Characteristics of cayenne pepper
Cayenne pepper is one of the hottest spices in the world. What are its benefits and features. It is interesting that such a pepper can be grown both in the garden and at home, which will not be difficult. And, following simple rules, you can grow at least one plant on a windowsill or a whole plantation on a personal plot.
Cayenne pepper
Characteristic
This pepper is of the Capsicum annuum species. Cayenne peppers, like chili, jalapenos, and many other hot peppers, belong to the nightshade genus. Cayenne pepper has fruits 10-20 cm long, thin in diameter up to 2 cm with a curved thin red tip. Pepper does not have a distinct taste, but it is appreciated for its pungency, which is an order of magnitude higher than that of chili and jalapenos and has a scale of 20,000-30,000 points. Jalopeno peppers are less pungent than cayenne and have a Scoville score of 2,500-8,000. The pungency may vary depending on growing conditions and cultivar. There are many different varieties:
- Gold;
- Caroline;
- Purple;
- Thomas Jefferson;
- Iberian;
- Indonesia;
- Turkish.
And they all differ not only in the degree of pungency, but also in the color, size and shape of the fruit. The color can be from yellow to deep purple. And the shape is from classic to heart-shaped. The size of the varieties also differs from miniature (1.5-2 cm long) to standard ones. The bush of cayenne pepper varieties has different heights from 20 cm to 2 m. Fruits are harvested at different stages of ripening, collecting green fruits, so-called peperoni are obtained, which are pickled and used fresh to add to various dishes and sauces. More ripe fruits are used by drying and grinding into powder.
The homeland of this hot pepper is the island of Java and India. But its popularity and ease of cultivation has led to the fact that it can be found in fields around the world. This culture grows in large numbers in Brazil, India, Mexico, USA, Africa. In different countries it is called differently, in Mexico, ancho, in Africa they drank, but most often cayenne pepper or just chili pepper. They began to cultivate it in more northern and cooler countries.
Beneficial features
The primary purpose of cayenne pepper is cooking, where it is used fresh, so it is easier to preserve all its beneficial properties. Cayenne red ground pepper is very popular and is used in many Asian and Mexican dishes. It is rich in various vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, magnesium, iron, vitamins E, A, C, B6. And also in the composition of pepper there is riboflavin, essential oils. He is able to enrich the taste of meat and vegetable dishes, giving them a special piquancy, and adding benefits. It is also used in confectionery, in small quantities it enhances the taste of chocolate and coffee.
Benefits of Cayenne Pepper:
- stimulates blood circulation;
- improves the functioning of the heart and vascular system;
- has antimicrobial, disinfecting properties;
- stimulates the renewal and functioning of the liver;
- has preventive properties against atherosclerosis;
- normalizes blood pressure;
- stimulates metabolic processes;
- improves digestion.
The benefits of cayenne pepper are undeniable, but they should be used with extreme caution. A large amount of such an active spice can be harmful instead of good. But micro doses will bring maximum benefit.
Dangerous properties
Hot pepper
Cayenne pepper also has contraindications and not everyone should use it. Large amounts of cayenne pepper can burn the mucous membranes and disrupt the digestive tract. It is necessary to use it with great care, and it is better to completely exclude it in case of exacerbations of various diseases, especially ulcers, inflammatory processes of the gastrointestinal tract, urinary system.
And also cause excessive overexcitation in people with problems of the nervous system. In people prone to epilepsy, asthma provokes seizures. The use of this spice should be as careful as possible because cayenne pepper can be harmful if consumed excessively.
Growing
Cayenne red pepper is easy to care for and can be grown outdoors, in greenhouses and even at home on a windowsill or balcony. Subject to the rules of cultivation and care, you can grow this heat-loving vegetable, which will bring a good harvest of hot peppers.
Growing seedlings
For early harvest in mid-latitudes, this crop is grown in seedlings. The first fruits ripen in 75-80 days from the moment of germination. Having sown seeds at the end of February, at the end of May and beginning of June, it will already be possible to harvest the first fruits. Cayenne pepper bears fruit for a long time, right up to late autumn. In order for the plants to grow beautiful and give a high-quality harvest, you need to follow the elementary rules for growing seedlings and caring for adult bushes.
Soil preparation
Cayenne pepper is not picky about the soil. The main thing is that it is loose, well-drained, moderately nutritious. For sowing seeds, a ready-made store-bought soil mixture or one prepared with your own hands is suitable. If you choose a ready-made, then the best option would be:
- universal;
- for seedlings;
- for tomatoes.
They are suitable both in structure and in nutritional level.
To prepare the soil mixture yourself, you will need for 10 kg of the finished mixture:
- 5 kg of sod land;
- 3 kg of peat;
- 2 kg of sand;
- 5 liters of vermiculite or agroperlite.
All components are thoroughly mixed.
Both the store-bought and the prepared soil mixture must be disinfected in order to exclude the infection of the seedlings with diseases, the causative agents of which may be in the soil. The soil is spilled with a solution of hydrogen peroxide (1 tbsp. L per 1 l of water). You can also spill the prepared mixture with boiling water.
Seed preparation
The seeds can be purchased at a gardening store or obtained from a ripe fruit you like. It must be remembered that you need to remove the seeds from the pepper with gloves, then rinse them with clean water and dry.
Before sowing, the seeds must be disinfected with potassium permanganate (1 g per 1 liter of water), soaked in a solution and kept for 30-35 minutes. After disinfection, rinse with running water and place between two layers of moistened gauze or cotton wool. Put in a warm place for 2-3 days, direct sunlight should not fall on the germinated seeds. They should not dry out; as they dry, they are sprayed with water. When the seeds swell, they are evenly sown on the soil surface and covered with a 1-1.5 cm ball of earth. The containers are covered with foil or glass. Seedlings appear in 10-15 days.
