Friday, October 30, 2020

SOS 117 - Designing a Sustainable Agroecosystem: Bell Peppers

Growing Bell Peppers

               Bell peppers are a very particular plant, as I have come to learn.  When I lived in our old house, I had a couple of bell pepper plants, but knew nothing about how to take care of them.  I subscribed to the idea that I could just put a pepper plant into some Miracle Grow soil, water it, put it in a sunny window, and let it be.  My first plant flourished and produced two tiny bell peppers.  When I went to move it outside, I didn’t allow it time to harden, so it died after a week.  I never understood why until I went to research how to make this amazing and nutritious fruit grow. 

               Bell Peppers are a warm weather fruit.  They were originally found in Mexico, Central America, and the northern parts of South America.  They can be grown in greenhouses almost anywhere, but flourish best in warm humid climates like Florida.  Seeds are generally planted 4-6 weeks before the last frost of the season, almost exclusively indoors, because they need to be kept at about 70-80° while starting to grow.  Most seeds kept at this temperature will germinate within 10 days and be ready to harden within 3 weeks following the last frost. “Hardening” is the process by which a plant can gradually adjust to the outdoor temperatures. A grower would remove the plant from its indoor location and leave it outside for a few hours, gradually increasing the time spent outside until the plant is adjusted to the outdoor weather and ready for planting in a field.  Planting a Bell Pepper plant straight into the ground after it has been kept inside for so long will cause shock to the plant and potentially kill it, or at least slow its growth down dramatically.  Waiting until it has adjusted to the outside temperatures also allows the ground to heat up to the ideal Bell Pepper temperature of 65°.  In colder areas, farmers will cover the ground in black plastic to keep it warm, but in most instances, a heavy layer of mulch will keep the temperatures ideal for growth.  They also have a considerable growing season of 90-100 days, which is why it is important to start early in the season and plant indoors when the weather is not ideal.  A farmer would also want to make sure that they are very careful about removing the plant from their existing pot into the ground as Bell Pepper plants are prone to shock if they are not carefully removed from an existing seedling pot into the ground.  If they are in paper containers, it is best to cut the paper container open rather than try to remove the plant manually. 

Bell Peppers prefer “sandy” or “loomy” soil, rich in nitrogen, with a neutral pH level around 6.0 to 6.8.  Farmers are divided on tilling with some saying that heavy tilling in the spring and fall are essential to healthy growth as it turns over the cover crop completely, and others saying that the remains of the cover crop are essential for providing the ground with the nitrogen needed to grow Bell Peppers. Good cover crops include clovers, wheat, and buckwheat.  These plants deliver a much needed boost of nitrogen to the soil that will keep the Bell Peppers happy as they grow and produce fruit. While Bell Peppers love nitrogen, it is important to choose a mulch that is low in nitrogen so that the soil doesn’t get overloaded. The leaves will grow very well on a Bell Pepper plant with too much nitrogen, but the fruit will not. 

Bell Peppers also like friends. Planting species like Sunflowers near a Bell Pepper crop not only helps provide shade to the plant with its long leaves and lots of nitrogen to the soil through photosynthesis, but it also attracts pollinators and insects who would feed on the Bell Pepper’s top three pests: aphids, whiteflies, and the European corn borer. Sunflowers also have a much deeper root structure than the Bell Pepper, allowing for more moisture absorption, which helps maintain a balance for the Bell Pepper to thrive in. Excess water in the soil attracts soil pests and can cause the roots to rot.  A Bell Pepper plant needs about 2” of water per week.  While overhead watering is common in industrial farming, a more eco-friendly solution is drip irrigation, which delivers water slowly and directly to the soil. You also want to keep native plants nearby but not in the field.  Native agriculture encourages the growth of pollinator populations and predatory species populations, but a special type of fungus that is common to the Bell Pepper can transfer to native plants so you want them around but not near the growing plants. 

