How to grow eggplant seedlings at home?

In order to have time to get a harvest in a short summer, eggplant seedlings are prepared in advance at home. This vegetable is grown in our greenhouses and in the garden, but, as a rule, only by the seedling method. For those who do not yet know how to grow eggplant seedlings at home, we have prepared detailed instructions.

Seeds

Growing eggplant seedlings at home begins with the selection of seeds. It is best to buy seeds of zoned varieties of early ripening, from germination to harvesting they take about 100 days, late varieties grow up to 150 days. When buying, it is advisable to pay attention to the integrity of the packaging, the date of collection, responsible producers usually indicate the number of seeds and the date of collection, and not the shelf life. Sowing material is considered suitable for up to 8 years, but the best germination is observed for 2 - 4 years.

If you buy seeds in advance, you can have time to check their germination, and if the result is unsatisfactory, try to find others. To check, it is enough to take 10 - 15 pieces, pour warm water for a day, then put it on a cotton pad in a warm place for 4 - 5 days, keep the cotton wool wet all the time. If half of the seeds sprout or sprout, then this is a good result.

In order for the seedlings to be strong, the seeds are hardened, disinfected, and in order for the seedlings to appear earlier, the following manipulations are carried out: soaking, germination. All this is a pre-planting preparation of seed material. First, unusable seeds are discarded - when soaked in salt water for 3 to 5 minutes, they usually remain on the surface of the water. Those that drowned are first hardened, for this, the conditions of detention alternate for several days: they are transferred from room temperature to the refrigerator for 8-12 hours, and then back. Some carry out a short-term heating with hot water (about 50 degrees) or by placing it in an oven with the same temperature for 20 - 30 minutes.

Disinfection of seeds is carried out using a saturated solution of potassium permanganate, in which they are placed for half an hour. Then they are thoroughly washed, soaked for a couple of hours in a solution of fertilizers, wood ash, aloe juice or a root growth stimulator bought in a store.

After that, the seed is soaked for pecking or even germination. The seeds can be put on a soft cloth, cotton pads or toilet paper rolled a couple of times, this bedding is well moistened, wrapped in polyethylene, and left warm (+25 degrees). After 5 - 7 days, all the seeds will sprout, and most will have tiny sprouts.

Video "Sowing seeds for seedlings"

From the video you will learn how to properly sow seeds for seedlings.

Landing

It is best to plant eggplants for seedlings with seeds with tiny sprouts, only this must be done carefully, maybe with tweezers, so as not to damage these sprouts.

The soil must be selected loose, nutritious, non-acidic. You can buy it in a store or make it yourself by taking leafy garden soil and adding peat, humus, compost, river sand to it. To increase the level of fertility, you can add superphosphate, potassium sulfate, urea (1 teaspoon per 10 liters of soil, so as not to overdo it). If the soil is taken from the garden, then it is important to take it not where the nightshade used to grow. Before use, the soil also needs to be disinfected, this can be done by freezing or heating in the oven. And before planting, it is advisable to spill it with a hot solution of potassium permanganate.

You can sow eggplants for seedlings in any dish - wooden, ceramic, plastic or peat cups. The thickness of the soil can be 7 - 8 cm, it is moistened, a deepening is made for a pair of seeds no more than 1.5 - 2 cm, and a large dish is prepared with the same groove depth, the seeds are placed no closer than 4 cm to each other, sprinkled on top with dry sifted soil ... Crops are covered with foil and put into a room with a temperature of +25 - +28 degrees. From prepared seeds, sprouts appear in 5 - 7 days, and from unprepared seeds - after 15 - 25 days.

Speaking about how to grow good seedlings, you need to focus on the fact that after the sprouts appear, the film is removed, and the dishes with the plants are transferred to a cool place or the temperature is lowered to +20 during the day and + 18 degrees at night. Such freshness should last at least a week in order to slow down the growth of the aerial part and allow the root system to develop. Next, let's look at how to care for seedlings.

Seedling care

Caring for home-grown eggplant seedlings is not very different from caring for other vegetable seedlings, except for the growth time - tomatoes are planted at the age of 50 - 60 days, and eggplant - 60 - 75 days. Often, eggplants grow any seedlings for so long that they are planted in the garden with flowers.

After the sprouts that have appeared have been kept at a cool temperature for a week, the temperature is again raised to a comfortable +25 in the daytime and +20 degrees at night, and they are protected from drafts. Now the seedlings need to be watered with warm, settled water (but not to allow it to stagnate) in the morning, turned in different directions to the light source, and fed. The seedlings need to be placed in the sunniest place, if it happens in early spring or even at the end of winter, then you will have to supplement the illumination with fluorescent lamps so that the daylight hours lasts up to 11 - 12 hours.

