Sparkling, pepper room: growing and grooming

Those who love spicy dishes, you should certainly put on your windowsill pepper Ogonyok. This popular houseplant, among other things, is also very beautiful. Cultivate it is not difficult. In order for the pepper to develop well and actively fructify, it should be simply watered and fertilized on time.

general description

Varieties of indoor pepper Ogonek exists several. If desired, you can plant both a small plant (20-30 cm) and a taller one (up to 50 cm). Especially popular among fans of indoor flowers is a small, low-fat home pepper Ogonyok.

Decorative value in this plant is represented by dark green sharp small leaves, and bright fruits. The shape and color of the latter can be very different. On the windowsills of lovers of indoor plants varieties with round, plum-like, cone-shaped fruits are grown. Very beautiful look like yellow, and red or purple pepper. As they mature, the fruits of this plant change color. Therefore, the bush can simultaneously grow fruits of different shades. It looks very impressive. The taste of pepper can also be different. There are varieties of both with very burning fruits, and with not too sharp.

The fire is a pepper, the flowers of which are not particularly beautiful. Most often they have a white or purple color, small size and look a bit rough. Their value lies only in the fact that subsequently they grow bright fruits with seeds suitable for independent planting. At the same time, up to 50 peppercorns can ripen on the plant. In this case, the bush still does not cease to bloom. So the crops from it can be shot almost all the year round.

Time of disembarkation

Propagation of the indoor pepper Ogonek is mainly only seeds. This is the easiest way to get a strong, spectacular, yielding plant in a fairly short time. Earlier in the specialized literature there were councils to plant seeds of house pepper at the same time as seedlings of usual garden, that is in the end of February - the beginning of March. However, recently on the forums of relevant subjects from experienced lovers of indoor plants, one can often hear a recommendation to make this procedure a little earlier. The fact is that if you drop the Ogonyok in November, by the summer it will grow much larger and brighter fruits.

Care for pepper Fire: what land to use

Meeting in the literature council to plant this pepper in a special purchase ground many experienced flower growers today also reject. Fans of this beautiful and also useful plant noticed that it feels best when planted in an ordinary garden soil. The only thing - it is advisable to pre-lightly fertilize such a land with overripe manure. This top dressing should be steamed. Otherwise, the pepper can get a black stalk. When pereprevanii in manure, all pathogenic bacteria die (due to exposure to high temperatures). However, during storage, microorganisms can be re-settled in the organic substrate.

How to plant properly

Sparkle is a pepper, seeds of which can be purchased in a specialized store or taken from a friend amateur florist. A pot for this plant usually takes a small one. Flower utensils in volume of 1 liter for the first time will be quite enough. In the future, pepper, most likely, will have to be transplanted two or three times. Fruit this indoor plant can for 5 years. However, it usually grows no more than two or three. Then the pepper is changed to a new one. The fact is that by this time he loses some of his decorative properties and begins to produce much smaller yields.

At the bottom of the pot, to avoid rotting roots, you need to lay drainage from pebbles and broken pots. Further, the prepared soil is filled into the container, mixed with manure, and slightly moistened. In one pot, usually 3 seeds are planted (to a depth of not more than 1 cm). Later in the tank you can leave the strongest pepper. After planting the soil in the pot should be gently poured with not too much water.

Plant transplantation

Transfer of pepper Ogonek into a large pot is done immediately, as it will take 60-65 days after planting. Drainage should be placed in the container. Soil is better to use the same in composition, that was in a small pot. The earth's clod in the old container must first be separated from the walls by a knife. The day before the transshipment the plant should be watered abundantly. Then this procedure will be much easier. Then the pepper is carefully removed and transferred to a new pot. In the latter, it is first necessary to pour the drainage and 3-5 cm of garden soil. After the pepper is installed in the pot, the free space between the lump with the roots and the walls of the new container must be filled with soil.

Where to put the pot

Immediately after planting, the container with seeds should be covered with a film and put in a warm place. When the loops appear, the pot is transferred to the window sill. After the plants appear on 2-3 real leaves, the extra seedlings are removed.

Fire - pepper light-loving. Even very strong sunlight, he is absolutely not afraid. Therefore, to install a pot with this burning bright plant is best on the southern window. In winter, pepper should be illuminated as much as possible with a fluorescent lamp.

The heating battery in the cold season should be covered with a blanket or a piece of some thick cloth. Overheating pepper Ogonek on the windowsill, as well as in any other place, does not like. The optimum temperature for him in the winter is 19-22 ° C.

How to water properly

In summer, moisten the soil under pepper Ogonyok should be quite often. Watering is done after the soil in the pot is dried by 1 cm. Of course, it is not necessary to arrange a "swamp" in the tank. Otherwise, the pepper can bend the roots. In winter, watering is reduced. Once a week this period will be quite enough.

Of course, in the event that the Ogonek is on a southern window, watering should be done carefully, trying not to fall on the leaves. Otherwise, they will necessarily burn. For watering use only standing water at room temperature. Chlorine pepper, like most other indoor plants, can do much harm.

How to fertilize

The fire is a pepper, which can be fed with manure, and with complex, universal purchased means. In the latter case, you can use, for example, nitrophosphate (1 box per 10 liters).

Very good solution will also be to foliar top dressing of pepper with wood ash (2 tablespoons infusion in 3 liters of water). Spray the plant should be abundant. Carry out this procedure exclusively in the morning or evening, so as not to burn the leaves.

For the first time, the pepper is fertilized before it actively moves into growth. It is not necessary to carry out fertilizing too often. In winter, it will be enough to fertilize the plant once - in January. In summer, fertilizing is done more often - about twice a month.

Diseases and pests

This is how the pepper Ogonek is grown on the windowsill. Care for him is relatively simple. Especially since his illnesses do not often strike. If the air in the room is too warm and dry, aphids can attack the plants. Fight it with insecticides. It can be, for example, "Fitoverm" or "Agromertin". Use these funds can be no later than two weeks before harvest.

Why can I apply

Most often the fruits of pepper Ogonek are used to give a piquant taste to various kinds of pickles. On a three-liter jar of tomatoes or cucumbers, 2-3 pods are usually placed. You can also use fruits as a medicine, adding them to vodka.

Pepper Ogonek contains a huge amount of vitamins. In addition, they can give a unique taste and aroma to almost any dish. Many housewives use the fruits of this plant to roast borscht, add them to the stew, salt them with the use of bacon, and so on.