Eggplant Robin Hood: description, photos, reviews

Content

1 Description, characteristics of the variety
2 Growing and care
3 Reviews from gardeners

The Robin Hood eggplant variety can be called unique, one of the best in both taste and yield. The fruits set within 90 days after sowing. It grows and bears fruit equally well in any soil - this variety adapts well to any conditions.

Description, characteristics of the variety

Robin Hood fruits with shiny lilac skin grow up to 20 cm in length and 8-9 cm in diameter, as in the photo:

These purple “barrels” weighing up to 300 g have good taste. Their skin is thin, and the flesh is tender, without bitterness and almost without seeds. The variety is suitable for drying, frying, salting, and pickling. It makes delicious caviar and any salads.

The bush of the Robin Hood variety is low-growing, there are few side shoots, but they bear fruit well. Since fruiting is abundant, it is recommended to install supports to which the plants are tied during growth.

Growing and care

Robin Hood is an ideal variety for beginning gardeners. Unlike other eggplants, which bear fruit only if certain rules are followed, this beauty will grow and is guaranteed to produce a good harvest even in unfavorable conditions. The agricultural technology for growing the Robin Hood variety is not much different from other varieties. Eggplants are grown through seedlings. Sowing of seeds begins in March. Eggplants can be planted in a greenhouse or soil at the end of May.In mid-June, with good care, harvesting can begin. Robin Hood can bear fruit until autumn.

Seedling

To grow eggplant seedlings, take seeds that are 2 years old. Before sowing, they are hardened off and tested for germination. The optimal sowing depth is no more than 2 cm. Seeds germinate within a week after sowing in warm, moist soil. During this time you need to prepare the bed.

Robin Hood seedlings are planted in long beds 60-70 cm wide. Eggplant sprouts are planted in holes at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other. The plant is compact, but for full growth and fruiting it needs access to air. You also need to form the eggplant bush in such a way that neighboring plants do not touch each other.

Planting, fertilizing

Before planting and during the growth of eggplants, you need to feed the soil with mineral fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus. These elements are also contained in birch ash and legume roots. To feed eggplant, you can prepare a special solution in advance. Straw, stems and roots of nettles and legumes are placed in the container. Then compost soil mixed with ash is poured. Fill it with water, as in the photo, and close it with a lid or film.

Periodically, the film is removed and the contents are mixed. The resulting slurry needs to be watered around the plants. The first fertilizing can be done three days after planting the seedlings. During this time, it is already clear which plants have begun to grow and which ones need to be replaced.

Important! At first, the growth of Robin Hood seedlings may stop. This is a normal phenomenon, since all the internal resources of plants are aimed at the formation of the root system.

Therefore, it is not recommended to pour fertilizer under the bush; a mixture that is not completely fermented can burn the roots and stems.

Everything about the rules for feeding eggplants is described in this video:

Care

As eggplants grow, it is necessary to remove the lower yellowed leaves and periodically spray them to prevent diseases.

The procedure for watering the eggplant is repeated every time the top layer of soil dries out a little. First you need to clear the beds of weeds. The row spacing is deepened by throwing soil over the bed itself. This must be done carefully so that the garden tool does not damage the plants. Fertilizer is scattered between the eggplants and only then can water be released for irrigation. The furrows on both sides are covered with shutters - the water should completely saturate the beds.

Reviews from gardeners

Evgeniya, 43 years old, Vologda Region

Our family cannot imagine winter without eggplant caviar. After listening to reviews from gardeners about this crop, I decided not to mess with eggplants - I always bought vegetables at the market. A neighbor literally forced several bushes of Robin Hood eggplant seedlings onto me. She praised this variety so much that I tried to plant one bed in the garden. All of the 15 bushes began to grow. I planted them at the end of May, and a month later the first fruits were already harvested. The variety is very unusual in appearance and taste. Beautiful lilac-lilac color, plump, fleshy fruits. I was pleased with the taste of Robin Hood fruits. The harvest was enough for caviar, they even dried it a little. Inspired by the result, I decided to prepare a good bed with fertile soil for this variety of eggplant in advance. And to speed up the process, we will definitely install a film greenhouse in the yard for growing Robin Hood seedlings.

Anton, 50 years old, Bryansk region

With the advent of our own plot of land, there was a desire to plant a large vegetable garden, and to have a greenhouse. My gardening activities began with growing greens under film. During this time, I “ennobled” my poor clay soil. For two years in a row I scattered fertilizers, brought in manure, and dug up. I built a greenhouse in a sunny place and decided that this year I would definitely plant eggplants. Since I had no experience, the first thing I did was study the varieties and read reviews. I chose Robin Hood because it seemed to me the most unpretentious. In the fall, I finished building a greenhouse and immediately bought seeds of this variety of eggplant. On the package there was a photo of a ripe fruit with a beautiful color and shape, and this helped me finally decide on the choice of variety. In the greenhouse I made a pile of compost, humus and fallen leaves, watered it and covered it with film. I came in and shoveled it several times. By spring, when it was time to sow eggplants, we had beautiful, crumbly soil. At the end of February, I germinated the seeds and planted them in pots. Since young plants need a lot of light, I placed the box with seedlings on the window and hung a lamp on top. They sprouted quickly, as stated in the description on the package. I bought fertilizer in tablet form at the store, diluted it with water and watered it every three days. After a month and a half, there were beautiful seedlings in the pots, each with 5-6 leaves. I planted it in my greenhouse and poured ammonium nitrate between the rows. They were accepted very well, and within a month the first fruits were already harvested. We often cook vegetable stew; eggplant is a must. The taste of the fruits of the Robin Hood variety is unrivaled - the pulp is absolutely not bitter. Next year I will definitely try to plant eggplants in the garden - the soil will be ready by then.

Maria, 38 years old, Cheboksary

Among all the varieties of eggplants that grow in my greenhouse, this is the only one that pleases with one hundred percent germination and abundant fruiting. Every year I plant 20 Robin Hood bushes in one 6-meter bed, 60 cm wide. I make eggplant seedlings myself, from my own seeds. I collect more than 2 kg of fruit from each seedling per season. And I leave the most beautiful of them for seeds. For our family, the eggplant harvest is enough for caviar and other preparations.