Eggplants grown in separate containers need to be pushed apart as they grow, they should receive an equal amount of light without shading each other. The air temperature, the most comfortable for growth, should be +24 to +28 degrees during the day, and at night should not drop below +18 degrees.

3 weeks before planting in the garden, plants need to begin to accustom themselves to fresh air, sunlight and a drop in air temperature. To do this, they take her out to the balcony or loggia, gradually accustoming her to the sun so that there are no burns. The time for "walks" in the fresh air is gradually increased, and the air temperature is reduced so that it becomes equal to the outdoor temperature at the time of transplantation. It is not necessary to harden the seedlings before planting in the greenhouse.

Top dressing

If the soil has been thoroughly charged with fertilizers before sowing, then there is no need to rush with fertilizing. Plants by their speed of growth and appearance will show whether they have enough of everything. At first, the roots develop faster than the aerial part, so the soil must contain a sufficient amount of phosphorus. After two to three weeks, more nitrogen will already be needed, slow growth and pallor of the leaves will indicate its lack.You can water the seedlings with a solution of mullein or bird droppings, diluted 10 and 15 times, respectively.

Eggplant seedlings do not like spraying, but weakened sprouts can be sprayed with water with hydrogen peroxide (2 tablespoons per 1 liter of water). The effect of this treatment will appear within a few hours.

For the 2 months that the seedlings grow at home, they are fed 2 or 3 times. You can use complex mineral fertilizers by dissolving them in water, pick up special mixtures for seedlings in the store.

Picking

Eggplants do not tolerate transplants well, it is better to sow them in separate cups and transplant them once - to the garden. But in the absence of space, seedlings are often grown in large boxes or containers, and then dive into separate containers. Eggplants can be dived after 1-2 leaves appear. They are watered abundantly, then carefully removed from the box with the maximum possible amount of soil with a spoon or flat stick, carefully placed in an individual dish in the middle of a recess prepared in the ground, then covered with earth until the cotyledon leaves.

The soil in the new container should be the same as for sowing, perhaps not as finely graded. The first time after transplanting, the plants are shaded, they are in no hurry to water. And you can feed them in 10 - 14 days, if the need arises.

Growing seedlings without picking

Of course, it is easier to grow eggplants by placing a couple of seeds in a 10 cm high and 0.5 liter glass. After the emergence of shoots, a stronger sprout is left, and a weak one is cut off or pinched off at the very ground. Such dishes should have holes for water drainage, you can organize a drainage layer.

Diving of plants can damage small roots, which will delay development for at least a couple of weeks, so it should be avoided if possible. You can plant seeds in peat cups, which are then placed in the garden together with the plant, without injuring it at all. Most often, seedlings are grown in disposable plastic cups, which are simply cut before planting, then they take out the plant with all the lump of earth, place it on the garden without loss.

Growing in boxes

If it is decided to use boxes for growing seedlings, then they are filled with prepared soil, watered. Shallow grooves are made at a distance of 5 - 7 cm from each other, seeds are placed every 3 - 4 cm, sprinkled with earth, covered with a film. After a week in low temperatures, the boxes are usually placed on the windowsill to provide the seedlings with maximum light. A couple of times a week, the boxes are turned the other way to the light so that the plants do not tilt to their side.

After the appearance of 1 - 2 true leaves of the plant, you will have to dive in separate containers, the older it is, the more the roots may suffer during transplantation. And the grown bushes will shade each other.

Knowing how to properly grow seedlings, you can get an excellent eggplant harvest even in a short summer.

Video "Growing at home"

From the video you will learn how to grow eggplants at home.

Eggplant is one of the tastiest vegetables in the nightshade class, which is grown in almost every household plot. But not everyone succeeds in harvesting a generous harvest. In order for the plant to please with a large number of fruits, it is necessary to grow seedlings according to the rules. After reading this article, you will become a master of eggplant cultivation in your area.

Timing for planting seeds for seedlings

From the moment of sowing the seeds to planting the eggplant on the beds, it should not take more than two months. If the plant grows under a film cover, you need to think about planting seed in the middle of February. If outdoors - at the beginning of March.

Correct fit in the box

Planting eggplant seeds in a box has been practiced for a long time.This method saves space, care of the seedlings is simplified, and transferring from place to place is not a big deal. Before planting seeds, it is necessary to select boxes of the correct size and of the required material.

