Tasty red pepper is a leader among the kind in terms of vitamin C content, so many gardeners prefer to see it on their table. Consider what you need to do when the pepper has already reached a considerable size, but still does not blush, and because of what this happens.

Why does not blush pepper

The reasons why the pods never turned red can be different. Usually they are associated with varietal characteristics of the plant or with violations of the rules of cultivation.

Grade Features

If green peppers hang on your bush for a long time and do not change their color, then you should get a bag from under the seeds and specify what kind of variety it is and what its features are. Perhaps you are too rushing things and expecting red fruits from a mid-ripening variety too early, or your variety is generally green.Look carefully at the bag of seeds - it should indicate the timing of the onset of biological ripeness and color. It should be borne in mind that the biological ripeness, accompanied by staining of the fetus, occurs 20-30 days later than the technical one, in which the fetus no longer grows, but so far remains solid and still with a green color.

Important! Residents of the northern regions and the middle strip should grow only early varieties of pepper to collect them fully colored. Varieties with medium maturities can be grown in the warmer southern regions.

Violation of growing conditions

There are agrotechnical factors that can affect the ripening of the fruit, and therefore their color. The most common reasons why peppers ripen for a long time or do not ripen at all include the following:

1. Lack of heat. Heat-loving pepper slows down its development in cool weather, and at a temperature dropping to + 12 ° C, it stops growing. The vegetable will grow well in the range of daytime temperatures from + 25 ... + 30 ° C, and nighttime temperatures should be at least 15 ° C. Strong heat also negatively affects the vegetation of this plant - at temperatures above 40 ° C, the bush simply dries on the vine.
2. Unsuitable acidity of the earth. This culture grows well on neutral soils, it can grow on slightly acidic, but acidic soils are not at all suitable for it.
3. Wrong watering. Peppers should not be watered with cold water. For watering, it is necessary to defend and heat it, then water it under the root, saving the green mass from contact with water.
4. Humidity. The soil should not dry out, but it is also not necessary to fill the plants.
5. Lighting. Daylight hours for pepper should be at least 10-12 hours, and the optimum - 14 hours. Too long or short daylight hours are poorly reflected in its fruiting and ripening. Moreover, the lighting intensity should be sufficient: the light is considered to be 30-40 thousand lux.
6. Incorrect fertilizer application. Excess nitrogen inhibits the appearance and ripening of fruits. It reveals itself by a strong growth of the green mass of the plant to the detriment of fruiting. In turn, a lack of potassium greatly affects the quality and ripening of fruits. It is often found in peppers growing on sandy soils or peat.

How to accelerate the ripening of pepper

Gardeners have tricks that allow pepper to ripen more quickly. Consider what can be done so that its fruits ripen faster.

In the greenhouse

It is useful to use ultraviolet lamps in the greenhouse. Even with adequate lighting, peppers always respond well to the blue spectrum of light. In warm weather, if possible, open the windows so that the plants illuminate the rays of the sun. At a very high temperature inside the greenhouse, regular ventilation is needed.

In order to make the peppers ripen better, it is necessary to pinch the bush, since on a heavily overgrown plant the fruits will grow smaller and ripen slowly. To do this, remove on the bush all the shoots growing in its lower part, under the branching point. Barren stepsons, diseased shoots and leaves should be cut off. For better illumination, it is also recommended to remove excess foliage that obscures the sun. During active vegetation, too long shoots will need to be cut more than once. This will improve the illumination of the bushes and help the fruit turn red.

Important! Pepper bushes that look unhealthy should not be chopped or pruned, as such mechanical treatment will weaken them even more.

If the plants show signs of an excess of nitrogen, then the only way to feed it is phosphorus and potassium. Foliar treatment with these fertilizers will contribute to the rapid staining of the fruit. You can spray with stimulants for fruiting (for example, the drug "Ovary"). More than it is recommended to process - with ash solution.

If the air temperature drops below 15 ° C, it is recommended to heat the greenhouse. To do this, gardeners place plastic bottles of hot water in a shelter or use heaters. To moisten pepper bushes in a greenhouse, it is best to use drip irrigation.

