Eggplant refers to vegetables, for the cultivation of which not every gardener takes. It is very thermophilic and has a long growing season. In open ground, it is not planted everywhere: in the middle lane, sowing eggplant may not bring the expected success. Nevertheless, his agricultural technology does not require anything special: it takes time, heat, moisture and very fertile soil.
Choosing a place for planting, preparing soil and beds
Eggplant is very demanding on the conditions, will not grow where necessary. Since the "little blue ones" are very thermophilic, a place for a bed is chosen that is well-lit by the sun, protected from cold winds. Therefore, nearby should be the wall of the house, a blank fence or a row of bushes. It is unacceptable to plant eggplant in lowlands where rainwater accumulates, or where groundwater passes close: the crop is in great need of moisture, but cannot tolerate waterlogging.
The best soils are light, but water-intensive sandy loams with a neutral reaction of the environment. Even a small amount of sand is added to loamy soils, and clay is unsuitable for eggplant: such soils need to be corrected for more than one year. The bed can be of any convenient size, but they begin to prepare it in the autumn, carefully digging the area with the addition of large doses of organic fertilizers and at the same time removing perennial weeds. Everything except fresh manure will do.
When digging for 1 m2 make a bucket of sawdust and rotted manure, as well as up to two buckets of peat. If there is no peat, the amount of humus (or good compost) should be doubled. In addition to organics, add a liter jar of wood ash and a small amount of mineral fertilizers (for example, 2-3 tablespoons of nitrophosphate). However, if there is a sufficient amount of peat and high-quality humus, mineral fertilizers can be dispensed with.
Since eggplants are very fond of warmth, for them, especially in the not too southern regions, they often prepare warm beds. To this end, dig a hole up to 20 cm deep. Put brushwood, tree branches, fallen leaves, sawdust, various household garbage, food waste, etc. The resulting pile is generously watered with infusion of manure or bird droppings, and then a layer of good fertile soil is poured. so that you get a bed up to 30 cm high.
Warm bed allows eggplant roots to be constantly in comfortable conditions
The sides of the beds, if necessary, are enclosed with any flat material, for example, old wide boards. In winter, the upper layer is again dug up a little and waiting for spring. In the spring, shortly before the seedlings were planted, the bed was loosened again, and the day before planting it was well shed with warm water. It is advisable to add a handful of mullein or very little bird droppings to a bucket of water.
Preparing planting material
Eggplant has a very long growing season. Therefore, growing seedlings in almost no climatic zone is possible, and seedlings begin to be prepared from the end of winter. Sowing seeds in the garden is possible only in the very south of our country, and even there they can’t do without seedlings to get early crops. By the time of planting on the garden bed, the seedlings should be in pots for more than two months, so eggplant at home is one of the first to be sown.
How to test seeds for germination
Of all the available eggplant varieties, you need to choose zoned. It should be borne in mind that in the central region in the open ground, only early or even super-early varieties can be grown. It is worth looking at what the variety is recommended for: for greenhouses or open ground. If the seeds are not very fresh, still in winter you should not spare the time and check them for germination, given that even this check can take up to two weeks.
Therefore, in the winter, you need to get a few seeds from the bag (it is not a pity, but not less than 6 pieces) and soak for a day in water, then spread on a wet cloth and place in a warm place (about 30 ° C). In the morning and in the evening it is necessary to conduct an audit and, if necessary, moisten the fabric. If in 7-10 days in such heat at least half of the seeds bite, you can not buy new ones.
Achieve 100% germination will not succeed; if half pecked, the experiment can be stopped
How many eggplants sprout
Eggplant seeds "slow-witted", germinate slowly. It’s hard even to say exactly how much time they need for this: when sowing with dry seeds, the first sprouts can appear in seven days, and then daily new loops can be expected to appear. This process can last up to three weeks, which, of course, is unacceptable. Therefore, eggplant seeds must be prepared for sowing. In addition to checking seeds for germination, this process includes:
- Their disinfection in a solution of potassium permanganate.
- Hardening seeds in the refrigerator.
- Growth stimulant treatment.
