UK: Tangmere Airfield Nurseries harvest season's first green peppers
These first ‘winter’ peppers come from their trials glasshouse where they are growing new, advanced varieties and assessing the benefits of lit crops using sodium and LED inter-lights.
The UK pepper growing season usually starts at the end of February or early March, when daylight hours are expected to increase. The crops are planted between December and January. After growing for one month, the plants start to flower and baby peppers form. It then takes 5 weeks for green peppers to mature and be ready for picking. The nursery's home-grown peppers are hand-harvested until the season finishes in late November.
Expert teams carefully monitor the growth and know the signs of ripeness. Peppers that are ready to pick have a smooth, firm appearance – harvested too early, the peppers will be immature. Once first picks have been made, peppers are harvested on a weekly basis as the growth cycle continues – with the plant producing peppers at the top, as it keeps on growing.
When sweet peppers are grown, they all begin green. It then takes a further 3 weeks to ripen on the plant to different colours – red, yellow and orange depending on their variety. Next month, the whole range of colours (and flavours) will be available. The time-lapse video below speeds up the process of ripening in less than a minute!
For more information:
Tangmere Airfield Nurseries
www.tangmere.co.uk