On the open ground

So that vegetables can ripen faster in open beds, seedlings must be protected from hypothermia. To do this, you need to build temporary shelters for them, pour hot water or place hot water bottles under the shelter. In capricious weather, shelter should be done in advance, since the night temperature during the planting and growth of seedlings can suddenly and quite strongly decrease. With very active sun and heat, it is recommended to mulch the soil and often water the plantings. Shaping and pinching of the bush should also be carried out, fertilizing the plant, as in the greenhouse. Shortly before the onset of cool weather, it makes sense to remove all the small ovaries and flowers to allow those fruits to form and stain.

To irrigate the beds, it is best to take the heated water and use a watering can or drip irrigation than to water from the well. Watering with cold water can not only slow down the ripening of fruits, but also give an impetus to various diseases.

Did you know? In some varieties of decorative chilli, when switching from technical to biological ripeness, the pods have a whole color gamut. For example, the Aladdin variety changes color from green and cream to purple and red during ripening.

Pepper Care Features

In addition to these, there are such features of pepper care:

1. This is a rather heat-loving culture, therefore, to plant it in the soil, you need to choose a well-lit area, and in the greenhouse - use additional lighting.
2. It is better to plant peppers in the ground in a seedling way.
3. Seeds should be decontaminated - this will reduce the risk of various diseases. The shelf life of the seeds is up to 4 years.
4. Crop rotation must be observed. Planting a culture on a site where solanaceous predecessors were possible only after 3-4 years.
5. You can plant seedlings on the garden bed when it grows to 20–22 cm, and the soil warms up to a temperature above + 15 ° C.
6. Water the plants at least 2 times in 7 days. During flowering and fruiting, watering can be increased.
7. Hilling the bushes will contribute to the strengthening and growth of the root system.
8. Perform at least 3-4 dressings - after planting in the ground, during flowering, the formation of the ovary, the appearance of the fruit. During the formation of buds and flowering, spray with a solution of boric acid and wood ash.
9. At the first sign of disease or pest, take appropriate measures. To prevent their occurrence. To repel insect pests, you can plant marigolds, marigolds, garlic between rows of plantings. And to prevent fungal diseases - carry out preventive spraying.
10. It is necessary to remove extra shoots and form a bush in 1-2 stems.
11. In case of scarce soils, before planting, apply organic fertilizers (manure, bird droppings, ash).
12. Make root dressings under the root so that the solution does not fall on the stems and leaves, so as not to damage them.

Useful tips gardeners

Gardeners give the following helpful tips:

1. Picking the fruits of sweet varieties is necessary until they are fully ripened. After collecting the first fruits, the pepper begins to bear fruit again and gives a larger crop.
2. Pinching the top of the bush and removing the first 4 buds is necessary due to the fact that the first fruits always ripen for a long time and pull on themselves a lot of nutrients.
3. When the temperature drops to + 15 ... 17 ° C at night, it is necessary to shelter the bushes, otherwise the fruits may darken.
4. So that ripped unripe instances of bell pepper quickly become red and fully ripened, they are recommended to be placed in a container for storage along with apples, tomatoes or ripened peppers of another variety. Such manipulations are associated with the fact that, when ripe, vegetables produce ethylene, which affects other vegetable specimens, which leads to faster ripening. Such a mechanism can be used to quickly ripen peppers in open ground. To do this, you can place a ripe apple under the covering material during cooling.
5. Sharp varieties must be left on the bush longer so that they acquire their red color and pungency. All varieties of hot pepper are not able to ripen in the sun after they are cut off from the bush, in contrast to sweet varieties.
6. When frosts occur, if the chili is only 50% red, the bush needs to be dug up, slightly dried and hung upside down so that the peppers sing on the branches. In this form, the fruits ripen faster and turn red, pepper becomes more burning.
7. Peppers that are not ripe in large quantities are recommended for preservation and pickling.
8. In order not to make a mistake in the cultivar, it is better to purchase seeds of zoned varieties.

Did you know? Most of all, ascorbic acid is located near the stalk of pepper. Therefore, when cleaning these fruits, do not cut off their upper part too much.

So, if the peppers on your beds do not ripen and do not blush, then you should familiarize yourself with their varietal characteristics and pay attention to the conditions for their growth.