Cucumbers, carrots, and corn are also plants that grows well with Bell Peppers, since they also need the high nitrogen soil and will help maintain a good biodiversity among the field.  Geraniums, petunias, and marigolds make for excellent companion plants to the Bell Pepper as well.  But you want to be careful.  Bell Pepper plants like their space.  They need 18-24” of space between plants, and it’s not wise to grow the sweet Bell Pepper too close to its more spicy cousins.  Cross-pollination from pepper plants that are too close together can lead to spicy Bell Peppers and sweet Habaneros. 

That spacing between plants leaves a lot of soil exposed and the Bell Pepper plant does not have a deep root structure, so The Farmer’s Almanac advises to grow smaller companion crops such as dill and basil, or even a cover crop like buckwheat, in between the plants, not only to ensure that the soil is being maintained, but also because the herbs are natural pest repellants, and could provide a small bit of pocket change when the Bell Peppers are ready to harvest, as is the case with the cucumbers and sunflowers in my drawing.  But you absolutely want to avoid planting Bell Peppers near cabbage family plants, fennel, and apricot trees. 

When a Bell Pepper plant starts to reach maturity, it is suggested that the farmer either stake the plant or encapsulate it in a tomato cage to help it stay vertical, instead of allowing it to lay on the ground where ground pests can eat the fruit.  The same is suggested of cucumbers.  Crop rotation is required of this plant because of its heavy demands on nitrogen rich soil.  It should be rotated out every 2-3 years and never rotated into a field where a nightshade plant has been in for at least 3 years.  Regardless of its particularities, it would appear that growing Bell Peppers is almost as easy as growing corn.  Take care of the soil, let it adjust to changing climates, give it some friends, a bit of water, and voila!  A perfectly grown crop of Bell Peppers. 




 References

Bickerton, M. W., & Hamilton, G. C. (n.d.). Intercropping for Insect Pest Management. Retrieved from Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station: https://njaes.rutgers.edu/organic/intercropping.php

Diaz-Perez, J. C., Phatak, S. C., Ruberson, J. R., Silvoy, J., & Morse, R. (2008, March). Effect of Winter Cover Crops and No-Till on the Yield of Organically-Grown Bell Pepper (Capsicum annum L.). Acta Horticulturae, 767(25), 243-247. doi:10.17660/ActaHortic.2008.767.25

Engel, H. (n.d.). Vegetable Garden Companion for Planting Bell Peppers. Retrieved from SFGate: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/vegetable-garden-companion-planting-bell-peppers-46329.html

Finley, R. (2020, April 22). How to Grow Bell Peppers: 7 Tips for Growing Bell Peppers. Retrieved from MasterClass: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-grow-bell-peppers

Growing Bell Peppers: Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Bell Peppers. (n.d.). Retrieved from The Old Farmer's Almanac: https://www.almanac.com/plant/bell-peppers?page=5&trk_msg=SBG14LULT2T47803EAJVI2A2RO&trk_contact=VMRR54E455P5SKD0T9TV4NEI50&trk_sid=GEG3JA526TVFOGCJCE6L51LT5O&utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Bell%20Peppers%20%28title%29&utm_campaign=Companion

Parker, J. E., Snyder, W. E., Hamilton, G. C., & Rodriguez-Saona, C. (2013). Companion planting and insect pest control. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. INTECH.

Peregrine Farm News Vol. 10 #17, 5/29/13. (2013, May 29). Retrieved from Peregrine Farm: Food with a Face, a Place, and a Taste: https://peregrinefarm.net/tag/no-till/

Schidler, A. (2019, March 20). Grow Crunchy, Sweet Bell Peppers in Your Own Backyard. Retrieved from Gardener's Path: https://gardenerspath.com/plants/vegetables/growing-using-bell-peppers/#:~:text=moisture%20related%20stress.-,Growing%20Healthy%20Plants,and%20warm%20temperatures%20to%20thrive.&text=Full%20sun%20and%20loamy%2C%20rich,evenly%20moist%20throughout%20the%20s

 


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Grade 100/100

Professor Comments: Excellent job! Very nice work on this, Kathleen! 

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