How are pearls grown at home?

Most gemstones were formed by nature a long time ago - in the era of rock formation, when crystals of stunning beauty were formed under tremendous pressure and temperature. Pearls are a different matter. Pearls are the result of the activities of molluscs living in marine or freshwater environments. Precious stones need to be cut, polished and polished so that they turn into jewelry, and the beauty of pearls is created by nature itself.

An interesting fact is that the oyster itself does not need a pearl. She forms it, fighting with a foreign body accidentally trapped under the sink. In nature, this is most often the larva of the parasite. The mollusk fights against the irritant, enveloping it with an even layer of solid crystalline substance - mother of pearl - in order to neutralize the activity of the parasite. The longer the pearl is in the body of the oyster, the thicker the layer of nacre forms around it. So in a few months or even years, a shiny spherical gemstone - pearl - is obtained. The mother-of-pearl shell consists of microscopic calcium carbonate crystals that refract light in such a way that it forms a rainbow on the surface.

It would be wrong to call artificial pearls obtained at the pearl "farm". Also, as we do not call artificial cow meat. It would be more correct to call it cultivated. Such pearls have the same properties as natural ones, and the process of their formation does not differ from natural ones. A person only initiates the process by placing an irritating factor "seed" inside the shell. Most often it is a piece of ground shell or a piece of the soft body of another oyster, which also consists of mother of pearl.

At the beginning of their life, oysters are raised in "manger", in fresher water near the coast, where they have fewer enemies. For the "seed" oysters are taken at the age of two to three years (for the southern seas). During the growth period, the oysters are periodically examined and cleaned of parasites and layers. An adult oyster is ready for the introduction of the "embryo" of a future pearl.

The process of growing cultured pearls begins with the fact that the shell of the oyster is carefully opened and an incision is made in its soft body. At the same time, a small piece of soft body tissue is taken from another oyster of the same species, in order to then connect it to the nucleus of an unformed pearl. The cells of the artificially removed tissue will begin to form a sac around the nucleus, which, having developed, will begin to cover the pearl with a layer of nacre. Further, the not yet formed pearl is implanted into the first oyster, after which it, together with other molluscs, is placed in a cage and the cage is lowered on a rope into the sea, two to three kilometers from the coast, rich in nutrients necessary for the oyster to grow and develop normally. Further, the oyster itself creates a pearl, obeying instincts.

Some crustaceans and algae pose a threat to the life of the oyster, which are periodically removed from the surface of the shell, and treated with a special medical compound that prevents the spread of parasites. The process of growing oysters takes several years.After that, the basket is raised to the surface, the shell is opened and ripe pearls are removed. This is where the life of the mollusk is over. Each oyster is capable of growing several pearls at once. The thrifty Chinese put up to a dozen of their education centers in the sink.

Many oysters die before the pearls ripen, some are unproductive due to disease. Strong rainstorms that reduce the salinity of seawater, some types of phytoplankton, an increase in the population of which leads to a decrease in the level of oxygen in the water, typhoons, attacks by predators and parasites, lack of nutrients - all this creates obstacles to the increase in the number of sea oysters. On average, only 50 percent of selected oysters produce pearls, with only one fifth of these pearls being marketable. The rest of the pearls are usually too damaged to be used as jewelry.

Artificial pearl cultivation has been practiced since the 13th century, when the Chinese discovered that foreign bodies placed inside the shell of freshwater molluscs were covered with a layer of mother-of-pearl. With a special spatula, they slightly opened the shells and, using a bamboo stick, placed the chosen object between the mantle and the shell of the mollusk. Then the shell was returned back to the reservoir, where it matured for several months during this time, the object was overgrown with mother-of-pearl and grew to the shell. Earthen balls, pieces of bone, wood or copper were used for seed. This art has flourished in China for seven centuries. Around the middle of the 18th century. this method was independently proposed by the great Swedish naturalist Linnaeus, and some of the pearls he cultivated are kept in the collection of the London Linnaeus Society. Linnaeus did not improve his own method, but revealed its secret in 1762. His method consisted, apparently, in the fact that a hole was drilled in the shell valve, into which a limestone ball was inserted at the end of a silver wire. The wire allowed the ball to be moved from time to time, so that it did not adhere to the shell. This method did not become widespread and was soon forgotten.