Seedling care
When the seedlings have sprung up and opened the cotyledonous leaves, they open it little by little, first for a short time, and after a couple of days the film or glass is removed completely. In order for the seedlings to grow well, it needs a sufficient amount of light, warmth and moderate watering. Seedlings should be placed on the most lighted windowsill, the optimum temperature is 22-26 ° C.Watering is carried out twice a week with settled warm water. Feeding of young plants is carried out no earlier than 14 days after germination. Bushes at this stage can be fed with specialized soluble mineral or organic fertilizers for nightshades. Or use one of the popular recipes:
- The bushes are treated with a solution of ammonia, 1 tbsp is added to 1 liter of water. l ammonia. The prepared solution is sprayed on the sheet. This feeding will enrich the plants with nitrogen, which is needed at this stage of development.
- Top dressing with infusion on eggshells. The shell of 3-4 eggs is poured into 3 liters of water and insisted for 4 days. Seedlings are watered with this top dressing.
- An ash solution can be prepared. For this, 1 tbsp. 1 liter of wood ash is poured into 1 liter of warm water, mixed and watered young plants.
Cayenne peppers grow well on their own, but you can pin the top when it reaches a height of 15-20 cm so that it does not stretch out, but immediately forms a branchy bush.
Landing in the ground
When the seedlings grow up (30-50 days should pass), they are ready for planting in a permanent place in the garden or greenhouse. The planting bed is prepared as for other nightshades (tomatoes, eggplants). They dig up the earth, apply fertilizers, make planting holes. The distance between the holes should be 40-50 cm.
In each hole, you can put a handful of onion peels and 1 tbsp. l. wood ash. Such feeding will provide nutrients and protect the root system from pests. Before planting seedlings, the holes are spilled with water. Seedlings, carefully without damaging the earthen lump, are planted in the ground. Since cayenne pepper is a thermophilic plant in an open bed, it requires shelter before the onset of stable heat.
Care
Pepper is not picky
This hot pepper does not require much maintenance, and it lies in the usual rules for growing nightshade crops. Moderate watering, loosening the soil and top dressing will allow you to grow healthy bushes of this exotic.
Watering and loosening
Regular watering is essential when growing any vegetable crop. Watering cayenne pepper should be moderate, avoiding overflow and stagnation of water or complete drying out of the soil. Water the bushes twice a week with warm and settled water. To improve the quality of water, you can add 1 tbsp. l. peroxide per 10 liters of water. Watering with peroxide is carried out once a week.
Before watering, the ground near the bushes must be loosened, this must be done carefully so as not to damage the roots. Loosening will provide good moisture penetration into the soil, prevent stagnation and improve gas exchange, saturate the soil with oxygen.
Top dressing
Cayenne pepper is fed 3-4 times per season. This will be enough to provide the plant with all the necessary substances for full growth and development.
- 14-20 days after planting in the ground, you can feed a nitrogen-containing fertilizer. For this purpose, carbamide or manure is suitable.
- At the beginning of flowering, fertilizing is carried out with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. For these purposes, superphosphate, potassium humate, bone meal are suitable.
- During the fruiting period, two dressings are carried out with a frequency of 14 days. Fertilizers should be rich in phosphorus and potassium. It is best to use natural supplements such as bone meal or wood ash.
Winter period
Cayenne pepper, according to the description, is a perennial culture. Therefore, if there is a place for overwintering with a temperature of 12-16 ° C or a heated greenhouse, they can be grown for 5 years. After the last harvest in October, early November, the plants are cut off, leaving stems 10-15 cm long, dug up and planted in pots. And stored in a suitable place. During the dormant period, plants are not demanding on lighting, but it is necessary that the temperature does not drop below 12 ° C. Also, during wintering, you need to ensure that the soil does not dry out completely, lightly water the bushes 3-4 times a month. In the spring, when the temperature has stabilized, the bushes are planted in a garden bed or greenhouse.
Features of growing at home
You can also grow a cayenne pepper bush at home without much hassle. At the stage of sowing and growing seedlings, agricultural technology does not differ from growing seedlings for open beds or a greenhouse. When the seedlings have grown and have 3-4 pairs of true leaves, they are transplanted into separate ceramic pots. The volume of pots must be at least 3 liters. Drainage (expanded clay, ceramic shards) is laid out at the bottom, filled with soil and carefully transplanted seedlings. The place for this plant should be as light as possible, a southern or western window is ideal, without drafts and with a temperature of at least 22 ° C. Caring for cayenne pepper at home is as follows:
- watering two to three times a week;
- feeding every 14-21 days;
- light shallow loosening of the soil before watering;
- plucking the tops of the stems to form a beautiful shape.
Water the bushes with settled water at room temperature. To simplify maintenance, you can use ready-made organic tomato feed and apply it in accordance with the instructions.
During the dormant period, the plants must be transferred to a cooler room. Reduce watering to 1 time per week. And you also need to stop feeding.
For home cultivation, you should choose a variety with a low-growing bush, up to 50 cm high and with a decorative shape of fruits of an unusual color, this will allow you to get not only piquant peppers for cooking, but also decoration on the windowsill.
Conclusion
Undemanding to care, spicy Cayenne pepper with a lot of useful properties can be easily grown even by an inexperienced gardener. Proper care will allow you to grow a vegetable that will make any dish spicy. A bush that looks very attractive will decorate a garden or window sill.