Gardening Tips: Black pepper is generally cultivated in South India. But, now you can grow it in your home also. If the correct method is adopted, this plant easily grows even in a pot. Khandwa’s gardening expert Sweety Patel tells that it is easy to cultivate black pepper at home, just the initial few steps should be correct.
Black pepper is a vine plant. It needs support to climb up. Its leaves are bright green and black pepper appears in small bunches. For growing at home, first choose a pot. A pot of 10-12 inches will be enough, but if you want to grow the vine then take a slightly bigger pot. The soil should be light and absorb water quickly.
It is good to mix these three things while preparing soil.
1. Garden soil
2. Cowdung Manure
3. Sand or coco peat
If light, soft soil is formed by mixing all these, then the pepper plant will grow rapidly.
How to prepare seedlings?
Pepper can also be grown from seeds, but planting from cuttings is an easier and faster way to grow. Take a 6–8 inch long branch of a healthy plant, which has at least two-three nodes. Leave the upper leaf and plant the lower part in the soil. Water lightly as soon as the cutting is planted in the pot. New shoots start emerging in about 15–20 days.
How important are sunlight and temperature?
Black pepper does not like direct sunlight. It grows well in areas with light sunlight and shade. If you are keeping it in the balcony, then choose a place where it gets light sunlight for half the day and shade for the other half. It does not like either very cold or very hot weather. A mild, warm and moist environment is best for this.
When and how much to give water?
There is no need to water the plant daily. Water only when the soil feels dry. Add water only so much that the soil becomes wet but water does not accumulate. If it is very hot in summer then it is better to water 3-4 times a week. Reduce watering further in winter.
When to pluck peppers?
After about 10–12 months, small clusters form on the plant. These are green in the beginning and when they start turning brown, they can be plucked. Black pepper is made only after drying them.
