Drought is also poorly tolerated, so watering should be regular.

The cow's ear has strong immunity, so it does not even need prophylactic spraying. It can be affected by fungal diseases, but only if water gets on the foliage and the plantings are thickened. Some gardeners, just in case, treat the bushes with "Fitosporin", this is a fairly harmless biological preparation.

To prevent pests from parasitizing the bushes, marigolds, calendula, mint, garlic and onions are planted around the perimeter of the plantings. These plants will help ward off aphids, ticks and other tiny parasites. Homemade traps and coniferous mulch are used against slugs. And the common Colorado potato beetle can be harvested by hand or destroyed with insecticides.