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EGGLANTS: THE COURSE FOR THE HARVEST

The new vegetable season has already started. In mid-February, eggplant should be sown. It has the longest seedling period - 2-3 weeks longer than even sweet pepper. What can we say about early ripening tomatoes! When there is not enough sun and heat, it is not easy to grow healthy seedlings, any stress can then affect the crop. But it is quite possible to bypass all the pitfalls.

Eggplant is a late-ripening and capricious vegetable, in a temperate climate - greenhouse. From shoots to the first harvest of fruits 90-140 days, and the duration of cultivation is up to 170 days. In unheated polycarbonate greenhouses, it will be necessary to provide plants with comfortable conditions from April to September.

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And if everything is done correctly, you can be guaranteed to get 3,5-5,5 kg of fruit from a bush.

In the nightshade eggplant family, it is the most thermophilic and photophilous, since it comes from sultry India, and not from Central America. Fruits begin to set only at an average daily air temperature of 15 °. After the appearance of buds, the sensitivity of plants to low temperatures increases. At 13° they stop growing, turn yellow and may even die. The upper temperature limit for eggplant is 30-32 °. If the heat is even stronger and lasts at least a week, the ovaries will begin to fall off, the fruits will stop growing and wither.

The seedling substrate and greenhouse soil should always be moderately moist. This is especially important during flowering and fruiting. In drought, growth stops, and eggplants form small and ugly. The same reaction is observed in them when waterlogged in cold weather. Excess moisture in the soil is generally always harmful - the roots suffocate and rot, and the fruits become watery and tasteless.

Eggplant seedlings - SECRETS OF GROWING

Eggplant seeds quickly lose their germination, it is better to take fresh, last year's. They go on sale in December-January.

The substrate must be loose and nutritious. Perlite (10% by volume) and fast-acting complex mineral fertilizers with microelements should be added to ready-made peat mixtures for seedlings of vegetables. You can use a coco substrate impregnated with a fertilizer solution (NPKCaMg).

Seeds from large companies do not require disinfection and pre-sowing soaking. They are immediately sown in plastic containers with a layer of moist soil 5-6 cm thick to a depth of 1 cm. It is better to sow different varieties in separate containers, since seedlings can appear with a difference of 2-5 days. The containers are covered with a film and provide a temperature of 25-30 ° - a warm floor or a nook near the battery is perfect.

As soon as half of the seeds germinate, the containers are transferred to the windowsill, under the phytolamps. The first week the seedlings are illuminated around the clock, then 12-14 hours a day. Eggplants are short-day plants that prefer the red part of the solar spectrum. By the way, blue light is more suitable for volumes and peppers. Now there are a lot of inexpensive LED phytolamps with an adjustable spectrum on sale, so there will be no problems here. It has been observed that eggplants are more productive if they are provided with absolute darkness for sleep, for which they are covered with boxes at night. From the second decade of March, seedlings can no longer be illuminated on the southern window.

The main thing is not to dry out the substrate and prevent it from cooling (below 20 °) for a day or longer, otherwise the baby and eggplants, alas, will forever lag behind in growth. Feed the seedlings once a week with a weak solution of a fast-acting seedling fertilizer.

Seedlings dive at the age of one month, when the second true leaf is just appearing. Seedlings are transplanted into plastic pots up to 0,5 l, buried in the ground to the cotyledon leaves. Humus or biohumus is added to the soil mixture for seedlings in a ratio of 2: 1. It also makes sense to use long-acting complex fertilizers, this is a margin of safety for the whole season.

You can water in pallets. A thermometer is placed in one of the pots to monitor the temperature of the soil. In a room with dry air, seedlings should be sprayed with a fine spray bottle, which is filled only with warm water.

As they grow, the seedlings are arranged, sometimes several times, so that the plants do not shade each other. Often, transshipment into larger pots is required - 1 liter. Then the plants do not slow down in development due to lack of substrate and do not drop the first buds. Seedlings from small pots, in which the earthen ball is tightly braided with roots, after planting, may linger in growth for a week or longer.

In the third decade of April, seedlings are usually transferred to a greenhouse, providing protection from the cold or returning to a warm room for the night. Landing is carried out in 1-2 weeks, depending on the weather.