Is it possible to sow fresh seeds from a sachet immediately, dry? Of course you can. In properly created conditions, they will certainly rise. Just do it they will be stretched, which is very inconvenient for the gardener: after all, seedlings must be urgently placed in a cool place, and for the appearance of the next you need warmth. Dilemma…
Soaking and seed treatment
Branded, expensive seeds can not be disinfected, large trading organizations try to sell only healthy ones. But it will be more reliable to treat them for 30 minutes with a dark solution of potassium permanganate, after which it is good to wash with plain water. In this case, part of the seeds, the most frail, will pop up. Do not think that they are completely worthless, they are simply weaker than others. Therefore, if there are a lot of seeds, the pop-up can be thrown away. If you need to save, it is worth planting the seeds separately: light and heavy will develop at different speeds.
Since in our case it is planned to grow eggplants in open ground, it is necessary to harden them. To do this, the seeds are first soaked (although, of course, they are already wet with us!). But you need to hold them for several more hours in warm (thirty degrees) water until they swell qualitatively, then place them in a wet rag and keep them alternately in heat and refrigerator for 4-6 days with a frequency of 10-12 hours.
How to accelerate seed germination
Even soaked and hardened eggplant seeds sprout for a long time and stretched, so they can still be helped. Eggplant is one of those examples of vegetables, the cultivation of which should not be neglected pre-sowing seed treatment with growth stimulants. Treat stimulants need swollen, but not yet hatching seeds.
For this, you can use, for example, Epin-Extra or Zircon strictly according to the instructions on the label. They contribute to increased germination, as well as the further development of seedlings. You can keep seeds in these preparations for a long time, even up to a day, but the standard time is 8-10 hours. There are many similar drugs, for example, rather cheap succinic acid (0.2 g / l), but at home, for example, agave juice diluted with water 5-10 times works similarly.
Growth stimulants not only accelerate germination, but also increase plant resistance
In addition to these drugs, the infusion of wood ash contributes to the acceleration of seed germination. 4-5 tablespoons insist a day in 1 liter of water, then the seeds are kept in it for 6-8 hours. Even soaking the seeds just in snowy water speeds up their germination slightly. Any of these effects accelerate the emergence of seedlings by 2-3 days, but, most importantly, reduce the length of germination of eggplant seeds.
Seed germination
After all the procedures described, part of the seeds will surely bite, and their further germination is not necessary. Seeds prepared in this way are ready for sowing. But some gardeners try to wait for almost all seeds to hatch, and plant them already with tails. There is no big sense in this, only sowing will be difficult: we must try not to break these tails.
But lovers of tinkering still sprout. The easiest way to do this is to place the prepared seeds again in a wet rag, create greenhouse conditions for them (for example, wrap them in a plastic bag, and if so, put them in a Petri dish) and put them in a warm place with a temperature of about 28 aboutC. Audit is carried out twice a day: tails need to grow back more than 6-8 mm, should not be given.
Sowing seeds for seedlings
Eggplant seedlings have to be planted at home: the greenhouse option is suitable only in the south of the country. Although, in the presence of a heated greenhouse, this can be done anywhere.
When to plant eggplant for seedlings
In the south of our country, seedlings are already being cultivated in early February, or even earlier, and even in the middle lane, this is done in the winter. Eggplant seeds hatch tightly, and seedlings grow slowly, so in mid-February it is necessary to prepare containers, soil mixture and seeds for planting in order to sow them no later than early March. If you do not have time to finish sowing before mid-March, you can not start it, it will be more reliable to buy ready seedlings in the market at the end of spring.
Sowing technique
It is best to immediately sow the seeds in peat pots of medium or even large size, but more often the seeds are sown first in a common small box, and then planted in pots. For growing a small number of bushes, it is easier to buy soil in a store. If the soil mixture is prepared independently, one of the best recipes is peat with good garden soil (1: 1) and the addition of 10% pure sand. A handful of wood ash and twenty grams of urea are added to a bucket of such a mixture.
