What type of pepper is this?
The variety was included in the State Register in 2009. It got its name due to the bright color of the fruits, which stand out noticeably in the beds.
White gold is an early-ripening crop, despite the large size of the peppers. Technical ripeness occurs 100–110 days after the appearance of the first shoots.
Characteristics and description
The variety has smooth and neat bushes with straight stems and slightly wrinkled middle leaves. The plants reach a height of 50 cm. The trunk is durable and can withstand large fruits.
The variety is recommended for cultivation in all regions of Russia, in open and closed ground.
Distinctive features
The main feature of pepper is the bright yellow color of the fruit. Often, as they grow, they acquire pearly shades.
Compared to other varieties, White Gold ripens much earlier, and some peppers reach particularly large sizes.
Fruit characteristics and yield
The fruits are cube-shaped with a faint glossy sheen. At the technical stage of ripeness, peppers are greenish-white in color, and at the biological stage they are pearly yellow. The vegetables are dense and fleshy: their walls reach 1 cm. The average weight of the fruit is 200–250 g, but some reach 500 g.
Subject to proper agricultural practices, farmers harvest up to 15 kg of crop per 1 m2 in open ground or a greenhouse.
The taste of peppers is sweetish with spicy notes, so the culture is great for salads.
History and description of the variety
White Gold pepper received its name due to the fact that in the garden it stands out among other vegetable crops with its bright color. This crop is characterized by the following varietal characteristics.
Selection
The variety was bred by Russian breeders specifically for cultivation in the northern regions.
Fruit characteristics
The fruits are cubic in shape, quite large, the weight of individual specimens reaches 200–250 g, and some fruits even weigh 500 g or more. During the process of ripening, the fruit changes its color: in the technical ripeness phase it is light yellow, slightly whitish, and ripe peppers are painted in an intense pearl-yellow tone. The taste of the vegetable is delicate, with a pleasant aroma. The pulp is juicy, the wall thickness reaches 10 mm.
Due to the thick skin, the fruits can maintain their freshness for a long period, including during transportation. The fruits of White Gold are universal in use: they can be eaten fresh in salads, subjected to heat treatment for preparing various dishes, and the dense structure of the pulp allows them to be prepared as high-quality preserves.
Did you know? Chocolate and bell peppers have similar properties: they both increase the concentration of endorphins (happiness hormones) in the blood. Considering the calorie content of chocolate, becoming “happy” due to pepper is better for your figure.
Characteristics of the bush
The bush is compact, medium-sized, reaches a height of 50 cm. The trunk is durable and can easily withstand a lot of heavy fruits. The medium-sized leaves are slightly wrinkled and light green in color. The presented culture belongs to the group of early ripening varieties. Technical maturity occurs 100–110 days after the sprouts appear; the fruits in this phase can already be consumed. After 2 weeks, the phase of biological maturity begins. When grown in an open area, you can harvest 4.2 kg of peppers per 1 m².
Advantages and disadvantages
- Among the benefits of White Gold pepper, farmers note:
- good yield;
- high commercial qualities - especially large, thick-walled fruits with rich color and wonderful taste;
- ease of care, which is accessible even to novice summer residents;
- strong and compact bushes;
- versatility of use;
- keeping quality and transportability of fruits.
The variety has virtually no disadvantages. The only caveat is that to get an early and stable harvest, you cannot do without shelter, at least in early spring. Also, the plant needs at least 2-3 feedings during the entire growing season.
Preparation for cultivation
Before planting the seeds, they are soaked in a nutrient solution (20 g of wood ash per 1 liter of water). The mixture is left in the growth stimulator for 24 hours, the seeds are placed in it in a fabric bag for 5 hours, then dried on a sheet of paper.
Attention! For the best effect, the seeds are disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate before soaking.
For peppers, use fertile light soil made from leaf or turf soil, peat, sand (1:1:1) and a small amount of wood ash. The soil is disinfected by steaming a month before planting the crop (do this for several hours in a water bath, under a tightly closed lid).
Growing seedlings
Pepper seeds are planted 60–70 days before planting in the ground. Place in a deep container at a distance of 1-3 cm from each other, the grooves themselves are made no deeper than 1 cm. After planting, the container is covered with film and left in a warm place until the first shoots appear.
As soon as real leaves are formed, the seedlings are planted in separate pots. Do this carefully so as not to damage the roots:
- Compact the soil in the containers, dig a hole in the center and water it.