The Japanese adopted the art of pearl cultivation from the Chinese and created an entire industry around the end of the 19th century. The Japanese method consisted in attaching a ball made of mother-of-pearl to the nacreous layer of the shell, after which the mollusk was returned to the sea.

Thus, formations resembling bubble pearls were obtained. The rate of deposition of nacre is very different, but, apparently, it is noticeably higher than in the case when the mollusk is not disturbed. The balls were covered with mother-of-pearl only on one side, and when removed from the shell, they had to be attached to a piece of mother-of-pearl in order to give the pearl its usual symmetrical shape. Therefore, "Japanese" pearls, as they have been called since then, are easy to recognize by examining their reverse side. Cultured pearls first appeared on the London market in early 1921 when they were believed to originate from a new pearl-mining area. As soon as the pearl cores were discovered in these pearls and their true nature was established, the pearl traders were seized with horror. However, it soon became clear that these grown pearls, when irradiated with ultraviolet light, fluoresce with a greenish color, which makes it easy to distinguish them from natural pearls, which fluoresce with a sky blue color.

Later studies have shown that this difference in fluorescence is due to the different types of waters in which the corresponding pearl oysters lived, and does not depend on the nature of the mother-of-pearl excretion, so this test is not entirely reliable for identifying cultured pearls. Fortunately, not long before this, another method was proposed and now an experienced researcher can accurately determine if this pearl was formed by human intervention.As a result, the prices of cultured pearls quickly dropped to half that of natural pearls and subsequently dropped to one-fifth or less.

Currently, industrial pearl cultivation is one of the most dynamically developing sectors of the Chinese economy. China's Deching region, teeming with fresh water, is the main base for the national pearl growing industry. Driving past the local lakes, you can see hundreds of white dots hanging below the surface of the water from afar. These are fishing nets filled with pearl shells carefully attached to bamboo poles.

On pearl farms, the “harvest” is harvested in September. China is currently the world's largest producer of freshwater pearls. Every year this country produces almost a thousand tons of pearls, and the local “pearl” industry employs approximately 300,000 people.

At the factory, pearls are sorted according to their color, shape and size. Oddly enough, but only 10% of pearls produced in China are used in the jewelry industry. The rest of the pearls are crushed into a fine powder, which is used for the production of cosmetics and traditional Chinese medicine. Pearl powder, in particular, is included in skin creams that are in great demand among Chinese women, among whom pallor is considered one of the signs of true beauty.

Despite the fact that freshwater pearls are almost identical to pearls born in salt sea water, and have the same excellent brilliance, the differences in culture are quite large. The first difference is that freshwater pearls are grown mussels, not oysters, as in the case of sea pearls.

The relatively low cost of freshwater pearls is explained by the fact that the river oyster is much larger than the sea one, and can simultaneously grow up to 30 pearls, and the sea or ocean oyster - one. Freshwater pearls have more mother-of-pearl, therefore they are beautiful and shiny, and, despite their relative cheapness, they are brighter than sea pearls.

Source

Pearls are a sea gift, symbolizing loyalty, truth, love. It is an organic material that is valuable all over the world.

Legends and stories

People have been thinking about how pearls are formed since ancient times. One of the most beautiful legends says that these are the tears of a beautiful nymph mourning love and family. They say that it happened that a magnificent maiden came down from the sky, lured by the ocean, and then met a young fisherman of incredible beauty. Time after time descending from heaven, she watched the hardworking young man, and finally, plucking up courage, she spoke to him. The nymph learned that the young man was fishing daily to heal his mother.

The beautiful maiden took pity on the poor man, made sure that the production increased from day to day. Time passed, the mother began to recover, and the young man invited the girl to become his wife. The nymph who fell in love with the fisherman gave her consent, and they healed happily. Over time, the couple even had a son. But the gods found out about the earthly well-being of the heavenly dweller and punished her by locking her in a tower. How are pearls formed? The maiden's tears flow into the ocean inhabited by molluscs and become magnificent beads in their shells.

