Characteristics of the Hercules pepper variety
Many gardeners want to grow delicious, juicy sweet bell peppers on their plot. To do this, choose the Hercules pepper variety. Pepper Hercules is distinguished by large and fleshy fruits, powerful bushes, good disease resistance. This variety gives a bountiful harvest and is easy to care for.
Characteristics of the Hercules pepper variety
Variety characteristic
Sweet pepper Hercules belongs to mid-season varieties.
According to the description, the Hercules pepper is a compact, not very sprawling plant about 50-80 cm high. The leaves are dark green in color and wrinkled in structure. The fruits of the Hercules pepper are rather large, ribbed. Characteristics of the Hercules sweet pepper variety are positive:
- ease of planting and care;
- resistance to adverse weather;
- disease resistance, especially to fusarium;
- high productivity;
- long fruiting period;
- excellent taste.
The first crop appears after 120 days. With proper care, you can get up to 3.5 kg of harvest from 1 sq. m per season.
Description of fruits
According to the description, the fruits of the Hercules variety:
- large;
- juicy;
- sweet;
- fleshy (flesh thickness is about 8 mm);
- cuboid (approximately 11 x 12 cm);
- without bitterness even in an immature state;
- stored for a long time;
- transportable;
- universal.
Fully ripe vegetables are deep red. They have a dense, smooth skin. The pulp has a pronounced aroma and excellent taste.
Growing seedlings
Large fruit
A few tips for growing Hercules:
- Sow seeds for seedlings in the last decade of winter or the first decade of spring. Approximately 80–85 days prior to disembarkation.
- Take loose soil, enriched with minerals, without parasites and seeds of other plants.
- Spread the seeds on the ground and sprinkle a little.
- Pour over with warm, settled water and cover with transparent material.
- Place the seedlings in a sunny, draft-free area.
- For best seed germination, try to maintain a temperature of 26-28˚C.
- Ventilate greenhouses and moisten the soil until the first shoots appear. Then remove the cover.
- After 2-3 leaves are formed, dive the seedlings into separate containers. If you wish, you can immediately plant the seeds in separate cups or cassettes.
- Before planting seedlings in open ground, periodically feed the bushes with mineral fertilizers.
Before planting seedlings on the site, start hardening them. Move containers to fresh air for 10-14 days. Start with a few hours and gradually work up to a full day. 2 days before disembarkation, leave it outside at night, covering it with planting material.
Planting seedlings in open ground
Features of the variety allow you to grow Hercules pepper in open beds, in greenhouses and tunnel greenhouses. Since the plant is small, it is not necessary to build a spacious film cover. Per sq. m place 5-6 bushes, which increases the efficiency of the use of space.
A plot for growing a sweet vegetable is prepared in advance, preferably in the fall. They choose a place that is not windy, well lit.The soil should be:
- neutral acidity;
- loose;
- rich in nutrients.
Seedlings are planted in open ground in late May and early June, when the ground is already fully warmed up. The distance between the seedlings is 40 x 60 cm.
Planting seedlings is carried out, paying attention to the sequence:
- make holes;
- fill in water;
- apply fertilizer;
- place the seedling together with the earthen clod in the hole;
- cover with earth and tamp;
- do not water immediately.
Depending on the region, fragile sprouts are initially sheltered from frost. Plastic bottles are used as a covering material. Cut off the bottom and put them on the bushes. If the air does not warm up even during the day, the bottles are not removed. It is enough to unscrew the covers in the morning and return them to their original place in the evening.
Care rules
- Timely and abundant watering. It is produced at least 3 times a week in the evening. Desirable with warm, settled water.
- Loosening the soil. The soil is loosened regularly to facilitate air access to the roots. To prevent crust formation, mulching is performed.
- Fertilization. This is done during flowering and fruit setting. There should be 5 or 6 such dressings per season.
- Installation of props. This is necessary because Hercules is a sprawling plant with large, heavy fruits.
- Establishing humidity. Exposure to the required soil moisture and soil treatment with calcium nitrate helps to avoid dry top rot.
Proper care is the key to success, because high yield depends not only on the variety.
Beneficial features
The sweet variety Hercules is the leader among vegetables in terms of the content of vitamins and microelements. Thanks to them, it has a positive effect on human health:
- fruits contain the alkaloid capsacin, which reduces blood pressure, improves gastrointestinal secretion, increases appetite, and thins the blood;
- due to the content of vitamins A and C, the condition of the skin, eyesight, nails, hair improves, immunity increases;
- due to the content of B vitamins, the fruits are recommended for use in case of stress, neurosis and insomnia;
- vitamins P and C strengthen and increase the elasticity of blood vessels;
- the vegetable is rich in calcium, iodine, iron, magnesium and zinc.
If you follow simple guidelines for growing, the Hercules variety will delight you with an abundant tasty harvest, because there is nothing more pleasant than bright, juicy vegetables grown by your own hands.