- Carefully remove the seedling using a spatula or spoon. If several plants are removed at the same time, the strongest and most developed ones are picked first.
- Place the plant in the hole so that the roots are free and even in the soil. In this case, the planting depth is left at the same level as before the pick.
- The soil around the seedling is carefully compacted.
- Water the plants at the roots with a small amount of water.
To avoid picking, the seeds are immediately planted in plastic flower pots (1 liter capacity), 3 pieces at a distance of 1-2 cm from each other, placing a triangle in the center of the container.
Water the seedlings with warm water as the soil dries, but without over-wetting it. Don't forget to apply fertilizer during irrigation. Calcium nitrate gives excellent results.
Important! Ready-made soil is chosen only of high quality, which will have a positive effect on the development of the crop.
An important aspect of growing is lighting. To avoid sprouts stretching, they are provided with the maximum amount of light. If there is a shortage of it, phytolamps are installed.
Attention is paid to hardening future peppers. A week before picking the seedlings, they are taken outside and left for 30 minutes, gradually increasing the time.
Planting pepper
When the seedlings have finally grown stronger, they are transplanted to a permanent place: in open ground or in a greenhouse. As a rule, this is done at the end of May, but cultivation in a greenhouse begins earlier. The culture is transferred to open ground on a cloudy day or in the evening. The soil is moistened abundantly.
For the full development of the crop, the soil on the site must be well heated (soil temperature - not lower than +10...+12 °C). There are no more than 5 bushes per 1 m2 of land, otherwise they will interfere with each other’s development. Dig holes according to the pattern: 30 by 50 cm.
At the initial stage, plants are fed with complex products. During the entire growing season, fertilizers are applied 3 times.
Attention! Fertilizing White Gold with manure will lead to active development of bushes in the leaves and a low number of ovaries. As a result, the fruits will be small in size.
Further care
Caring for the variety is not particularly difficult. It is enough to regularly water the plants, care for the soil, feed the crop and form bushes.
For irrigation, use warm, settled water (not lower than +14 °C). Drip irrigation is best when the soil does not dry out or become waterlogged. Irrigate the soil moderately, 2 times a day. Afterwards, the soil is loosened shallowly and weeds are systematically removed. The ground around the bushes is mulched with grass, sawdust or hay.
Phosphorus-potassium compounds and ash infusions are used as fertilizers. Fertilizers are applied once every 2 weeks.
When tying up bushes, supports are installed for them. Shoots are fixed to them to reduce the risk of stems breaking. Flowers and weak ovaries are cut off, and the tops of plants above 20 cm are pinched. They get rid of stepsons growing below the fork and inside the ovaries. The main bud at the branching site is removed to enhance the growth of the pepper.
How to care for plantings
Caring for White Gold peppers is not too labor intensive. Bushes require regular watering, proper feeding, soil care and careful shaping.
Watering
Water the plantings periodically (at least 2 times a week). Use only warm water, since peppers respond negatively to water whose temperature is below +14°C. The ideal type of irrigation for the presented variety is drip.
Find out more about how to properly water peppers in a greenhouse.
Soil care
After each watering, loosen the soil shallowly. Do not loosen deeply so as not to disturb the root system of the plants. It is important to keep the plantings clean and get rid of weeds in a timely manner. To protect the soil from drying out and prevent weeds from breaking through, mulch the soil around the bushes. The best mulch is weeded grass, sawdust, and hay.
Fertilizer application
After the bushes have adapted, you need to feed them with liquid fertilizers, such as infusions of grass and mullein, diluted with water. Additionally, use phosphorus-potassium compounds and ash infusions. Apply fertilizers to moist soil once every 2 weeks.
Garter bushes
Despite the fact that the bushes of this variety are quite strong, it is better to install supports for them when planting. Tie the shoots to supports to reduce the risk of stems breaking. At the end of the season, regulate the harvest by cutting off flowers and poorly developed ovaries. Pruning will allow existing fruits to ripen. For better tillering, when the plant reaches a height of 20 cm, the tops should be pinched.
You will be interested to know about such varieties of sweet pepper as: Golden Miracle, Gypsy, Winnie the Pooh and Tusk.
Subsequent formation involves removing the stepsons that grow below the fork, as well as weak ovaries growing inward. To prevent weakening of growth, pluck out the main bud, which is located at the branching site. As you can see, White Gold pepper has a lot of advantages. Even a novice summer resident will be able to cope with growing the described variety. These bright vegetables will delight you with their unpretentiousness, abundant harvest and excellent taste.
