Pepper Lesya - description of an early ripening variety, characteristics and reviews

The biggest problem for busy gardeners when growing sweet peppers is frequent watering and timely formation of the bush. If Bulgarian varieties can still be called a “crop for the lazy” with a stretch, then thick-walled varieties with a bright, rich taste require constant attention and significant labor costs. This stereotype is destroyed by the Lesya pepper, created by the Ukrainian breeder D. Terentyev. Early, low-growing, with original fruits and excellent taste, it is resistant to drought and can do without formation.

Description

Pepper Lesya is an early ripening variety. Its bushes are low, up to 60 cm, but spreading. The leaves are smooth and the same size as the fruits. The stems are thick, but during the fruiting period they need support and tying.

The fruits are dark red, large, fleshy, juicy, up to 10 cm in length, weighing up to 160 g. Thickened walls up to 8-10 mm are visible on the cut. Particularly attractive is the unusual heart-shaped shape of peppers with an elongated, sometimes curved nose. The surface is smooth, shiny, there are no ribs. The seeds are located in 2 compartments separated by partitions.

Care in the ground

Les planting of sweet pepper seedlings is timed to coincide with the weather conditions of the region, the main thing is to establish positive temperatures at night. You can plant them in the greenhouse earlier. When growing peppers in open ground, it is advisable to use shelter at first.

Planting seedlings

Since peppers love nutritious soil, peat, compost or humus and always wood ash are added before digging. Fill each well with two liters of boiling water. You can add potassium permanganate.

The holes are made at a distance of 40x40 or 35x45 cm. For early sweet peppers of the Lesya variety, this is enough. When the soil has cooled, the seedlings are planted. It is advisable to take them with a good clod of earth, in this case the seedlings take root better.

Plants are buried down to the first true leaves and the soil is compressed well. Plantings are immediately watered with warm water.

Warning! Lesya sweet peppers cannot be planted next to bitter varieties: due to cross-pollination, they will begin to taste bitter.

In the future, the peppers are watered in a timely manner only with warm water, the soil is loosened, weeds are removed, and they are fed.

For feeding, you can use mineral fertilizers or organic matter: infusion of mullein, bird droppings, green grass. From time to time, peppers are dusted with dry wood ash.

Main characteristics

Pepper is perfectly stored and transported. In cool conditions it can last up to 5-7 weeks. It is convenient to transport: the fruits do not break or crack, and can withstand shaking.

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Plants need good soil. They are picky about the soil and do not produce enough fruit if there is a lack of nutrients. At the same time, the crop is drought-resistant and does not require abundant watering.

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What to do before sowing

The sweetest and most delicious peppers of the Lesya variety are obtained from seedlings. To obtain an early harvest, seeds are sown in late February or early March. The sowing dates can be postponed to mid-March, then the peppers will begin to ripen later.

Seed preparation

To get a good harvest, you need to specially prepare the seeds:

1. Calibration Dilute the stimulant in a glass and pour in the seeds of the Lesya sweet pepper. Viable seed will fall to the bottom, and puny seeds will float on the surface, unable to produce a full harvest. Unusable seeds are removed, and the rest are left in the solution for 6 hours. Instead of a stimulant, you can use aloe juice; it contains trace elements necessary to stimulate growth.
2. Soaking and germination. Pepper seeds, including the Lesya variety, are designed in such a way that they are difficult to germinate. Therefore, it is necessary to stimulate this process.

Pour the seeds with clean warm water for half an hour, then place them in a linen cloth for germination. The seed should be kept in a warm place in the light.

After 5-10 days, tender white dots will appear from the swollen seeds. But it is undesirable to wait for the roots to appear. It is inconvenient to sow such seeds, and it is very easy to injure the roots.

Preparing soil and containers

Sweet pepper of the Lesya variety loves fertile soil. If it is not possible to purchase a ready-made substrate, the mixture is prepared independently:

• humus or compost – 2 parts;
• garden soil - 1 part;
• river sand – 1 part.

In addition, for every kilogram of soil, add one tablespoon of wood ash.

As for mineral fertilizers, they are not applied when preparing the soil for sowing seeds. They will be needed for feeding.

The soil must be disinfected. There are different methods, each gardener chooses the most convenient for him. Here are some options:

1. Steaming the soil in an oven for an hour at a temperature of 100-150 degrees.
2. Warm up in the microwave at maximum mode for 5-6 minutes.
3. Spilling boiling water with crystals of potassium permanganate.

Some gardeners treat the soil for sowing seedlings of sweet peppers of any variety with a solution of boric acid. Don’t forget about containers, especially if they have been in use for several years. They can be doused with boiling water or a solution of boric acid. Plastic seedling boxes are washed with hot water and laundry soap or other detergent.

Comment! Be sure to rinse containers with clean water.

Diseases and pests

The Lesya variety is a tasty morsel for insects. It is also susceptible to fungal diseases, so it requires careful care and regular spraying. The most common diseases are:

• late blight;
• black and gray rot;
• blackleg;
• Alternaria blight.

Of the insects, the vegetable is often attacked by slugs, aphids, and mole crickets.