TRANSFER OF EGGLANTS IN THE GREENHOUSE

The predecessors of greenhouse eggplants are usually pumpkin. For digging, compost or humus is added, approximately 40 l / sq. m. A week before planting, the beds are covered with a film so that the soil warms up well. Planting density - 2 plants per 1 square. m. Eggplant seedlings are buried less than tomato plants, but as the plants grow, they spud. The surface of the beds is mulched with peat, chopped straw, etc.

On hot sunny days, it is better to shade young plants - when overheated, the leaves wither. The greenhouse is constantly ventilated.

Eggplants are powerful, heavy and fragile plants, so they need reliable supports: a strong trellis (see photo) or pyramids of stakes.

Water only with warm water. Feed once a week with a complete mineral fertilizer, as well as an infusion of bird droppings or manure. Once every 10 days, foliar fertilizing with magnesium sulfate and calcium nitrate (20 g of fertilizer per 10 liters of water) is very useful, which must be alternated.

OPTIMAL TEMPERATURE FOR AUPLANT SEEDLINGS

Seed germination: 25-30°, at a temperature of 10° and below, the seeds do not germinate.

Month after germination: daytime 22-25°, at night not lower than 18°.

Before planting in the greenhouse: during the day about 20 °, at night about 17 °.

FORMING AUPLANT

When the eggplants grow to 30-40 cm, they pinch the top to cause the formation and growth of side shoots.

In late May - early June, the plants bloom. The first flower must be pinched off, and after that they begin to form a bush. All stepchildren are removed from the main stem from the bottom to the fork. After the fork, 3-4 strong branches are left, and then powerful side shoots are left on them (see Fig.).

STEPING - FORMING EGGLANTS

Eggplant is a self-pollinating plant, so that pollen must fall on the stigmas of the pistils, the stems are tapped daily with a stick and the bushes are shaken. If the ovaries are not formed, it is necessary to sprinkle eggplants with stimulants - this will partly save you from stress.

To obtain large fruits, the number of flowers is normalized so that 5-6 large ovaries remain on the bush at the same time. It is not necessary to feel sorry for the flowers, the eggplant usually has a lot of them. In addition, they are useful, as they are edible and good for decorating salads.

In mid-July, no more than 10 large ovaries are left on the bush, all flowers are removed and the tops of the shoots are pinched. In the process of growing, the lower and yellowing leaves are regularly cut off.

How to Form Eggplant

WAIT FOR FRUIT

The first ripened large fruits must be carefully cut with secateurs so as not to break the shoots. Eggplant should not be overripe, as the taste deteriorates. They are cut in half lengthwise and evaluated. If the pulp is dense, and the seeds are whitish without a hard shell, then eggplants of the same length are harvested.

INTERESTING FACT

Eggplant has been cultivated since ancient times - for more than one and a half thousand years.

It is the main ingredient of many famous national dishes, hearty, healthy and tasty - Greek moussaka, French ratatouille, Middle Eastern baba ganoush, and the famous caviar has long become international.

Variety of Eggplant

Blue, white, green, striped ... The color of eggplant fruits is determined by the pigments that are contained in the outer layer of the skin - purple anthocyanins and green chlorophyll. If they are absent, the fruits will be white, if there is only one chlorophyll, without anthocyanins, then they will be light green, like in the new varieties Alenka and Prishelets.

The distribution of pigments can be uneven, then the eggplant becomes striped, mottled or unevenly colored. Color intensity is highly dependent on growing conditions. With shading, low air and soil temperatures, lack of nutrients, the fruits may be pale or spotty.

Chlorophyll is responsible for the color of the pulp, in its presence it will be greenish, and in its absence it will be white or light cream.

Multi-colored eggplants pleasantly enliven the vegetable palette. We sow first of all proven and reliable varieties and hybrids.

F1 Boyar. Productive early ripe (100 days from germination to the first harvest) hybrid for film greenhouses. Plants are unpretentious, resistant to sudden changes in temperature, with high fruit set. The fruits are cylindrical, dark purple, glossy, weighing 200-250 g (length about 20 cm, diameter 7-9 cm). Cup without spikes. The flesh is white, the taste is excellent.