Features of cultivation and possible difficulties
The most suitable regions for cultivating the variety are the regions of central Russia. Pepper grows well both in open ground and in greenhouse conditions. However, in harsh climates (in the Urals and Siberia), the crop is planted in greenhouses.
Attention! To get a rich harvest, pollinating insects are attracted. To do this, use a solution of 2 g of boric acid, 1 liter of water and 100 g of granulated sugar, which is sprayed on the bushes.
Seedlings are planted at the age of 65–70 days in order to have time to get a harvest in short summer conditions.
Maturation speed
Bell pepper White Gold is valuable because it is a mid-season variety, which means that it will be one of the first to appear on your table, complementing the contents of the vitamin salad. Sowing of seeds begins 60-70 days before the intended planting; approximately 50-60 days will be needed for these yellow beauties to reach the desired maturity in open ground. First you have to plant the seedlings in a timely and correct manner. To get a good harvest, before flowering begins, you need to water the plant once a week, after which you increase the intensity of watering to 2 times a week, while to preserve moisture, the soil must be mulched using straw.
Preparing for winter
To get a good harvest of White Gold, preparations should begin towards the end of winter. Without waiting for spring, you need to soak the seeds previously purchased at a specialized store. To do this, you can use various active substances, and good results can be achieved using a weak solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate). With the arrival of spring, disinfected seeds can be planted.
Planting time for seedlings
You can use any containers for sowing seeds, but it is better to plant them in a large container, into which you must first fill with pre-prepared high-quality soil. For better resistance to diseases and pests, it is better to bake it in the oven. Planting is done in grooves, the depth of which does not exceed 1 centimeter, after which the future seedlings are watered and covered with plastic film. In this form, the container with the seeds is left in a warm place until the first shoots appear. Seeds are planted 60-70 days before planting in the ground, while seedlings for planting in open ground are moved to the garden in mid-May, for greenhouses - earlier.
Important! Before planting peppers in the ground, it is advisable to fertilize them, but experts do not recommend using manure for this, since the ovary occurs in the leaves, and the pepper itself will be small in size.
Typical diseases and pests
The White Gold variety is resistant not only to the tobacco mosaic virus, but also to most other diseases. However, when the shape and color of plant leaves change, spots appear on them and growth is inhibited, the crop is treated with special preparations: “Fitosporin” or Bordeaux mixture.
Frequent pests of pepper are aphids, wireworms and spider mites . Infusions of garlic, tobacco or birch tar repel aphids and ticks, and wireworms are caught using fruit baits.
Pros and cons of the variety
Gardeners highlight the following advantages of White Gold pepper:
- high yield rates;
- excellent product characteristics;
- ease of care;
- the plant is strong, but compact;
- fruits have a universal purpose;
- the harvested crop can be transported or used for long-term storage;
- peppers are resistant to most known diseases.
No significant deficiencies were noticed in White Gold. However, in order to get the harvest as early as possible, the plantings must be covered, especially in the spring. You will also need to carry out at least 2 feedings during the growing season and ensure regular, timely watering.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
White Gold Pepper has virtually no downsides. The only negative is the need to cover the plants with special material at least in early spring.
Benefits of culture:
- bushes of neat shape and small size;
- simplicity of agricultural technology;
- large tasty fruits;
- high productivity;
- versatility of use;
- long-term preservation of fruits in marketable condition;
- good transportability.
Reviews
Due to its characteristics, White Gold is considered one of the best varieties in selection. Numerous enthusiastic reviews from gardeners only confirm this fact.
Evgeniy, Bryansk: “I have been growing the White Gold variety for several years now and I want to give only one piece of advice: do not use pesticides. They will not improve the taste of vegetables, but will increase the risk of poisoning. This pepper variety is strong and can cope with diseases on its own.”
Nina, Moscow: “I love thick-walled varieties for their juiciness and texture. In my opinion, this is the best option for salads. In the summer, not a single meal is complete without White Gold pepper. I’ve never been canning before, but the variety produces such a rich harvest that I’m starting to think about it.”
Lyudmila, Voronezh: “I have been growing White Gold in a greenhouse for a long time and am convinced that this is one of the best varieties of large yellow peppers. Many people believe that early ripening crops need special care, but I don’t think so. There is nothing complicated in the agricultural technology of vegetables, and the result surprises again and again.”
