This sweet variety is considered to be high yielding and easy to grow. It is appreciated by gardeners for the increased level of plasticity, which makes it possible to easily adapt to any natural whims. Besides, the dense skin of the Swallow variety allows you to store the crop for a long time... Amicable ripening provides a one-time harvest, which is enough for your planned meals and conservation. In this review, you can get acquainted with the description and characteristics of this variety of pepper.
Description and characteristics of sweet pepper Swallow
The plant is distinguished by semi-spreading standard forms, reaches a height of sixty centimeters, requires tying. The variety is mid-season; the period before harvesting is about four months. The yield is high, reaching five kilograms per square meter of land.
The main characteristics are:
- thick wallsreaching five to seven millimeters;
- conical, several oval shape;
- Red color fully ripe pepper;
- average weight - from seventy to one hundred grams;
- length reaches ten centimeters.
The variety owes its unusual name to Soviet selection experts, who presumably bred it in 1976. Pepper grows easily both in unprotected soil and in greenhouse conditions, it resists bacterial diseases very well.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The swallow, like other varieties, contains a huge amount of nutrients that have a positive effect on the human body. Pepper can strengthen the immune system, reducing vulnerability to respiratory infections.
The beneficial substances that give the pepper value and consistency on the dinner table contain a group of vitamins, antioxidants, an alkaloid, and capsaicin. In addition to the above, pepper contains a large amount of ascorbic acid and carotene, excellently helping the pancreas and normalizing blood pressure. Vegetable helps prevent blood clots, improves appetite and complexion... It is believed that one pepper contains as much vitamin C as an adult needs this component per day.
Although the vegetable has a sweetish taste, diabetics can safely eat it. There is no sucrose in Swallow, but there is another carbohydrate - fructose. The presence of vitamin A helps to improve the condition of hair and skin. Some vitamins even help prevent early aging and cancer.
However, there are also negative aspects.
People suffering from ischemic disease, heart rhythm disturbances, high acidity, hemorrhoids, kidney and liver diseases should be careful when eating pepper. The reaction can be mixed.
Planting seeds
The process of growing and caring for peppers is not particularly difficult. The seeds of the variety are distinguished by good germination., so that for planting a vegetable, you can collect the seed yourself or purchase it in a specialized store. Before planting, it is necessary to check the seeds, select the best ones, disinfect them, soak them in a herbal preparation, germinate in a warm place, spreading them out on moistened gauze. As a rule, the seed germination process begins at the end of February.
The soil for planting crops must be cleared of weedswell loosened. After marking, holes are dug, which are half filled with nutrient soil.
Growing conditions for seedlings
For this, various containers are suitable, convenient in size. It is recommended to steam them beforehand to reduce the likelihood of diseases.... The containers are covered with soil, on which the seeds are laid out at intervals of one and a half to two centimeters. The planting material is sprinkled with a centimeter layer of soil, the containers are placed in a warm place. A window sill with adequate lighting is best.
The earth should not dry out. Watering should be done carefully so as not to wash the seeds out of the ground. You can use a hand spray.
Seeds begin to germinate on the fourth day. At this point, you can slightly lower the temperature regime so that the sprouts do not stretch too much.
As they grow, the peppers should be moved into separate pots so that the plants cannot drown out each other. The first feeding procedure is performed when three to four leaves are formed. You can use ready-made formulations or stir in five liters of water 15 g of potassium salt, 25 g of urea, 60 g of superphosphate.
Transplant to open ground
This can be done in June. The plant is placed in the hole so that the root part remains above the surface of the garden... The root system is straightened, the hole is covered with soil. It is necessary to water the seedlings and set pegs for support.
An important feature is the observance of crop rotation. It is best if the predecessors of peppers are carrots, onions, pumpkin or cucumbers. You should not plant a culture in places where tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants grew before.
The beds with sweet and bitter peppers should be spaced a considerable distance away so that the former does not get an unpleasant bitterness during pollination.
Diseases and pests
Irrigation irregularities, high temperatures, poor ventilation can cause fungal diseases - late blight, black leg, fusarium, gray rot. In the first case, you can use the drugs Zaslon or Barrier.
In the case of blackening of the leg the affected plant must be removed, the soil in the bed is dried, sprinkled with wood ash, the plants are treated with fungicide.
With fusarium - yellowing of the foliage - the affected bush is removed, for the rest, enhanced care is organized, associated with preventing the land from drying out and the growth of weeds. From gray rot, which can affect peppers at any stage of growth, constant treatment of the beds with fungicidal solutions will help.
Peppers can also suffer from harmful parasites - thrips, aphids, spider mites, slugs and whiteflies. In such cases, it is recommended to spray the plants with a solution of laundry soap, garlic or onion infusions, celandine or bitter wormwood. Mustard powder will help from slugs, which simply crumbles in the beds. For the same purpose, tobacco dust and hot pepper are used.
Everything else agrotechnical measures for growing the Swallow variety are quite traditional... In order for the culture to develop successfully and bear fruit well, it should organize constant watering, loosening the soil, and removing weeds.