It is necessary to disinfect your soil: spill it with a warm, light solution of potassium permanganate. This work must be completed approximately 5-7 days before sowing seeds. Sowing seeds is simple. They are quite large, they can easily be taken with tweezers one at a time and laid out in a box with soil. The easiest way is to spread the seeds according to the 5 x 5 cm pattern, and then fill it with a small layer of the soil mixture. Immediately after sowing, the crops should be carefully poured with clean water and covered with a film.
Any convenient box can be selected as a box.
Until the first shoots appear, you need to maintain a temperature of 25-28 ° C, this is a week or a half. Further, the box must be put on a cool, well-lit window sill. Within 5-6 days, do not let the temperature rise above 16-18 aboutC, otherwise, instead of developing the roots, the seedlings will quickly stretch up, and the seedlings will be unfit. Then the temperature should be gradually raised to 23-25 ° C, at night - slightly lower. Such heat and bright light will be required by seedlings up to planting in the garden.
Seedling Care
Seedling care includes monitoring the temperature and light conditions, periodic moderate watering, a couple of fertilizing and, if sowing was carried out in a box, timely picking. It is necessary to water only with warm water, without excess: in seedless soil seedlings quickly become ill with a black leg. Drying of the soil should not be allowed, as this leads to premature lignification of the stem and a sharp decrease in the amount of the future crop.
The first time the seedlings are fed a week and a half after the appearance of the first shoots, the second - two weeks after the pick. The easiest way is to use ready-made dressing for seedlings, you can use any full mineral fertilizer according to the instructions for it.
If seeds were sown in a common box, soon seedlings will need to be peaked in separate peat pots with the same soil composition. Eggplant seedlings grow unevenly, and picking has to be done selectively, as the seedlings acquire two true leaves. The weakest are better to throw right away. And ready to dive after a good watering, you should try to dig out of the box with a lump of earth, without breaking the roots.
Of all the available peat pots for eggplant seedlings, it is worth choosing the largest
Pinching the roots during a dive is undesirable. They can only be slightly shortened if the branches are so large that they do not fit in a peat pot. Transplanted seedlings are well watered and cleaned for several days in the twilight, after which they are returned to normal conditions.
Hardening seedlings before planting
10-15 days before planting eggplant seedlings in open ground, they begin to harden it, gradually accustoming to natural conditions. To do this, first reduce the intensity of irrigation, and then little by little take out the seedlings on the balcony. True, the first time you should not do this at temperatures below 16 aboutC and tolerate more than 1-2 hours. Gradually increase the time.
It is equally important to teach seedlings to the scorching sun, which should also be done gradually. First, "sunbathing" is arranged for 15-20 minutes, then more.
Planting eggplant seedlings in open ground
When planting seedlings in the garden, it should have at least 5-8 large bright leaves, a short thick stem and a height of 22-25 cm.
When to transplant seedlings into the ground
The specific time for planting eggplant seedlings is determined not only by the climate of the region, but also by the nature of the current weather. The optimum air temperature at this time should be at least 20 aboutC. In most places it’s unrealistic to wait, and you have to plant eggplants under temporary shelters. But in any case, the soil at a depth of 10-12 cm should be warmed up to a minimum of 15 aboutFROM.
Estimated planting time for eggplant seedlings in various regions:
- in the south of Russia - April 25 - May 5;
- in the middle lane and in Belarus - May 25 - June 5;
- in the Ural region, in the North-West and in Siberia - June 10 - 15.
Seedlings are planted in the evening, when the sun is no longer baking, and even better if cloudy weather is predicted in the coming days.
What fertilizers to put in the hole when planting
If the bed is well fertilized in the fall, in spring when loosening the beds, you can only scatter a little wood ash on the surface. But when planting seedlings, many gardeners also make local fertilizers in each hole. They should not be many, since the holes are made small, the size of the pot. It is enough to add a handful of ash or a teaspoon of azofoska, then carefully mix the fertilizers with the soil.
Almost all plants like ash, and eggplant is no exception
Experienced gardeners put onion peel in the hole, which is collected all winter. It can be called a fertilizer with a stretch, but the husk helps well against various pests. By this time, the husk is dry, they take it, how much it fits in the hand, slightly rub it and throw it into the landing hole.
