Characteristics of Cayenne Pepper

Cayenne pepper is one of the sharpest spices in the world. What are its benefits and features. It is interesting that such pepper can be grown both in the garden and at home, which is not difficult. And, following simple rules, you can grow at least one plant on the windowsill or a whole plantation on the infield.

Cayenne pepper

Characteristics

This pepper belongs to the species Capsicum annuum. Cayenne pepper, like chili, jalapenos and many other hot peppers, belongs to the genus Solanaceae. Cayenne pepper has fruits 10-20 cm long, thin in diameter up to 2 cm with curved thin red tip. The pepper does not have a distinct taste, but they appreciate it for its sharpness, which is an order of magnitude higher than that of chili and jalapenos and on a scale of 20,000-30000 points. Jalopeno peppers are less spicy than Cayenne and have 2500-8000 points on the Scoville scale. The severity may vary depending on growing conditions and variety.There are many different varieties:

• Golden;
• Carolina;
• Purple;
• Thomas Jefferson;
• Iberian;
• Indonesia;
• Turkish.

And they all differ not only in the degree of sharpness, but also in the color, size and shape of the fruit . Color can be from yellow to dark purple. And the form is from classical to heart-shaped. The size also varies in varieties from miniature (1.5-2 cm long) to standard. The bush of cayenne pepper varieties has different heights from 20 cm to 2 m. The fruits are picked at different stages of ripening, picking green fruits get the so-called pepperoni, which are pickled and used fresh for adding to different dishes and sauces. More ripened fruits are used by drying and grinding into powder.

The homeland of this hot pepper is Java and India. But its popularity and ease of cultivation has led to the fact that it can be found in the fields of different parts of the world. This culture grows in large numbers in Brazil, India, Mexico, the USA, and Africa. It is called differently in different countries, in Mexico ancho, in Africa they drank, but most often cayenne pepper or just chili. They began to cultivate it in more northern and cooler countries.

Useful properties

The primary purpose of cayenne pepper is cooking, where it is used fresh, it’s easier to keep everything its useful properties.Cayenne red ground pepper is very popular, it is used in many dishes of Asian and Mexican cuisine. It is rich in various vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, magnesium, iron, vitamins E, A, C, B6. Also, pepper contains 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 the confectionery, in small amounts it enhances the taste of chocolate and coffee.

Useful properties of cayenne pepper:

• stimulates blood circulation;
• improves the functioning of the heart and vascular systems;
• has an antimicrobial, disinfecting property;
• 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 it is worth using with oboj caution. A large amount of such an active spice can do harm instead of good. But microdoses will bring maximum benefits.

Hazardous properties

Searing pepper

Cayenne pepper has contraindications and not everyone should use it. A large amount of cayenne pepper can cause burns to the mucosa and disruption of the digestive tract.It is necessary to use it with great caution, and it is better to completely eliminate it during exacerbations of various diseases, especially ulcers, inflammatory processes of the gastrointestinal tract, urinary system.

And also cause excessive excitement in people with nervous system problems. 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 overused.

Cultivation

Cayenne red pepper is easy to care for and can be grown outdoors soil, 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 harvesting in mid-latitudes, this crop is grown seedlings way. The first fruits ripen in 75-80 days from the moment of emergence of seedlings. Having sown the seeds at the end of February, at the end of May and beginning of June, it will already be possible to collect the first fruits. Fruits cayenne pepper for a long time, right up to late autumn. In order for the plants to grow beautiful and give a quality crop, you need to follow the elementary rules for growing seedlings and caring for adult bushes.

Preparing the soil

Cayenne pepper is not picky about the soil. The main thing is that it be loose, well-drained, moderately nutritious.For sowing seeds, ready-made store-mixed soil or prepared with your own hands is suitable. If you choose ready-made, 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 10 kg of the finished mixture:

• 5 kg of turf land;
• 3 kg of peat;
• 2 kg of sand;
• 5 l of vermiculite or agroperlite.

All components are thoroughly mixed.

Both store and prepared soil must be disinfected to prevent contamination of seedlings with diseases, pathogens some may be in the soil. The soil is shed with a solution of hydrogen peroxide (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water). You can also shed the prepared mixture with boiling water.

Preparing the seeds

Seeds can be purchased at a garden store or obtained from a ripe fruit you like. You need to remember that you need to remove the seeds from the pepper with gloves, rinse them with clean water and dry them.

Before sowing, the seeds must be sanitized with potassium permanganate (1 g per 1 liter of water), soaked in a solution and allowed to stand for 30-35 minutes. After disinfection, rinse with running water and put between two layers of moistened gauze or cotton wool. Put in a warm place for 2-3 days, direct sunlight should not fall on germinated seeds. They should not dry out, they are sprayed with water as they dry.When the seeds swell they are evenly sown on the surface of the soil and cover 1-1.5 cm with a ball of earth. The containers are covered with film or glass. Shoots appear in 10-15 days.

