Pepper seedlings at home
Many vegetable and flower plants that multiply by seeds, in our climate, cannot be sown immediately in open ground. Therefore, gardeners have to first grow seedlings of these crops at home, and when it gets stronger and the weather outside becomes stable without frost, plant it in the beds and flower beds.
So, for example, pepper seedlings are first grown at home. After all, pepper is a heat-loving plant, and therefore it will be difficult for it to germinate successfully in the open ground of our middle zone.
In order to harvest pepper as early as possible, you need to take care of sowing seeds already at the beginning of February. It is recommended to soak pepper seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) for 20-30 minutes before sowing, which will protect the sprouts from some diseases.
After soaking and washing the seeds with water, they are not planted immediately in the ground, but placed in a damp cloth for a couple of days. It is necessary to ensure that it does not dry out, moistening it with warm water if necessary.
It is also recommended to disinfect the soil before sowing. This can be done in several ways: calcine the potting mix for several minutes in a microwave oven, oven, or pour boiling water over it.
In each container, you can sow 3-4 seeds at once to a depth of about 1 cm. To speed up the germination of seeds, you need to place the pots in a warm place and cover them with plastic wrap or put them in a greenhouse.
Do not wait for germination quickly, pepper seeds germinate rather slowly. Make sure that the soil in the pots is moist, water it a little with warm water.
Pepper seedlings at home should be around until the first decade of May, after which they can already be planted in a greenhouse in the garden.
Seedlings of bell pepper, we have been growing on the windowsill since February. We never illuminate it with lamps, because it appears at the beginning of March, and daylight hours are quite enough. In open ground, we transplant the bell pepper in early May.
I don't think it's worth sowing 3-4 seeds together. This is too much, taking into account the fact that you will definitely not sow such a "bush" in a greenhouse. Then thin out? Pepper does not like when its root system is touched (sometimes growth stops for 1-2 weeks). Moreover, it is now easy to purchase high-quality seeds that give a fairly high germination rate.