Content
Eggplant growing is becoming more widespread in Russia. This is not surprising at all, as 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 appreciated. In addition to excellent taste, the vegetable is also very useful due to the content of many vitamins and minerals. The combination of the listed properties and qualities of the plant has led to the fact that it becomes more popular with domestic gardeners every year.
Features of growing eggplant
The cultivation of eggplant has its own agrotechnical features, since the plant is not well adapted to Russian climatic conditions. Therefore, in order to obtain a decent harvest of a vegetable, it is necessary to make a sufficient amount of effort and spend a lot of time. When growing a vegetable, you should pay special attention to the following points:
- Eggplants are the most thermophilic plants in our gardens. They grow only at a temperature of +20 degrees, at a lower temperature, plant growth slows down or even stops completely;
- The plant does not tolerate the effects of negative temperatures very poorly, which leads to the fact that eggplant in most cases dies in freezing if no measures are taken to further protect the plant;
- Eggplants are also quite demanding for watering. It should be carried out regularly, especially on hot days it is necessary to approach this issue carefully. Moreover, to maintain the required level of soil moisture, evening is considered the optimal time for watering eggplant. Then the water almost completely enters the ground, and does not evaporate. An insufficient level of watering of the vegetable leads to the fall 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, therefore, when growing a vegetable in open ground, in most cases, protective devices in the form of arcs are used, on top of which some covering material is fixed. Most often, ordinary film is used;
- Fertile land of light structure. Successful cultivation of eggplant outdoors requires a constant high level of soil moisture. In addition to the regular watering of the plant, which was mentioned above, it is also necessary to carry out mulching, which ensures uniform moisture in the earth. This is usually done using straw, sawdust, or a thick layer of grass, or a mixture of all of the above.
Growing eggplants, carried out in the open field, is most successful if the predecessors of the vegetable were:
- Cucumber;
- Cabbage;
- Legumes;
- Turnip;
- Bow;
- Carrot.
The list of plants is also well known, after which it is not recommended to plant eggplants:
- Potatoes;
- 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 your garden has clay soils, then improve their composition by introducing peat or river sand. Add peat and sod land to sandy soils, and sod land to peat soils.In the fall, dig up the future bed for growing eggplant with manure, select weeds... In the spring, add rotted manure.
In central Russia, eggplants are grown only through seedlings... Choose vegetable seeds for early planting. 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 not to wait for the harvest. It is best to plant varieties that are appropriate 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, the seeds of the plant 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, since the vegetable seedlings get tangled and can break off. It is much more efficient and more reliable to use either cotton pads or nonwovens. The soil for planting eggplant seedlings is usually prepared in a fairly simple way - sod land, sand and peat are mixed. Often, ordinary garden land is taken, to which high-quality purchased land is added. Can also be used for planting eggplants for seedlings ready-made purchased land intended for seedlings. It is recommended to add wood ash whenever possible. The next step is to prepare the necessary containers for vegetable seedlings. It is believed that eggplants, especially young plants, do not tolerate picking well, freeze in growth, so use peat tablets, peat cups or any other separate containers for seedlings. Or prepare a container from scrap materials: cut plastic bottles or bags for juices and milk.
Planting seeds
Fill the prepared containers for plant seedlings with soil mixture, moisten, make small depressions, place 2 seeds there, sprinkle with soil. After that, it is necessary to tighten the containers with foil or cover with glass. At a temperature of +25 degrees, which is optimal for the rapid development of eggplants, the seeds of a vegetable will need 10 - 15 days to release sprouts. Before sprouts appear, watering is not required, it is sufficient to pre-moisten the soil before sowing. Excessive soil moisture can lead to seed rot. For the successful emergence of sprouts, the most important thing is to maintain the required temperature, while at this stage even lighting is not required.
Eggplant seedling care
After the first shoots of the plant appear, it is necessary to remove the film. Further, the temperature may be slightly lower, its minimum value is +16 degrees. A lower daytime temperature will first slow down and then completely stop the growth of the plant. Water the eggplant seedlings regularly, in no case should the soil dry out. This will immediately negatively affect the emerging vegetable sprouts. The containers with eggplant seedlings must be rotated. Otherwise, it will stretch out and, most likely, be one-sided.
You may need to transfer the plants to a large container. To do this, water the seedlings abundantly, remove the plant along with the earthy clod, while trying not to injure the root system. Place in a large container, sprinkle with soil. As soon as stable warm weather is established, that is, frosts become unlikely, and the earth warms up to +20 degrees, the eggplants are ready to be transplanted into the ground. The approximate time for transplanting into the soil is early June.Plants should be 10 to 20 cm high by this time, have approximately 6-8 leaves and possibly buds.