Value since ancient times

It is not known whether pearls first became popular and only then a legend was invented, or the opposite happened, but in ancient Greece and Rome, necklaces from sea treasures were highly valued. Knowing from legend how pearls are formed, people considered it a symbol of marital happiness and fidelity.

Time passed, and the popularity of pearls only grew. In the Middle Ages, it was customary to embroider the bride's wedding dress with sea gifts. To show their love for the girl, young people gave rings decorated with pearls. It was considered the most reliable symbol of love for life and even an oath of allegiance.

World renown

There are as many legends about how pearls are formed as there are peoples on the planet. In all localities where the extraction of this value has been known since ancient times, there are legends about the origin of a magnificent treasure in an unprepossessing shell.

For a long time, the beauty of the gift of the sea has been praised in the poetry of all peoples. "Pearl" in many languages ​​is consonant with the words "radiant", "unique". Traditionally, it is customary to compare feminine beauty with the beauty of a sea treasure.

Want to know more about pearls in literature? Pay attention to poetry:

• Japanese;
• Chinese;
• Persian;
• Byzantine;
• Roman.

What will science say?

If you turn to scientists with the question: "How are pearls formed?" In addition, one bead also contains conchiolin, which plays the role of a horny substance.

If there is some foreign object in the shell of a mollusk, pearls appear over time. How is the treasure formed? The mollusk senses that a foreign body has appeared in its "home". This could be:

• grain of sand;
• larva;
• shell fragment.

The body tries to remove this element from the living space, during which the body is enveloped in mother-of-pearl. A biochemical reaction takes place in the body and a jewel is formed.

Who, how, what?

It is already known for certain that hundreds of species of inhabitants of sea and fresh waters can form pearls. The key condition is the presence of a shell. But the beads are not the same: both shape and color are different. The classic version is a slightly “powdered” grayish tint. In addition to him, the sea gives pearls to humanity:

• pink;
• blue;
• gold;
• black;
• bronze;
• greenish.

Since pearls are formed in the shell under the influence of the characteristics of the environment, it is the chemical composition of the waters in which the mollusk lived that determines the color of the treasure. In addition, the type of mollusk has an effect, since different types of them have different salt compositions in the body.

Since ancient times, the most valuable pearls have been mined in the waters of the Persian Gulf, giving people creamy white and pink pearls.

Valuable are the sea treasures that are obtained from the waters near:

• Madagascar;
• South America;
• The Philippines;
• Myanmar;
• Pacific islands and archipelagos.

Is it only natural?

One of the largest producers of this seafood today is Japan. Surprisingly, there are few deposits in this country, but the locals have invented several methods of artificial pearl cultivation.

Special conditions are created that are as close to natural as possible. At the same time, processes characteristic of wild nature are imitated. Since pearls are produced naturally under such conditions, they are highly prized.

Specifications

They talk about how pearls are formed in a shell, photos taken on the seabed and special cultivation enterprises.

The resulting beads have the following characteristics:

• hardness - 2.5-4.5 according to Mohs;
• density - 2.7 g / cm3.

No special surface treatment required.

The pearl lives for one and a half to three centuries. The specific duration depends on the origin. Over the decades, organic matter loses moisture, which causes the decoration to tarnish, exfoliate, and decomposition processes begin.

For pearls to live longer, they need to be cared for:

• can not be stored in a damp, dry room;
• direct sunlight is unacceptable;
• when tarnishing, rinse with salt water;
• at the first signs of destruction, they use ether, potassium carbonate.

Modern myths

Despite the fact that people have long known how pearls are formed in nature, to this day there are some beliefs associated with this process. They are most powerful on those islands that live off pearl divers.

In Borneo, people believe that the ninth pearl has a unique property - it produces similar ones. Therefore, the locals take small containers in which they put pearls, mix it with rice - two grains for each sea gift, and then wait for more treasures.

Pearls and high technology

Since humans have figured out how pearls are formed in shellfish, factories have been built to cultivate the sea treasure. It is the cultivated beads that are found most often nowadays.

