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In an effort to get a good harvest of vegetables, many domestic gardeners use seedling growing methods. First of all, this applies to such heat-loving crops as tomato, cucumber, pepper and, of course, eggplant. Already in early spring, farmers sow eggplant seeds in small containers and carefully care for the young plants until favorable warm weather sets in outside. It is at this time that the next and very important stage of cultivation begins - picking eggplant seedlings. Properly carried out planting of plants in the ground allows you to prevent a long period of their adaptation to new conditions, increase the number of ovaries formed, and speed up the process of fruit ripening.
Below in the article there is detailed information about at what time and how to pick eggplants correctly, and what features need to be taken into account.
What are the benefits of seedlings?
Growing seedlings is a very labor-intensive task, however, many gardeners use this method of cultivating eggplants, since it has a number of advantages:
- Allows you to speed up the process of crop ripening thanks to the so-called race (the age of plants at the time of diving into the ground, measured in days). Most regions of Russia are characterized by relatively cold and short summers.In such conditions, eggplant, which has a long growing season, cannot fully bear fruit if the seed is sown directly into the ground.
- Young plants in favorable home conditions gain enough strength to resist diseases and pests of open ground.
- Growing seedlings allows you to sort out weak plants and not take up soil space with diseased, low-yielding eggplants.
You can grow eggplant seedlings indoors or in heated greenhouses. In this case, it is necessary to monitor temperature and humidity indicators.
Best time
It is not possible to name a specific date for sowing eggplant seeds for seedlings, since each region has its own climatic characteristics. That is why the seed sowing date should be calculated: 60-70 days must be subtracted from the day the plants are supposed to be planted in the ground. For example, when growing eggplants in the Moscow region, seeds for seedlings should be sown in mid-March and plants should be planted in open ground in early June. If eggplants are to be grown in a greenhouse or hothouse, then the seeds can be sown for seedlings in late February - early March and planted in the soil in mid-May.
However, it is worth remembering that diving eggplant seedlings into the ground should only be done when the average daily atmospheric temperature exceeds +180 C, and the thickness of the earth is sufficiently warmed up.
Otherwise, the crop will not ripen until late autumn.
It is worth noting that many gardeners, not being able to initially grow seedlings in separate small containers of 1-2 eggplants, sow the seeds quite densely in a single large tray. This method of cultivation involves intermediate picking of plants into separate pots.
Young plants take root well and slow down their growth by no more than 2-3 days. This method of cultivation is more likely not a rule, but a necessity for those who in early spring do not want to take up a lot of space with “empty” pots. How to correctly carry out intermediate picking of small eggplants is described in detail in the video:
Preparing for a pick
Some farmers argue that eggplants cannot be grown in seedlings, since the plants have a weak root system that is very easy to damage. However, this is not the case, if you consider some points:
- If possible, you should not sow seeds in one container, since separating them can actually damage the root system;
- If mass sowing is not possible, then seedlings should be planted in separate pots when the second leaf appears. If at the time of transplantation the root of the sprout is more than 1 cm, then it should be pinched. It is impossible to leave dense crops without picking seedlings into separate pots until planting in the ground. Because this leads to nutrient deficiencies, plant wilting and the spread of diseases.
- It is recommended to sow eggplant seeds for seedlings in small flexible plastic cups, you can remove plants from them while preserving the earthen ball on the root;
- Peat pots and tablets are also excellent containers for growing seedlings. Using them, you won’t have to remove the sprouts at all, which means the root system will definitely remain unharmed.
When growing seedlings indoors, it is easy to maintain certain temperature and humidity conditions. So, it is recommended to water the plants 1-2 times a week with warm water. The optimal air temperature for the crop is 21-230C. At the same time, the plants are protected from direct sunlight. Such gentle conditions are excellent for growing young plants, and the process of planting them outdoors is stressful for them.
To accustom small eggplants to new conditions, it is necessary to begin hardening 2 weeks before picking. To do this, pots with plants need to be taken outside, first for half an hour, then the time is gradually increased until full daylight hours. This measure will allow the eggplants to adapt to street temperatures and exposure to direct sunlight.
Picking process
A few hours before transplanting the plants, it is necessary to water them so that the soil is moderately moist and does not crumble from the roots. It is recommended to fertilize the soil into which the plants are supposed to be planted. To do this, use a mixture: add a glass of mullein, a tablespoon of urea and a teaspoon of ash to a bucket of water.
Otherwise, picking seedlings consists of the following steps:
- Depending on the tallness of the variety, indentations are made in the moistened soil at a certain frequency. Thus, low-growing varieties (Almaz, Black Beauty, Fabina and some others) can be picked at 5-6 bushes per 1 m2. Tall eggplants, over 1.5 meters high (Goliath) are planted no thicker than 2-3 bushes/m2.
- If the seedlings were grown in peat tablets or pots, then the plants are placed in the soil along with the container, without removing the sprout, pressing and compacting the soil around the perimeter of the planting.
- If plastic containers were used, they should be carefully pressed on all sides so that the soil comes away from the walls. The root system of eggplant is poorly developed, so the procedure must be carried out as carefully as possible, keeping as much soil as possible on the root.
- If the soil was moistened before the dive, then watering the planted plants is not required.
Eggplant care
Depending on the variety, eggplants can be planted in open or protected ground. Caring for planted seedlings is as follows:
- During the first month after picking, it is recommended to water daily;
- Eggplants should be fertilized once every two weeks. To do this, you can use manure infusion and other organic matter, as well as special mixtures with a high nitrogen content;
- It is especially important when growing eggplants to carry out regular and thorough weeding with simultaneous loosening;
- bushes over 70 cm high must be tied up;
- yellowed leaves on the bushes should be broken off;
- Pests, in particular the Colorado potato beetle, can be eliminated using salted flour, wet wood ash or special chemicals.
Properly grown and promptly picked seedlings have sufficient strength to easily take root in new conditions and resist all kinds of diseases. During the transplantation process, it is very important to carry out all manipulations as carefully as possible, so as not to damage the delicate root system of the plant. As for the method of cultivation, then, of course, in domestic climatic conditions, eggplants must be cultivated using the seedling method. Whether to use intermediate picking or immediately sow 1-2 seeds in separate pots is, perhaps, up to the gardener himself to decide. However, we should not forget that such manipulation poses a certain risk for the plant and helps slow its growth.