Seedling Care

When the seedlings have ascended and opened the cotyledon leaves, they open it a little, first for a short time, and after a couple of days film or glass is removed completely. In order for the seedlings to grow well, it needs a sufficient amount of light, heat and moderate watering. Seedlings should be placed on the most lighted window sill, the optimum temperature is 22-26 ° C. Watering is carried out twice a week with standing warm water. Top dressing 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 nightshade. Or use one of the popular recipes:

1. They treat the bushes with a solution of ammonia, add 1 tbsp to 1 liter of water. l ammonia. Ready solution is sprayed on a sheet. This top dressing will enrich the plants with nitrogen, which is needed at this stage of development.
2. Top dressing with egg shell infusion. Shell from 3-4 eggs, pour 3 liters of water and insist 4 days. Sprinkle seedlings with such top dressing.
3. You can prepare an ash solution. For this, 1 tbsp. 1 liter of wood ash is poured 1 liter of warm water, young plants are mixed and watered.

Cayenne pepper on its own well shrubs well, but when you reach a height of 15-20 cm, you can pinch the top so that it does not stretch, but immediately forms a branchy bush.

Planting in the ground

When the seedlings grow up (it should take 30-50 days), it is ready for planting in a permanent place in the garden or in the greenhouse. A bed for planting is prepared, as for other nightshade (tomatoes, eggplant). They dig the earth, make fertilizers, make landing holes. The distance between the holes should be 40-50 cm.

A handful of onion husks and 1 tbsp. Can be put in each hole. l wood ash. Such top dressing will provide nutrients and protect the root system from pests. Before planting seedlings, the wells are shed with water. Seedlings, neatly without damaging the earthen lump, are planted in the ground. Since cayenne pepper, a heat-loving plant on an open garden bed requires shelter before stable heat.

Care

This hot pepper does not require special care, and it consists 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 exot.

Watering and loosening

Regular watering is necessary when growing any vegetable crop.Cayenne pepper should be watered moderately, avoiding overflow and stagnation of water or complete drying of the soil. Bushes are watered twice a week with warm and settled water. To improve the quality of water, 1 tbsp can be added to it. l peroxide in 10 liters of water. Watering with peroxide is carried out once a week.

Before watering, you need to loosen the ground near the bushes, this must be done carefully so as not to damage the roots. Loosening will ensure good penetration of moisture into the soil, prevent stagnation and improve gas exchange, saturate the soil with oxygen.

Top dressing

Cayenne pepper is fed 3-4 times a season. This will be enough to provide the plant with all the necessary substances for full growth and development.

1. 14-20 days after planting in the soil, you can feed nitrogen-containing fertilizer. Urea or manure is suitable for this purpose.
2. At the beginning of flowering, fertilizing with potassium phosphate fertilizers is carried out. For these purposes superphosphate, humate-potassium, bone meal are suitable.
3. During the fruiting period, two top dressings are carried out with a periodicity of 14 days. Fertilizers must be rich in phosphorus and potassium. It is better to use natural dressings, such as bone meal or wood ash.

Winter period

Cayenne pepper as described for a long-term culture. Therefore, if there is a place for wintering with a temperature of 12-16 ° C or a heated greenhouse, they can be grown for 5 years.After harvesting the last crop in October and early November, the plants are pruned, leaving stems 10-15 cm long, dug up and planted in pots. And stored in a suitable place. During dormancy, plants are not demanding on lighting, but it is necessary that the temperature does not fall below 12 ° C. Also during wintering, you need to ensure that the soil does not completely dry out, slightly water the bushes 3-4 times a month. In the spring, when the temperature has stabilized, they plant bushes on a bed or a greenhouse.

Features of growing at home

Without much trouble, you can grow a bush of Cayenne pepper and home. At the stage of sowing and growing seedlings, agricultural technology does not differ from growing seedlings for open beds or greenhouses. When the seedlings have grown and have 3-4 pairs of real leaves, it is transplanted into separate ceramic pots. The volume of pots should be at least 3 liters. Drainage (expanded clay, ceramic shards) is laid at the bottom, filled with soil and seedlings are carefully transplanted. The place for this plant should be as bright as possible, a southern or western window is ideal, without drafts and with a temperature not lower than 22 ° C. Care for Cayenne pepper at home is as follows:

• watering two three times a week;
• top dressing every 14-21 days;
• light shallow loosening of the soil before watering;
• pinching 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 dressing for tomatoes and make it in accordance with the instructions.

During the dormant period, plants should be moved to a cooler room. Reduce watering to 1 time per week. Also, you need to stop feeding.

For home cultivation, you should choose a variety with a short bush, up to 50 cm high and with a decorative shape of unusual fruit color, this will allow you to get not only spicy peppers for cooking, but also decoration on the windowsill.

Conclusion

Even an inexperienced gardener can easily grow a spicy cayenne pepper with a lot of useful properties that can easily grow a vegetable that will make any dish spicy. that looks very attractive, will decorate the garden bed or under equestrian.