Cultivation was invented in 1896, when the process was immediately patented. The author of the idea is the Japanese Kohiki Mikimoto. To make the pearl larger, the inventor came up with the idea of ​​placing a bead in the shell of the mollusk, which he extracted after a few years as a mature, beautiful, large pearl.

Having studied how natural pearls are formed, several options for the manufacture of artificial analogs were invented. However, in their beauty they are incomparable with the gifts of the sea. As a rule, this is a glass base, decorated with pearl powder or covered with a thin layer of mother-of-pearl. To understand what is in front of you, set up an experiment: throw an object on a stone plane. Natural pearls bounce high and look like a ball, but imitation pearls do not.

Another method of separating fake pearls from natural pearls is to sweep the product over your teeth. If the surface feels rough, it is a natural material. But the industrial imitation will feel absolutely smooth to the touch.

Interesting features

There is only one precious mineral in the world that does not need to be processed. These are natural pearls. How a pearl is formed is described above. It is the features of this process that have determined such beauty, smoothness, suitability for wearing seafood immediately after its extraction.

As archaeologists say, pearls were the first precious material that attracted a person's interest because of their beauty.

The use of pearls was invented by the Chinese 42 centuries ago. The treasures mined in China were used:

• as decorations;
• as money;
• to indicate social status.

Pearls were no less appreciated in Egypt and Mesopotamia. They adorned themselves with the treasures of Semiramis, Cleopatra, obtained from the sea waves. Legend has it that the Egyptian beauty once, having argued with Mark Antony, dissolved the pearl in wine and drank the drink.

Another important historical milestone is associated with pearl mining in the following way. When Alexander the Great was about to invade India, his advisers recommended that he start with Socotra, known in those days for the extraction of marine jewelry. The great warrior was struck by the beauty of pearls, especially the magnificent combination of black, white and pink. Since then, he began to collect strings of pearls, which soon attracted other noble and wealthy people. This passion for collecting gemstones continues today.

Pearls and rulers

A wide variety of natural pearls are valued. How is such a rich variety of jewelry formed from just one type of raw material (photos taken from under the water allow you to see this)? The secret is that nature gives people different shapes of beads. There is an international classification that distinguishes:

• buttons;
• ovals;
• pear-shaped;
• spherical;
• round;
• semicircular;
• drop-shaped;
• pearls of irregular shape.

Since the gifts of the sea have always been highly prized, they were traditionally used to decorate the attire of royalty. For example, at the baptism of Louis XIII, Maria de Medici was dressed in a dress decorated with 30,000 pearls.

But the Europeans first saw black pearls only in the 15th century. It happened thanks to Hernando Cortez. Centuries later, the origin of this species was discovered off the coast of North America, in the Gulf of California. Largely due to this, the city of La Paz flourished, to this day is considered an international center of black pearls.

But the English Queen Elizabeth I prized pearls from China first of all. She adorned herself with several threads at once, and in total, only on the ruler's neck one could observe up to a thousand precious beads.

The Spanish ruler Philip II owned a pearl called "Perigrina". She is known to connoisseurs in our time. The jewel passes from hand to hand. She was owned by:

• Napoleon III;
• Mary Tudor;
• Elizabeth Taylor.

It was through the efforts of the latter that "Perigrine" became the central element of the luxurious jewelry created by the Cartier jewelers.

Famous pearls

The specificity of the origin of pearls is such that the accretion of several beads into one is extremely rare. If fishermen mine such sea treasure, it creates a furor among connoisseurs. One of the legendary pearls, consisting of several at once, was named the "Great Southern Cross". It consists of nine elements.

Another famous name is Princess Palawana. It formed in the mollusk Tridacna. The weight of the sea treasure is 2.3 kg. The bead is more than 15 cm in diameter. This sea gift was put up for auction at the Bonhams auction in Los Angeles, organized by the Museum of Natural History.

But the most expensive pearl is the "Regent". It looks like an egg and was the Bonaparte family heirloom. The story tells that the pearl was purchased as a gift for Maria Louise, who would become the Emperor's wife in the future. The deal was made in 1811. Then the sea treasure came to Faberge and was kept in the St. Petersburg collection. At the 2005 auction, the magnificent jewel went for $ 2.5 million to its new owner.