Drawers are made of wood or plastic, purchased or homemade, most importantly, they should be as convenient as possible. Having picked up a box of the appropriate size, it is necessary to substitute a plywood pallet under it, and cover the walls with polyethylene so that it does not let water through.

Seeds in boxes are planted in grooves, the distance between which is 5 cm. Despite the obvious advantages of the box, there is a significant disadvantage. The root system of the seedlings is fragile, and even with a very careful dive, the root system can be damaged and the plant will die.

Eggplant seedlings in a box

Conditions for growing eggplant seedlings at home

To successfully grow eggplants at home, you need to know 5 rules for choosing seeds:

1. Productivity and resistance to temperature changes
2. Choosing between a variety or a hybrid
3. Choosing seeds corresponding to the growing region
4. We use prepared seeds
5. Choosing a trusted manufacturer

Seeds with a germination rate of more than 50% are considered suitable.

After the seed has been purchased, you need to carry out pre-sowing treatment:

• Seeds can be soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate
• Dissolve 3 ml of hydrogen peroxide in 100.0 water, heat to 40 degrees and lower the seeds for 10 minutes

The soil for sowing eggplant should be nutritious, light and loose with neutral acidity. We fill the container ¾ with earth, plant a seed, cover it with soil, thoroughly moisten it with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and cover with a film. You can moisten the soil with melt water. Cold melt water promotes growth and gives strength to the future plant, making it more resistant to disease.

Sprouted seeds must be planted in a soil preheated to 25 degrees.

Eggplant seeds

For good growth, you must follow the basic rules of care:

Lighting

For normal growth, eggplant seedlings, natural lighting may be lacking and it will have to be supplemented with a phytolamp or fluorescent lamp. The distance between the lamp and the plant should be about half a meter, and the length of daylight hours lasting from 7 to 19 hours.

Lack of lighting can lead to stretching of seedlings, seedlings weaken and lose their bright color. Such plants, when planted in a permanent place, are subject to all kinds of diseases.

Watering

Watering must be done with warm, settled water. Watering is done in the morning, using a spray bottle, so as not to wash the seeds or expose the roots. When watering, care must be taken that water does not get on the leaves and stems, as the spring sun can burn young shoots.

Eggplants do not tolerate high humidity and drought in the soil.

Watering seedlings

Top dressing

Eggplant seedlings, regardless of the quality of the soil, need additional feeding. With good development of the plant, it is fertilized with light feeding. To do this, pour 250 ml of tea leaves with 3 liters of water and leave to infuse for a week.

If seedlings grow in poorly nutritious soil or the plant grows poorly and loses its rich color, it is fertilized with complex fertilizers or self-prepared groundbait. For preparation, you need to take 1 teaspoon of superphosphate and potassium sulfate, dilute 2 teaspoons of complex fertilizer in a bucket of water.

You can also use wood ash or yeast solution as complementary foods. Ash is sprinkled on the ground in a thin layer, trying not to get on the leaves and stems. Preparation of yeast solution: 10 grams of dry yeast is diluted in 10 liters of water. Let it brew for 2-3 days. Before watering, the solution is diluted in a ratio of 1:10. All top dressing must be combined with watering.

Two weeks before planting the plant in a permanent place, it is sprayed with a 0.5% solution of copper sulfate, to protect against many diseases.

Feeding eggplant

Additional care

After the formation of 2-3 true leaves, the plant dives into larger pots. The container is filled with a nutrient mixture. The soil where the seeds used to germinate is best suited. The soil is spilled with a solution prepared from wood ash, potassium sulfate or complex fertilizer.

At the rate of 1 teaspoon of fertilizer in a bucket of water. Before diving, the seedlings must be shed. The seedling is carefully removed from the container, trying to take it with an earthen clod, and transfer it to a new container, deepening it to the cotyledon leaves. After transplanting, there should be no open area between the stem and the cotyledon leaves.

After diving, the plant stops growing, adding additional roots. After transplanting, the seedlings are not watered for 6 days and are hidden from the spring sun. After a week, watering is carried out every five days.

Eggplant seedlings in separate containers

Temperature regime

As soon as the sprouts hatch, the covering material is removed and the air temperature is lowered. 7 days after germination, you must adhere to the temperature regime, morning temperature should be 16-17 degrees, at night - 13-14 degrees. This temperature is necessary for good development of the root system.

Further, the temperature should be increased again: in the daytime - 25-27 degrees, at night - 13-14. The difference between day and night temperatures makes it possible to harden the seedlings so that they are resistant to temperature changes when transplanted to a permanent place.

Seedlings are transplanted at the age of 50-60 days.