To combat the fungus, use such products as Fundazol (20 g per 1 liter of liquid), copper sulfate (3 sachets per 10 liters of water), Privent, Baktofit, Planriz preparations (diluted according to the instructions).

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Spraying against insects is carried out with insecticides. The most effective of them are Akarin, Fitoverm, Zolon, Sunmite. The preparations are diluted according to the recommendations on the packaging and sprayed over the plants from a spray bottle. To obtain a stable result, several treatments per season are required.

History of creation

Pepper Lesya is the result of Ukrainian selection.
It was first introduced by the Bilous family from the village of Prisluch, which is located in the Khmelnitsky region. Since then, the plant's seeds have spread throughout Russia. The variety is a collectible variety: it is not produced by large agricultural companies. You can purchase seeds only in small portions in private stores.

Related article: Spicy and its varieties: 5 types of hot peppers that will add piquancy to dishes

Advantages and disadvantages

Lesya pepper has many advantages compared to other varieties:

• resistant to drought and tolerates it well;
• juicy, meaty, has excellent taste;
• suitable for any method of consumption;
• does not crack, is well stored and transported;
• grows both in greenhouses and in open ground;
• the culture produces high-quality seeds that can be used for planting, since it is a variety and not a hybrid;
• high yield.

Among the disadvantages, we can mention the need to tie up bushes and regularly carry out treatment against pests and diseases.

Growing seedlings

Sowing pepper varieties Lesya is done with dry or germinated seeds. The time of germination depends on this. Seedlings can be grown with subsequent picking or without this operation.

To do this, use ordinary plastic cups or peat pots, the volume of which is at least about.5 liters. It must be remembered that pepper of any variety does not tolerate picking well and slows down its development.

Sowing seeds

Lesya sweet pepper seeds are placed in prepared containers in moist soil to a depth of no more than 1 cm, so as not to impede germination. The step when sowing in a common container is at least 3 cm. It is more convenient to take the swollen or germinated seed with tweezers so as not to damage the seeds.

Attention! When growing seedlings of peppers of the Lesya variety without picking, you need to put 2-3 seeds in each container, then remove weak sprouts.

After planting, carefully water the soil so as not to wash out the seeds, cover with film and place in a warm, well-lit place. The film is lifted daily for ventilation. There is no need to water until the first hooks appear.

When shoots appear, the shelter is removed. Further care consists of moderate watering so as not to provoke plant disease with blackleg.

Picking

When 2-3 true leaves appear on the peppers, the plants planted in a common container are placed in cups with a volume of at least 500 ml. The soil used is the same as when sowing seeds. Plants planted with seeds directly into cups are thinned out, leaving one, the strongest sprout in each vessel.

After watering the Lesya sweet pepper seedlings with warm water, place them in a lighted window and lower the temperature slightly. After two days, they are again placed in comfortable conditions, at a temperature of at least 20 degrees. If there is a lack of light, the seedlings are illuminated artificially.

Seedling care

You need to monitor the top layer of soil so that it does not dry out. Excessive watering is not allowed. After two weeks, seedlings of the Lesya pepper variety are fed. You can use special mineral fertilizers for seedlings or water them with wood ash dissolved in water. Pour 1 tablespoon of sifted ash into a liter jar, add hot water and leave for two hours. The same solution can be used for foliar fertilization as a preventive measure against aphids. Only the solution is made twice as weak.

About 14 days before planting in a permanent place (in a greenhouse or ground), the peppers are hardened, gradually accustoming them to new growing conditions. At the time of planting, the Lesya variety has from 10 to 16 leaves.

Sweet pepper Lesya, reviews from gardeners:

Absolute TOP 15 best varieties and hybrids of sweet peppers in 2022

Of all the bell pepper varieties discussed above, the following topped our annual top list:

1. Pepper "California Miracle"
2. "Bogatyr"
3. "Martin"
4. "Ramiro"
5. "White gold"
6. "Gift of Moldova"
7. "Merchant"
8. "Montero"
9. "Novorossiysk"
10. "Red Bull" and "Yellow Bull"
11. "Atlant"
12. "Chernobrovka"
13. "Zephyr"
14. "Yellow Bell"
15. "Quickley F1"

Harvesting

Lesya pepper can be harvested in a state of technical and biological maturity . In the first case, the fruits will still be green or yellowish. During this period, they are removed for transportation, storage, and sale. Biological (physiological) maturity is the time of complete ripening of fruits.

The pepper is bright red and cannot be stored for long. It is better to cut the fruits from the bushes with sharp pruning shears along with the stalk. You cannot break off the fruits, as there is a risk of damage to the stem.

So, the Lesya variety is a high-yielding, early-ripening pepper of Ukrainian selection . It is unpretentious and undemanding. Grows in both fertile and poor soils. Particular attention should be paid to the preliminary preparation of seeds, containers, soil and seedlings before planting in a permanent place.

After planting, the plant requires only regular watering and mulching of the soil. Provided you follow simple growing technology, the crop will delight you with an excellent harvest.

We recommend that you look at our other materials about the intricacies of growing allspice, black and ornamental peppers, as well as the varieties and hybrids Khalif, Pompeo, Kakadu, Ram's Horn, Gipsy F1, Aristotle F1 and Gemini F1.