The largest of the treasures found on our planet from the depths of the sea was named "The Pearl of Allah". Place of origin - Philippines. Weight - 6.35 kg, diameter 23.8 cm. Value - 32,000 carats. The pearl is included in the Guinness Book of Records.

Tahitian pearls

Of all the types of cultured pearls, the black Tahitian was most recently created. For its extraction, the clams Pinctada margaritifera are grown. Today, the black treasures produced by these organisms are the only known natural species. Any other beads are dyed.

The peculiarity of Tahitian pearls is their rapid growth. On the other hand, only a small percentage of marine life is able to create a pearl. Each jewel is unique, different from others. Largely for this reason, jewelry made from black Tahitian pearls is valued, because the process of working with it is painstaking and requires a lot of skills, effort and time. Jewelers select pearls to work with from hundreds and thousands of shellfish-crafted beads.

There is something attractive and fascinating in pearls, but in nature it is just the result of protecting the mollusc from a foreign body.
Unfortunately, a pearl lives for only 150-200 years, apparently because it is a mixture of organic and inorganic substances. This is a very moody gem that needs proper care. Pearls that are not worn "die." And even if it is constantly worn and properly cared for, pearls still usually do not last longer than 150-200 years. The oldest large pearl in existence is the pear-shaped "Peregrina", which was caught in the 16th century.

It was owned by Elizabeth Taylor. A huge pearl that once adorned the treasury of a European royal family and belongs to Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor, on a luxurious necklace of diamonds and rubies, was sold at Christie's in New York for a record $ 11,840,000.

Unlike precious stones and metals extracted from the bowels of the earth, pearls are formed in living organisms - oysters living in marine or freshwater environments. Precious stones need to be ground and polished in order to transform them from a fossil into a piece of jewelry. Pearls do not require careful processing, their beauty is created by nature and is already perfect.

Before the Japanese patented pearl cultivation at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, pearls were very expensive in the world market. Saltwater pearls are still valued more than freshwater pearls because they are more difficult to harvest / grow and have a much more pronounced brilliance.

Cultured pearls are divided into freshwater and saltwater, depending on the habitat of the shellfish. Today, sea pearls occupy a small share of the world pearl market: 95% of all production in the world is freshwater.

In fact, natural pearls are a foreign body, most often a parasite larva that has gotten inside a mollusc. To protect itself from a growing and developing stranger, the mollusk begins to secrete a protective substance - mother of pearl, which envelops the parasite and neutralizes it. If the oyster won this war for survival, the dead foreign body inside it continues to grow in new and new layers of pearl year after year, until, perhaps, a lucky pearl dweller finds it. If natural pearls are formed by chance, and it is impossible to predict in advance the shape and size of the pearl, then as a result of cultivation, pearls of the "planned" shape, size and color are obtained. The longer the pearl stays in the body of the oyster, the thicker the layer of nacre formed around it.
The mother-of-pearl shell consists of microscopic calcium carbonate crystals arranged in a row one after another so that a ray of light falling on one crystal is reflected by all the others, forming a rainbow. The record holder in size and weight was a huge pearl, weighing more than 6 kilograms, which was discovered in Japanese waters in the 1930s.

The most expensive and largest pearl in the world is the Pearl of Allah, the Head of Allah or the Pearl of Lao Tzu. Known as the pearl of the giant clam found in Tridacna gigas, it measures 24 cm in diameter and weighs 6.4 kg or 1280 carats. The most expensive pearl in the world was discovered by a pearl diver on the island of Palovan in the Philippines in 1934. It looks like a human brain. Gem specialist Michael Steenrod valued the pearl of Allah at $ 93 million in 2007
It is a mistake to consider cultured pearls to be artificial. The cultivation of pearls is a very complex and delicate process that takes a long time, up to 3-8 years. People practically cannot in any way influence the process and result of pearl growth, and they cannot know what the finished pearl will look like, and it is also impossible to guarantee that the mollusk will not reject it ahead of time. Not all grown pearls meet the established quality standards, this is a risky business, and the rejection rate is quite high. Cultured pearls are natural pearls and are grown naturally in pearl oysters, simply under human control and assistance. Cultured pearls have the same properties as natural ones.