Methods and schemes for planting eggplant, the distance between plantings
The traditional option of growing seedlings is in peat pots, so when planting it, they are not removed from the pot, they are buried in the hole entirely. Pots are produced with different wall thicknesses, it is desirable to use medium ones for eggplants, but thick walls are normally soaked in well-watered soil, eggplant roots are able to penetrate them.
If seedlings are grown in reusable pots with a retractable bottom, before planting, they must be watered more carefully, but no later than 5-6 hours before being removed from the pot, so that pushing the bottom out you can get a cube of soil with seedlings in your hands, rather than crumbling ground . All roots should be kept as much as possible.
The most difficult thing is to extract the seedlings from a common box, if she lived in it until the summer. This requires accuracy, since in the box neighboring plants are intertwined with roots. Therefore, eggplant is categorically not recommended to be grown in common containers.
No matter how and where the seedlings were grown, all the distances between the bushes in the open ground will be the same. The planting pattern is determined by both the owner’s preferences and the eggplant variety, and therefore the size of the future adult bush. Eggplants are usually planted in beds of standard width, so two rows are obtained with a distance between them of 50-70 cm. In the rows between bushes, 35-45 cm are left, reducing these values only for the lowest growing varieties.
The eggplant bushes often grow quite strongly, so the planting should not be cramped
In addition to such a scheme, a square-nested one is often used. In this case, the holes are dug in a checkerboard pattern, at distances of 60 cm both in rows and between them. If there are a lot of seedlings, but there is not enough space, you can upgrade this option by increasing the distance to 70 cm and planting two bushes in each nest, unless, of course, this is a very tall variety.
Landing depth
Everything is simple with depth. If the seedlings are of high quality, not elongated, they are planted with minimal depth: 2-3 cm deeper than she grew at home. The slope, as in the case of tomatoes, they do not need. If the seedlings are not very good, you can try and deepen, and even slightly tilt. But this technique does not help eggplant very much: if the in-depth planting of tomatoes causes the growth of additional roots, they hardly appear in the eggplant.
Features and rules for landing
Planting eggplant seedlings is no more difficult than peppers or tomatoes, only it should be handled more carefully. In tomatoes, you can even break the stem: over time, new shoots and leaves will grow, although fruiting will be delayed. For eggplant, the loss of even one of the available 5-6 leaves will greatly weaken the seedlings. If it is assumed that the bushes will grow tall, and they have to be tied up, it is better to stick the pegs next to the holes in advance so as not to injure the growing roots. Garter seedlings immediately after planting, most likely, will not be required.
Wells filled with local fertilizers are pre-watered with warm water, depending on the condition of the soil, up to three liters may be required. It is more convenient to plant eggplant "in the mud", but after planting and filling the voids with soil, watering should be repeated. The soil around the bushes must be mulched. Even in the south in the evenings in the evening the bed should be covered first with non-woven materials. Some gardeners do not remove them from the beds all summer, placing them on specially constructed supports, and only occasionally raise their shelter for airing the bushes.
Temporary shelter can be homemade, but in the first weeks it is required
The first 10-15 days after planting, eggplant almost does not grow. At this time, you can periodically loosen the ground around the bushes. As the growth resumes, they should be well watered with warm water, avoiding waterlogging of the soil. After the bushes reach a height of 30 cm, they pinch the tops, causing the growth of side shoots.
Video: planting seedlings in open ground
Planting eggplant in a non-seedling way
Is it possible to do without seedlings when growing eggplant? After all, it would be great to sow the seeds in the garden immediately! Alas, this is possible only in the south, and even then you will have to forget about getting early products. It will be possible to sow seeds into holes without shelter not earlier than May, which means that only early varieties should be selected. Under temporary shelters, sowing in the south is possible in early April, if the soil has warmed up to at least 14 aboutFROM.
