Pepper Cow's ear: characteristics and description of the variety, yield with photo

Sweet varieties of peppers are invariably popular with vegetable growers. Cow's Ear pepper is a variety that is increasingly grown in garden beds and greenhouses. The benefits of pepper fruits are widely known, so gardeners will always find a place on the site for seedlings of this vegetable crop.

Description and main characteristics of the variety

Why is Cow's Ear one of the most popular varieties for more than one season? What characteristics attract vegetable growers despite the fact that this vegetable crop is not as easy to care for as tomatoes or cabbage?

It turns out that the dense and large fruits of this variety contain a large amount of vitamin C and other active substances. Peppers are sweet and crunchy and enhance the flavor of any fresh salad or dish.

The description of the variety should begin with the timing of the ripening of the crop. Volovye Ukho is an excellent mid-season variety: a little more than 3 months pass from the moment of emergence of friendly shoots to the technical maturity of the fruit, and you can wait for the full ripeness of the crop in 4 months. The variety is intended for cultivation in open ground and in unheated greenhouses.

Medium-sized bushes, shoots do not grow above 65 - 70 cm. The width of the bushes are sprawling - at least 30 cm in radius, so it is not recommended to plant Ox's Ear seedlings in beds closer than 0.5 m from each other.

The shoots are upright, well-branched, strong enough, reach a height of 0.7 m, medium foliage. The foliage is dense, simple, medium in size, the edges are slightly wavy, the color is dark emerald. The upper side of the leaves is slightly glossy.

Due to the rather voluminous foliage, the Ox Ear does not tolerate the hot season. If the pepper is planted in a greenhouse, condensation settles on the leaves, which negatively affects the plants.

Ripe peppers are shaped like an ox's ears (that's why they got that name) - elongated, cone-like, slightly corrugated. Their length can reach 15 - 16 cm. Unripe fruits are green, and at full maturity they become bright red with a raspberry tint.

Peppers are fleshy, sweet and juicy, with a wall thickness of about 7 mm. The average weight of peppers is 130 - 145 g, but with good care, large fruits can be grown - up to 200 - 240 g in weight. The yield from one bush is usually 2.5 - 3.2 kg. The commercial quality of the ripe crop is high. It doesn't always make sense to wait until the whole crop is ripe, because fruits in the stage of technical maturity after picking ripen perfectly in a cool room.

Characteristics of Cow's Ear pepper will be incomplete without a story about immunity to diseases and keeping quality. The resistance of this variety to major diseases and pests is average. Thanks to rather dense walls, ripe peppers are perfectly stored in a cool place, retaining their marketable appearance and good taste. The harvested crop is well tolerated by transportation over long distances.

Ripe pepper is universal: the fruits of this variety are consumed fresh, added to salads, suitable for conservation (especially in lecho).

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The undoubted advantages include:

• high yield;
• good marketability of ripe harvest;
• excellent taste;
• versatility of ripe fruits;
• crop can be stored fresh for a long time, retains valuable properties with a long freeze.

This type of pepper also has disadvantages:

• bushes do not tolerate heat well;
• destructive condensate settling on the foliage in a greenhouse.

Cow's Ear is demanding to care, otherwise it is difficult to get high-quality fruits.

The nuances of growing pepper Ox Ear

Getting late-season fruit with the same excellent presentation as the seed pack takes some work, as this variety is demanding to care for.

Growing should begin with a careful selection of seed. Usually, those seeds that are bought in specialized stores from well-known companies have already undergone all pre-sowing preparation:

• only viable seeds selected;
• material disinfected and treated with growth stimulants.

Before planting, pepper seeds should be soaked for a couple of hours. Containers are filled with ready-made soil mixture for vegetable plants. It is better to plant seeds in small cups, a couple of pieces each, because peppers should not be subjected to unnecessary transplants (including picking) - plants get very sick after such a procedure. Sowing material should be deepened into the ground by 0.5 - 0.8 cm. After planting, the ground is moistened and covered with polyethylene on top to create the effect of a greenhouse.

After the appearance of mass seedlings, the film is removed from the containers, weak plants are removed, leaving only strong seedlings. In the first decade of May, peppers are ready for planting in protected ground (at the stage of 5 - 7 permanent leaves). Seedlings are planted in open ground in mid-late May, when the danger of spring frosts has passed.

When preparing beds for seedlings, you should remember the rules of crop rotation. Best predecessors for sweet peppers:

• peas, beans, soybeans;
• various green manure;
• cucumbers;
• dill.

Categorically you should not plant peppers after tomatoes - crops are prone to the same diseases. The place for planting should be sunny. In greenhouse conditions, the room should be regularly ventilated.

After planting, care consists of regular watering, loosening the soil, removing weeds and systematic fertilizing.

Particular attention should be paid to watering: irrigation is carried out every 3 days, for each pepper bush - at least 1.5 liters of water. Before the appearance of the ovaries, it is better to use sprinkling, during the setting of fruits and their ripening, moisture is brought under the root. In the process of growth and maturation of the crop, alternate fertilizing with superphosphate and organic fertilizers (slurry or chicken manure).

Reviews from vegetable growers who regularly grow Cow's Ear indicate that this variety is resistant to tobacco mosaic virus.

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