Pearls are usually grown in baskets suspended by ropes - as a rule, ten to thirty baskets hang on one rope.

There are only four types of oysters that can produce sea pearls in the world. The Pinctada Maxima oyster is the absolute giant among them.

Mostly used in Australia, Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar.

Pinctada maxima oysters produce large pearls with predominantly white, silver and gold hues.

The unique process that takes place at the pearl farm includes three stages of production: ripening, seeding and harvesting of pearls.

The maturity and size of the oyster plays a very important role. Every year millions of oysters are selected for cultivation of cultured pearls, but only a small part of them are able to produce a truly high-quality product.

In the Gulf of California, a paradise for shellfish, among 100 oysters, 5 to 12 will have a pearl, but only 30% of them will be of decent quality.

If the size of the oyster does not fit, it is sent back to maturation in the basket. After three months, they are already suitable for seeding.
Seeding is the most important step. All instruments are submerged in saline cuvettes during the actual seed process on pearl farms. Do not forget that oysters are living organisms that will fight for survival, and some of them, weaker ones, will lose this fight. Therefore, the instruments must be clean, and the “operation” process itself is as fast as possible, with precise, perfected movements of an experienced specialist. Each worker processes up to 450 oysters daily - 15 seconds each. The essence of the seed is to implant a core into the oyster, around which mother-of-pearl will then form. During the "operation", wooden spacers are inserted into the molluscs and a special "implant" is prepared - usually a small ball.

Unlike China, where several dozen balls can be put into an oyster, in the Emirates only one is put.

Struggle for quality.

After that, they are again placed in baskets and lowered to the bottom of the ocean.

A sacrament takes place there, during which a pearl is born with an average size of 8 to 12 millimeters. Several times a month, oysters are taken out, cleaned of parasites and growths, fed, monitored the composition of the water, its purity and the degree of salinity. But despite all these worries, in the first month, part of the oysters dies, and part of them rejects the ball-implant embedded in them.

In a short time, in 4 - 8 months, the ball will be covered with a very thin layer, while a pearl growing for 18 - 24 months will have a strong and deep nacre. In modern pearl farms, in order not to injure oysters once again, they are x-rayed and determine if there is a pearl inside, and if so, what diameter it is.

The process usually takes just 18-24 months, and sometimes even four years. On average, only about 50% of selected oysters produce pearls, with only one fifth of these pearls being marketable. The rest of the pearls are usually too damaged to be used as jewelry.

The pearls are then carefully removed from the shells, washed and sorted by color and size. And after that they go to the jewelers, who make different jewelry out of them. Non-jewelry pearls are crushed into a fine powder, which is used for the production of, for example, cosmetics or traditional Chinese medicine.
High quality pearls are very rare and are valued VERY highly: according to statistics, less than 5 percent of all grown pearls have the correct shape and characteristic bright luster of mother-of-pearl. Such pearls are a true treasure, a find for any jewelry collection. The collected pearls must be sorted.

In nature, there are no two absolutely identical pearls, as well as two identical leaves on a tree, so sorting pearls is a very complicated and time-consuming process.

Pearls are grouped by size, shape, color, brightness of the nacreous layer, so each pearl can be rearranged many times.

After sorting, a hole is carefully drilled in each pearl, the slightest inaccuracy can damage the pearl. It is important that the hole is exactly in the center of the pearl, because the slightest asymmetry can ruin the appearance of a necklace and any other jewelry made of pearls in which a hole is not drilled accurately.

Since ancient times, pearl products have been famous for their medicinal properties. So in China, Korea and Japan, it is believed that sea pearls soothe the nervous system and normalize blood circulation.Since pearls are the only gem created by a living creature, the inhabitants of the East firmly believe that river pearls are able to strengthen vitality and somewhat prolong youth.

In Japan and Korea, it is believed that wearing pearls in a silver frame helps to make better decisions. Perhaps that is why pearl products in the Far East are traditionally worn not only by women, but also by men.