With this sowing, small holes are made in the garden bed prepared since the fall, in which 3-4 seeds are laid out to a depth of about 2 cm. Extra shoots are then removed, but sometimes two plants are left in the hole. In any case, initially the crops should be covered with a film, and when it can be removed, it depends on the specific weather.
What can and cannot be planted eggplant next to
It is not difficult to find tables that indicate the best and worst neighbors for a particular garden or garden culture. Basically, the proximity of plants is logically explained. So, eggplant is not advised to plant next to tomatoes or potatoes. They do not interfere with each other's growth, but have a common enemy - the Colorado potato beetle. Having settled on potatoes, it will also damage eggplants.
Often, eggplant is planted with peppers, almost alternating between plantings. Since they have almost the same growing conditions, this is quite logical. It is only necessary to look at the height of adult plants so that tall varieties of eggplant do not obscure the pepper bushes, which also require sunlight.
Peas and beans are considered good neighbors for little blue ones, but here, too, you need to pay attention to the height of the plants in terms of possible shading. Eggplant coexists well with any kind of cabbage. And such popular flowers as marigolds and nasturtium drive many pests away from eggplant.
Eggplant predecessors when planted
With undesirable eggplant predecessors, everything is simple: they cannot be planted after any solanaceous crops (potatoes, tomatoes). As for the rest, they are not picky about their predecessors, it is only important that the previous inhabitants in the garden do not eat all the nutrients clean and do not clog the soil with their seeds and potential pests.
It is believed that eggplant grows best after peas, cucumbers, parsley, carrots and any salad crops.
Possible landing problems
It is not very easy to grow eggplant seedlings, but adult plants, after they take root in the garden, do not cause big problems to the gardener. And seedlings can cause difficulties only in the first stages.
Eggplant does not sprout
The reasons that the sown seeds do not germinate are varied, but you should not worry until less than half a month after sowing the correctly prepared seeds. Some of the reasons are as follows.
- Bad seeds with an expired shelf life, so they are advised to check for germination in advance.
- The use of seeds that have been processed before sale: some modern techniques increase productivity, but delay the emergence of seedlings; you need to wait a little longer.
- Seeding is too deep: when sown deeper than 3 cm, the prepared seeds can rot.
- Seed is cold: at temperatures below 20 aboutWith they can rise for a very long time, or even a precipice.
- Improperly created soil moisture: in overdried soil, seeds can dry out, and in rotten soils, they can rot.
Seedlings stretched out
Drawing seedlings is a common problem, but the reasons are clear. This occurs at first after germination, when the temperature needs to be lowered and the light added. But if the seeds are sown in a common box, it is difficult for the gardener to make a choice: the first seedlings appeared, and the next can be expected for a long time. And for the first couple of days in the heat, the most frisky specimens are pulled into a string.
Such strings can no longer be saved, you need to sow again
If sown immediately in separate pots - it is easier, only they need to be transferred to cool. But the general box ... It will have to be set in conditions of low temperature when the first seedlings are already "at the limit", otherwise at lower temperatures the next ones may not rise. If the seedlings still stretched out, for starters you can sprinkle a little soil. In an extreme case, transplant the elongated specimens to a new home ahead of time, greatly deepening them.
Eggplant seedlings fall
Young shoots can fall (disappear) for many reasons, but they all boil down to improper care or infection. It is unlikely that pests visited the seedlings, but if so, it’s even good: getting rid of insects at home is easy, just spray the remaining seedlings with any insecticide.
More often, unfortunately, seedlings fall due to illness. If everything was in order with the ground, then the owner overdid it with watering. There are two main options: root rot or black leg. In the first case, the remaining seedlings can be saved. It is necessary to remove the fallen ones, water the soil with a pink solution of potassium permanganate, expose to a bright light and slightly dry. In the case of a black leg, you can try to do the same, and even add calcined chilled sand to the soil. But the likelihood that this will help is no longer very high.
For growing eggplants in open ground, in fact, there is only one serious obstacle: a long period of summer heat is required. Otherwise, all agricultural technology is similar to that for most heat-loving plants. The gardener has the greatest but surmountable difficulties in the early stages of seedling cultivation and in the first time after planting it in the garden.