2 weeks before planting the eggplants in the ground, start preparing the seedlings for changing conditions. Carry out hardening. To do this, you need to take vegetable seedlings to a balcony or loggia, first for 1 - 2 hours. Then the time should be gradually increased, and at the final stage of hardening, containers with plant seedlings should be left on the balcony or loggia for the whole day and night. If you live in a private house, then the 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.
Landing in open ground
Before disembarking eggplant seedlings shed the soil well. Choose a bed for eggplant taking into account the factors described above, the main ones of which are rightly considered that these plants are thermophilic and light-loving, and they do not tolerate drafts very well. Dig up the soil, add rotted manure or humus, peat and, if necessary, river sand. It is even better if you took care of the eggplant bed in the fall, that is, you dug it up, brought in manure, removed the weeds.
If your soil is poor, then before planting eggplant seedlings, add wood ash and fertilizers obtained by mixing three components: potassium sulfate, urea and superphosphate. Each substance is taken in the amount of 1 tbsp. spoon for one square. m of soil.
Before planting eggplant seedlings in open ground, you must first make holes according to the 40x50 or 50x50 scheme. Spill well and mix the soil in and around the hole to make a kind of earthen porridge. Place a young plant in it along with an earthen clod. It is allowed to plant 2 plants at once in one hole. Sprinkle with earth, compact the soil slightly, and mulch on top, for example, with peat. Mulch helps to maintain the required level of moisture in the soil and its more even distribution. Most importantly, the first two weeks.
The first time you need to cover the plants. Nighttime temperatures are not high enough for full eggplant growth. At temperatures below +16 degrees, the vegetable stops growing, the leaves turn yellow, the plant may die. Stick the arches on the beds and place the covering material on them. In mid-July, you can no longer cover the eggplants. But it is advisable not to remove the covering material at all, since it may well still be useful. Taking into account the peculiarities of the domestic climate, in summer there are also sharp drops in temperature, for which you will be ready and will be able to protect the plants.
Eggplant care
Regular care of planted eggplants consists in watering, loosening row spacings, feeding and forming a bush, timely removal of weeds. Water the plant with warm water in the morning or evening at the root, being careful not to let water get on the leaves. During the period of fruit formation, watering the eggplants should be especially abundant. During the entire period of growing the vegetable, the soil moisture level should be kept high enough. This is one of the most important factors in ensuring a decent vegetable harvest. Loosening the soil also allows air to flow to the roots and reduces moisture evaporation. If you covered the ground around the plants with mulch, then 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 saves from abundant weed growth.
Outdoor eggplants do not grow as tall as their greenhouse counterparts. Therefore, tying the plant, as a rule, is not required. But at the same time, do not forget about the formation of an eggplant bush. In a plant with a height of 30 - 40 cm, pinch the top, due to which the plant begins to branch, grow in breadth. Leave 5 - 6 side shoots of the vegetable, choose the most viable ones, remove the rest with pruning shears. Eggplants are extremely positive about frequent feeding, so water the plant with traditional bird droppings or slurry every 2 weeks. Mineral fertilizers are prepared as follows: mix ammonium nitrate (10 g), potassium sulfate (5 g) and potassium sulfate (10 g), distribute over 1 sq. m of soil, water well. Most gardeners consider the alternation of mineral fertilizers and organic matter to be the optimal mode for feeding eggplants. For the secrets of growing, see the video:
Harvesting eggplant
About four weeks after flowering, the plant ripens its fruits. At the same time, they become glossy. As a rule, vegetables are consumed in the stage of technical ripeness. During the period of biological maturity, eggplants are no longer suitable for food. This is due to the fact that they become fibrous and lose their pleasant and refined taste.
When harvesting, the eggplants should be carefully and carefully cut with pruning shears to avoid damaging 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. The hostesses prepare delicious caviar from eggplants, pickle, fry. You can cut the fruit of the plant into pieces and freeze it for the winter. "Vegetable of longevity" is the name of eggplant 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 most beneficially affect the elderly. An additional important advantage of eggplant is that it has no contraindications for consumption.
Conclusion
For the successful cultivation of eggplant in difficult domestic climatic conditions, it is necessary to carefully observe the basic agrotechnical techniques and rules, drawn up taking into account the peculiarities of a whimsical plant. When they are carried out, which will require considerable effort and time, the gardener can get a decent harvest of a tasty and healthy vegetable.