Filipinos and Thais also revere the pearl as a symbol of wisdom. By analogy with how an oyster envelops a small grain of sand layer by layer, turning it into a jewel, it is believed that a person accumulates knowledge throughout his life, eventually becoming a storehouse of wisdom and knowledge. Thais give pearls if they want to praise the mind and significance of a person. In Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, pearls are also believed to enhance memory and the ability to concentrate.

Add some peppercorns to your life ... literally! You don't need to run to the vegetable shop: let's find out how to get pepper fruits at home.

What kind of peppers can be grown in a pot on a windowsill?

Pepper cultivation on the windowsill can be carried out in order to obtain fruits and for decorative effect. Both tasks can be combined, since its fruits look very aesthetically pleasing in the interior due to its interesting shape and bright color.

The species division includes two subgroups:

1. Piper - he's peppercorns. The plant has racemose inflorescences similar to a bunch of grapes. The fruit is a drupe. Each cluster forms up to 50 berries with a pericarp;
2. Capsicum - vegetable crops with a fleshy juicy fruit and a variety of colors (green, red, yellow, purple, etc.).

What kind of pepper crops can I potted at home?

• Red and green chili peppers;
• Bell peppers;

Popular varieties of hot chili peppers:

• Chipotle;
• Piri-piri;
• Jalapeno.

Sweet peppers - the most delicious varieties:

• Pimento;
• Padron;
• Apricot Favorite;
• California miracle.

For those who prefer it hot, we recommend growing hot peppers to get raw materials for seasoning and as a separate product, right on the windowsill.

How to grow hot red peppers at home?

Growing hot peppers indoors is not only a cultivation but also a decorative process. For planting, a special variety of vegetables called "Little Miracle" is used. The "wonderful" pepper comes from Holland, but in our country it has been bred for a long time. Gardeners love this variety for its abundant fruiting and original decorative appearance. The fruits of the "Little Miracle" are rather diminutive, but this does not affect its taste in the least.

The tiny red pepper is hot and piquant and can be rolled up in jars, pickled, added to salads, soups and stir-fries. The bush itself looks unusually picturesque and attracts the eye. The plant is very compact in size, so it is grown even in a small kitchen in cramped conditions.

The grown bush is covered with small thick-walled fruits with a blunt cone shape. They are only 3 cm long and weigh five grams. More than 50 fruits can be harvested from just one bush. At different stages of ripening, the peppercorns change color, the colors of which have many options: green, beige, yellowish, orange, red and purple. Variety "Little Miracle" in greenhouse conditions lives up to 5 years. When growing at home, you can achieve almost the same results if you care for the plant with great care.

There is a way to accelerate the ripening period by the end of spring. For this, various manipulations with lighting and thermal conditions are carried out. A vegetable planted in autumn is deliberately placed in unfavorable conditions so that it does not waste energy on flowering and growing on cold days. As the duration of daylight hours increases, the pot is exposed to a bright window.: for this, the most adventurous gardeners "watch" the sunny weather, moving the pot as close to warmth and light as possible. This method can speed up the appearance of ovaries, which grow to pods by May.

Landing

Seeds of hot mini pepper are sown in February. A container with a volume of at least two liters is suitable as a pot, which is previously doused with boiling water for disinfection. A drainage layer is poured at the bottom of the pot, consisting of expanded clay or crushed stone and charcoal. The composition of the soil laid on top of the drainage should include rotted foliage, leafy soil and river sand. The proportions of the mixture are 5: 3: 2. A little trick: before planting, the soil is spilled with boiling water and allowed to cool for 15 to 20 minutes.

In the cooled soil layer, holes are sealed, their diameter is 1 - 1.5 centimeters. Seeds, previously soaked and swollen in water, are planted in a hole, two to three grains each. On top of the pot or container, a film, food grade or polyethylene, is stretched with a thin layer. If the pot has a rectangular shape, instead of a film, you can use glass or a plastic lid, but each gardener himself decides what is more convenient for him to work with. The finished container with seedlings is removed to a warm place. The light source must be present, but not burn out the soil.

