Content
Cultivation of eggplants is becoming increasingly widespread in Russia. This is not at all surprising, since this vegetable has wonderful taste characteristics and can be used in the preparation of many different dishes. Processed eggplant is no less popular; in particular, the famous caviar is especially valued. In addition to its excellent taste, the vegetable is also very healthy due to the content of many vitamins and microelements. The combination of the listed properties and qualities of the plant has led to the fact that it is becoming more popular with domestic gardeners every year.
Features of growing eggplants
Growing eggplant has its own agrotechnical characteristics, since the plant is poorly adapted to Russian climatic conditions. Therefore, to obtain a decent vegetable harvest, it is necessary to put in a sufficient amount of effort and spend a lot of time. When growing vegetables, you should pay special attention to the following points:
- Eggplants are the most heat-loving plants in our gardens. They grow only at a temperature of +20 degrees; at lower temperatures, plant growth slows down or even stops completely;
- The plant does not tolerate the effects of negative temperatures very well, which leads to the fact that eggplant dies in most cases during frosts, unless measures are taken to additionally protect the plant;
- Eggplants are also quite demanding when it comes to watering. It should be carried out regularly, especially carefully on hot days. Moreover, to maintain the required level of soil moisture, the optimal time for watering eggplant is considered to be in the evening. Then the water almost completely enters the soil and does not evaporate. Insufficient watering of the vegetable leads to the falling of flowers and ovaries, as well as deformation of the already appeared fruits of the plant;
- Eggplant shows the highest yields when grown in well-lit areas of the garden or vegetable garden. At the same time, the plant tolerates wind and drafts extremely poorly, so when growing vegetables in open ground, in most cases, protective devices in the form of arcs are used, on top of which some kind of covering material is fixed. Most often, ordinary film is used;
- Fertile soil with light structure. Successful cultivation of eggplant in open ground requires constant maintenance of a high level of soil moisture. In addition to regular watering of the plant, which was mentioned above, it is also necessary to mulch to ensure even moisture in the soil. This is usually done using straw, sawdust or a thick layer of grass or a mixture of all of the above.
Growing eggplants in open ground is most successful if the predecessors of the vegetable were:
- Cucumber;
- Cabbage;
- Legumes;
- Turnip;
- Onion;
- Carrot.
The list of plants after which it is not recommended to plant eggplants is also well known:
- Potato;
- Tomatoes;
- Pepper;
- Eggplant.
It is best to plant eggplants in that part of the site where there is no draft, sunny and fertile soil. Loamy and sandy loam soils are considered ideal. If the soil in your garden is clay, then improve its composition by adding peat or river sand. Add peat and turf soil to sandy soils, and turf soil to peat soils. In the fall, dig up the future bed for growing eggplant with manure, select weeds. Apply rotted manure in the spring.
In central Russia, eggplants are grown only through seedlings. Choose vegetable seeds for planting with early plant maturation. Eggplants have a long growing season. When choosing late varieties of vegetables and if the weather does not work out, then it is quite possible that you will not wait for the harvest. It is better to plant plant varieties that are suitable for your climate.
Seed preparation
Before planting eggplant seeds for seedlings, preliminary preparation is necessary. If you bought their granulated or coated varieties, then pre-planting preparation is not required for them. In other cases, plant seeds are disinfected in the traditional way. To do this, they are immersed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate and left in it for about 20 minutes. Then the seeds are germinated. When carrying out this procedure, most experts recommend not using gauze, as the vegetable sprouts get tangled and may break off. It is much more effective and reliable to use either cotton pads or non-woven materials.The soil for planting eggplant seedlings is usually prepared in a fairly simple way - turf soil, sand and peat are mixed. Often, ordinary garden soil is taken, to which high-quality purchased soil is added. Can also be used for planting eggplant seedlings ready-made purchased land intended for seedlings. It is recommended to add wood ash whenever possible. The next step: preparing the necessary containers for vegetable seedlings. It is believed that eggplants, especially young plants, do not tolerate picking well and freeze in growth, so use peat tablets, peat cups or any other separate containers for seedlings. Or prepare containers from scrap materials: cut-off plastic bottles or juice and milk cartons.
Planting seeds
Fill the prepared containers for plant seedlings with soil mixture, moisten them, make small depressions, place 2 seeds there, and sprinkle with soil. After this, you need to cover the containers with film or cover them with glass. At the optimal temperature for rapid development of eggplants, +25 degrees, the vegetable seeds will need 10 - 15 days to sprout. Before sprouts appear, watering is not required; moistening the soil before sowing is sufficient. Increased soil moisture can lead to seed rotting. For the successful emergence of sprouts, the most important thing is to maintain the required temperature, and at this stage even lighting is not required.
Caring for eggplant seedlings
After the first shoots of the plant appear, the film must be removed.Further, the temperature may be slightly lower, its minimum value is +16 degrees. Lower daytime temperatures will first cause a slowdown and then a complete stop in plant growth. Water your eggplant seedlings regularly; under no circumstances should you allow the soil to dry out. This will immediately have a negative impact on the emerging vegetable sprouts. Containers with eggplant seedlings must be rotated. Otherwise, it will stretch out and, most likely, will be one-sided.