Galich. Mid-season variety, from germination to the first harvest 120-130 days. The bush is compact, about 70 cm high. The fruits are pear-shaped, dark purple, almost black, glossy, weighing up to 200 g (length about 18 cm, diameter 5-7 cm), with juicy pulp and a small amount of seeds. They ripen together and keep well. Resistant to tobacco mosaic virus.

Snow. Mid-early variety, 100-120 days from germination to harvest, withstands sudden changes in temperature for a short period, can be grown in film tunnels. The bush is strong, up to 90 cm high. The fruits are cylindrical, white, glossy, weighing 250-300 g, with a thin skin. Resistant to tobacco mosaic.

Long purple. Early maturing variety, from germination to harvest 90-100 days. The bush is compact, 50-70 cm high. Fruits weigh about 300 g (length 30-35 cm, diameter 5-7 cm). The color is red-violet, the surface is glossy. The flesh is greenish, tasty and fragrant.

Sailor. Mid-early variety, 110 days from germination to harvest. Spreading bush, with strong shoots, up to 80 cm high. Fruits weighing about 200 g, broadly oval, striped, with a glossy surface. Cup with spikes. The pulp is white, medium density, without voids, tasty.

Old varieties of eggplants were bitter, they contained a lot of solanine, like green potatoes. Modern hybrids and varieties are usually without bitterness.

We also don’t forget about new products (2020-2021): Oriental Prince - green, similar to a zucchini, Umka - white with mushroom flavor, Ft Ophelia - this hybrid can be grown in a 5-7 l container, Eskimo and Kolobok F1 hybrids give eggplant with rounded dark purple fruits.

CARE OF AUPLANT SEEDLING - VIDEO

Seedling EGGPLANT. Eggplant seedling care and picking

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Dacha with their own hands > Garden plants > Growing and caring for vegetables in the country > Eggplant > Eggplant seedlings - sow in mid-February + shaping and care

2 Review (s)

V. SKOVORODKIN, Moscow
07/04/2022 (10:40) #

Fried eggplant is a very spicy and tasty snack. Eggplants can be cooked in just minutes. But you need to do this so that there is no bitterness, often inherent in eggplant dishes.
Washed eggplants should be cut into slices, spread out on a plate and sprinkle thickly with salt. Within 20-25 minutes, bitter juice will stand out from the eggplant, which will be absorbed into the salt. Then the salt is scraped off the slices with a knife and the eggplants are fried in vegetable oil.

Serve fried eggplant with tomatoes, herbs and mayonnaise.

Elena TISHCHENKO
16/03/2022 (17:56) #

My friends have been complaining for a long time that their blood pressure jumps, then their joints hurt, and I, apart from my teeth, do not treat anything. But last year, doctors found high cholesterol in my blood. The doctor warned: diet and medicine, otherwise it’s not enough to work (and I still work), but I won’t be able to dig in the garden either. I really didn’t want to swallow pills, so I began to look for folk remedies. And it turned out that eggplants, or, as we call them, blue ones, are great for cholesterol.

In our district, almost everyone treats the blue ones somehow dismissively - they are not a product of prime necessity, so they imprison a little. So in our garden for eggplants, I always singled out a small bed, and even then if there was room. And now I had to specially allocate more space for them in the southern part of the garden, where cucumbers and onions used to grow, because, as you know, eggplants refuse to grow after potatoes and tomatoes. I took some of the seeds from my neighbors, bought some and soaked them for 1,5 hours in a solution of potassium permanganate (1%) before sowing, then washed and dried them. In early May, I planted seedlings in the ground, and then only watered them - they grew wonderfully with me. And I managed to avoid the biggest trouble - the invasion of the Colorado potato beetle, which loves eggplant.
My neighbors once planted them next to potatoes and were left without a crop: the beetle ate all the seedlings in just three days. In July, the first eggplants had already ripened for me, from which I began to cook various dishes that not only I, but also my household, ate with pleasure. And when, after 2 months, I again donated blood for cholesterol, its indicators became noticeably lower. Thanks blue ones.
Eggplants can be well preserved for up to 25 days, if immediately after harvesting they are placed for 2 days in a dark cold (7-10 ° C) room with a humidity of 80-90%, and then stored at a temperature of 1-2 ° C Do not keep eggplants in the light recommended, because they additionally accumulate solanine, which worsens their quality and in large quantities can cause poisoning.