After five or seven days, the first shoots begin to break through the soil. The time has come to rearrange the seedlings on the kitchen windowsill or balcony, where it will receive a sufficient amount of sunlight, warmth and fresh air. When leaves appear on the plants, you can pick and plant the strongest specimens in separate pots. Weak leaves are not needed, they should be removed so that they do not interfere with the development of the root system, taking resources from it.

In the near future, the planted bush will grow to 18 - 20 centimeters in height. During this period, he is pinched the top of his head. A pinched specimen will be branched and lush, which also contributes to better fruiting. Watering is carried out with warm (not hot) water as needed, about once every two days.

Care

Conditions for keeping miniature hot peppers are determined based on the basic rules of agricultural technology:

1. The "Little Miracle" variety requires a minimum of 18 hours of light every day. If there is not enough natural light, an ultraviolet lamp is additionally purchased for seedlings. A bush that lacks lighting loses its ovaries and stretches upward;
2. Window pepper does not tolerate constant drafts, temperature drops and temperature rises above 25 ° C;
3. The bush can be sprayed with warm, settled water (see above for the soil moistening regime) 1 - 2 times a week;
4. If ovaries have formed on the plant, the amount of watering must be increased;
5. Before the ovaries appear, the shoots are fed with mineral or organic fertilizers every two to three weeks;
6. Plants planted in February should bloom in June. Gardeners recommend shaking the bush occasionally during this period to stimulate pollination;
7. Small hot peppers growing in a pot are transplanted into a larger container each year. The transplant is carried out by the transshipment method: a bush with a root system is pulled out of an old pot, shaken off, placed in a new container and soil is added.

With proper care, the bush will quickly begin to bear fruit and will live for at least two to three seasons. The maximum life span in a window sill is about five years. To prevent the plant from developing fungal diseases and pests, spray it for preventive purposes with difokol or malathion. If traces of gray rot, aphids or spider mites appear on the leaves, the pepper, unfortunately, will have to be destroyed.

When will the harvest be?

Pepper of the "Little Miracle" variety is considered ready to eat after acquiring a yellowish color. Plants planted in February bear fruit in early July and continue to harvest until early November. A fully ripe peppercorn has a red or orange hue. The ripening of the vegetable, if necessary, is carried out at a temperature of 20 ° C. To give the pepper an even more pronounced burning taste, you can dry it by stringing the stalks on a harsh branch.

Bell peppers: how to grow?

Chili pepper is not suitable for everyone, and it's not just about the conditions and possibilities for growing. The Capsicum annuum variety is considered the hottest spice, not suitable for use in the presence of problems with the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, you can try to cultivate sweet or bell peppers on the windowsill.

What varieties of sweet peppers are grown indoors?

• Sturdy;
• Sweet-chocolite;
• Triton;
• Western film;
• Carat;
• Yova;
• Red bell.

Bell peppers are not only tasty, but also healthy. It contains one of the highest concentrations of vitamin C, so doctors consider it an excellent product with dietary properties, as well as a beneficial effect on immunity.

What is sweet pepper famous for?

• Free radicals contained in its fruit are indispensable for maintaining the body's cellular metabolism;
• Heat treatment has little effect on the beneficial properties of pepper;
• The use of pepper lowers the level of cholesterol in the blood, prevents ischemia;
• Sweet peppers contain lycopene, a carotenoid pigment and antioxidant that has antitumor and immunostimulating effects.

Planting and leaving

The agricultural technique for growing sweet peppers at home is not much different from the greenhouse technique or the method of cultivating hot peppers. The process of sowing seeds and picking are carried out in a similar way. When the seedlings have about six leaves, they must be carefully transplanted into pots filled with fertile soil. A pot with a volume of at least 1.5 liters is taken, its bottom is covered with gravel, expanded clay or fine gravel. For the growth of bell pepper, the moisture regime of the soil coma and air humidity are important.... It must not be allowed to dry out and overflow. The soil is irrigated with warm water, which has settled for several days. Tap water will kill the growth.

Top dressing is done every two weeks with a fertilizer based on microelements. Once every 30 days, pepper is watered with an extract of wood ash, prepared in a proportion of 20 grams per liter of water. To stimulate the ovary, you can "help" the plant: to do this, walk over the flower with a cotton swab, transferring pollen from one inflorescence to another.