You may need to transfer the plants into a larger container. To do this, water the seedlings generously, remove the plant along with the earthen ball, being careful not to injure the root system. Place in a large container, sprinkle with soil. As soon as stable warm weather sets in, that is, frosts become unlikely, and the ground warms up to +20 degrees, the eggplants are ready to be transplanted into the ground. The approximate time for replanting into the soil is early June. The plants should be 10 to 20 cm tall by this time, with approximately 6-8 leaves and possibly buds.
2 weeks before planting eggplants in the ground, start preparing the seedlings for changing conditions. Carry out hardening. To do this, you need to take the vegetable seedlings out onto the balcony or loggia, first for 1 - 2 hours. Then you should gradually increase the time, and at the final stage of hardening, you should leave containers with plant seedlings on the balcony or loggia all day and night. If you live in a private house, then eggplant seedlings can be left outside.This increases its resistance to temperature changes, the negative effects of wind and the plant’s resistance to other negative factors.
Planting in open ground
Before disembarking eggplant seedlings Water the plants well. Choose a bed for eggplants taking into account the factors described above, the main of which are rightly considered to be that these plants are heat-loving and light-loving, and do not tolerate drafts very well. Dig up the soil, add rotted manure or humus, peat and, if required, river sand. It’s even better if you took care of the eggplant bed in the fall, that is, dug it up, added manure, and removed weeds.
If your soil is poor, then before planting eggplant seedlings, add wood ash and fertilizer obtained by mixing three components: potassium sulfate, urea and superphosphate. Each substance is taken in a volume of 1 tbsp. spoon per square meter m of soil.
Before planting eggplant seedlings in open ground, you must first make holes according to the 40x50 or 50x50 pattern. Water well and mix the soil in the hole and next to it to make a kind of earthen porridge. Place the young plant in it along with a lump of earth. It is allowed to plant 2 plants in one hole at once. Sprinkle with earth, lightly compact the soil, and mulch on top, for example, with peat. Mulch helps maintain the required level of moisture in the soil and its more even distribution. What is especially important is the first two weeks.
At first, you will need to cover the plants. Night temperatures are not high enough for eggplant to grow properly. At temperatures below +16 degrees, the vegetable stops growing, the leaves turn yellow, and the plant may die. Stick arcs into the beds and place covering material on them. In mid-July, you no longer need to cover the eggplants. But it is advisable not to remove the covering material completely, since it may well still be useful. Considering the peculiarities of the domestic climate, there are also sharp drops in temperature in the summer, for which you will be prepared and will be able to protect your plants.
Eggplant care
Regular care of planted eggplants includes watering, loosening the rows, fertilizing and forming a bush, and timely removal of weeds. Water the plant with warm water in the morning or evening at the root, trying to prevent water from getting on the leaves. During the period of fruit formation, watering eggplants should be especially abundant. During the entire period of growing the vegetable, the soil moisture level should be maintained sufficiently high. This is one of the most important factors ensuring a decent vegetable harvest. Loosening the soil also promotes air flow to the roots and reduces moisture evaporation. If you cover the ground around the plants with mulch, you will need to loosen the soil fewer times. Mulching the soil is considered one of the necessary agrotechnical techniques for growing eggplants. In addition to ensuring the required level of soil moisture, the presence of mulch prevents abundant weed growth.
Eggplants in open ground do not grow as tall as their counterparts growing in greenhouses. Therefore, tying up the plant is usually not required. But do not forget about the formation of an eggplant bush. On a plant 30–40 cm high, the top is pinched, due to which the plant begins to branch and grow in breadth. Leave 5–6 side shoots of the vegetable, select the most viable ones, and remove the rest with pruning shears. Eggplants respond extremely well to frequent feeding, so water the plant every 2 weeks with traditional bird droppings or slurry. Mineral fertilizers are prepared as follows: mix ammonium nitrate (10 g), potassium sulfate (5 g) and potassium sulfate (10 g), spread over 1 square. m of soil, water well. Most gardeners consider alternating the application of mineral fertilizers and organic matter to be the optimal regime for feeding eggplants. For the secrets of growing, watch the video:
Eggplant harvest
Approximately four weeks after flowering, the plants begin to ripen. At the same time they become glossy. As a rule, vegetable fruits are consumed as food at the stage of technical ripeness. During the period of biological maturity, eggplants are no longer suitable for food. This is explained by the fact that they become fibrous and lose their pleasant and refined taste.
When harvesting, cut eggplants carefully and carefully with pruning shears so as not to damage the plant. Eat the fruits of the vegetable immediately, do not store for a long time. If this is not possible, then the best way to store the vegetable is to place it in the refrigerator. Housewives prepare delicious caviar from eggplants, marinate and fry them. You can cut the fruits of the plant into pieces and freeze for the winter.“Vegetable of longevity”, this is what eggplant is called in the East. This is not at all accidental, since it is not only tasty, but also very healthy. At the same time, the fruits of the plant have the most beneficial effect on older people. An additional important advantage of eggplant is that it has no contraindications for consumption.
Conclusion
To successfully grow eggplant in difficult domestic climatic conditions, it is necessary to carefully follow basic agrotechnical techniques and rules, drawn up taking into account the characteristics of the fastidious plant. When they are carried out, which will require considerable effort and time, the gardener can get a decent harvest of tasty and healthy vegetables.
