Complete Guide to Key Techniques for Growing Peppers in a Greenhouse

Land preparation and fertilisation: Apply base fertiliser mainly consisting of organic fertiliser on the seedling bed, and at the same time dig furrows and make beds.||Raising seedlings and transplanting: After sprouting the pepper seeds, sow them in the seedling bed, and once they grow to about 10 cm they can be transplanted.||Field management: For transplanted peppers, do a good job of managing temperature, water and fertiliser, and pest and disease control.

Points to note when growing peppers in a greenhouse:

1. Planting time

In plain areas, peppers can be divided into spring planting and autumn planting. Spring-planted peppers are sown around January, which is most suitable for growth. They can be sown as early as late October, with the seedlings covered with film to overwinter, and planted out in February to March, so they can be brought to market as early as April to May. Autumn planting is in July to August. In the mountainous areas of northern Guangdong, sowing can be arranged from January to early April according to market demand. In addition, peppers can be grown out of season in winter in northern Guangdong.

Sowing times for peppers also differ from region to region. For example, in southern regions such as Hunan and Hubei, the sowing time is generally the middle of the third lunar month. In most northern regions, sowing is done in mid-April (and it must be indoors, waiting until the weather and temperature are average. The specific sowing time still needs to be determined according to local climate changes.

2. Fertilise in appropriate amounts

In fact, the total soil salt concentration required for normal pepper growth is 2000-3000 mg/kg. Above 6500 mg/kg, the root system will undergo reverse osmosis and dry up, and the yield will naturally decline. Inside a greenhouse, the temperature is high and the humidity is high, organic fertiliser decomposes quickly, the utilisation rate of phosphorus is 2-3 times higher than in open fields, and nitrogen volatilisation is large, so excessive fertilisation can very easily cause fertiliser damage.

3. Planting density should be reasonable

Pepper plants have a compact growth habit and are suitable for dense planting. Experiments have shown that dense planting of peppers has great yield-increasing potential, especially for green peppers that keep growing until autumn. Appropriate dense planting helps early canopy closure; because the soil surface is covered and shaded, soil temperature and soil moisture change little, and after heavy rain the root system will not be exposed to the sun, which promotes root growth and seedling growth.

When growing peppers in a greenhouse, although conditions such as temperature and light are easier to control, the enclosed environment also makes it very easy for diseases to spread rapidly. Therefore, doing a good job of pest and disease control is very important, and growers must pay attention to it.