Although growing seedlings is not an easy matter, if you follow all the rules for caring for it, you can get a strong and healthy plant that will delight you with its fruits throughout the season.

The beginning of February, its first and second decades, is the optimal time for sowing eggplants for seedlings in the middle lane. A healthy seedling will help you avoid many diseases and get a rich harvest.

Eggplant is considered a rather capricious and thermophilic culture. Many gardeners complain that they cannot get a stable harvest, and therefore it makes no sense to tinker with the crop. Perhaps, such a reputation among the "blue" was formed due to improper care of seedlings. When growing it, you need to pay attention to many factors: soil composition, temperature and humidity conditions, illumination, etc. How do you get healthy eggplant seedlings?

Seed selection and pre-sowing treatment

Buying the right seeds is the key to a good harvest. When choosing eggplant seeds, pay attention to the following factors:

• buy seeds of hybrid varieties - they have high yields, resistance to diseases and adverse weather conditions. On the seed bags of the first generation hybrids, the designation F1 is after the name;
• choose seeds from trusted manufacturers, which indicate the legal address and details on the packaging, and also work in accordance with GOST (Russia), STB (Belarus) or DSTU (Ukraine).

Growers treat many seeds with fungicides to prevent fungal growth.

Seed preparation for sowing consists of 4 main stages:

• first you need warm up seeds. There are several ways. Dry heating - a simple and quick option for preparing seeds for planting. Bake them in the oven at 50-55 ° C for 2-4 hours. But be careful - the seeds can be overheated, which will have a bad effect on their germination. It is better to arrange for them a "soft" heating for 3 months at a temperature of about 30 ° C, for example, by placing them on a radiator. Can be used hydrothermal heating... To do this, place the eggplant seeds in a closed container with warm water (40-50 ° C) for 3-5 minutes.By "waking up" the seeds, you will increase their germination and reduce the likelihood of developing diseases;
• second phase - etching... To do this, place the seeds in a 10% solution of hydrogen peroxide or in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes;
• one more obligatory step - hardening... First, place the seeds between two pieces of damp cloth and keep them there for 15-20 hours at room temperature. After this time, place them in the refrigerator for 8 hours. Then transfer it back to the room. Do this hardening marathon for a week;
• left soak seeds 2-3 days before planting. Usually melt or rainwater is used for this. The seeds are soaked in a jar or other container so that the water does not completely cover them. After soaking, let them dry until they are crumbly again.

Sowing dates for eggplant seeds

The age of eggplant seedlings before transplantation to a permanent "residence" should be 65-70 days. Therefore, select the time for sowing seeds individually, based on the climatic characteristics of the region, the degree of readiness of the greenhouse, etc.

If you sow seeds at the end of March, eggplants will bloom only at the end of summer and you can not wait for the harvest.

For example, the following dates are set for the middle lane:

• for growing in a greenhouse, sowing seeds is carried out at the end of February, with planting in a greenhouse on the 20th of May;
• for growing eggplants in the open field, the seeds must be sown on March 12-15, since the seedlings will need to be transferred to the open ground at the end of May or, in extreme cases, before June 10.

How to prepare the soil for planting eggplants

The first step is to thoroughly disinfect the soil mixture. To do this, simply bake it in the oven by analogy with seeds, or pour boiling water over it.

It is better to compose the ground mixture yourself, choosing the components in accordance with one of the following recipes:

• take 8 parts of humus, 1 part of mullein, 1 part of potassium salt, 1 part of superphosphate and add 2 parts of sod land to them;
• use 3 parts of peat and 1 part of sawdust and spill them with any solution for germinating seedlings;
• a good and simple composition is obtained from 2 parts of humus and 1 part of sod land or 1 part of peat and 0.5 parts of sawdust.

For growing eggplant seedlings, you can also use ordinary land from the garden, especially the one on which cucumbers and cabbage grew

You can improve the fertility of any of the described compositions using a mixture consisting of 1 tbsp. superphosphate, half a glass of ash, 1 tsp. urea and the same amount of potassium sulfate.

Planting eggplants (different ways)

Eggplant seeds sprout within 10-14 days. In the future, there are two options for growing - with a pick and without a pick.

Many gardeners immediately sow the hatched seeds in separate pots so that the plants do not experience unnecessary stress.

1. Picking eggplant seedlings

The picking of seedlings is carried out after the appearance of the first true leaf. Remove a young plant with a lump of soil (with a small margin) without damaging the root system. Transplant the seedlings into peat pots.

It is better to initially grow eggplant seedlings in separate pots or carefully transfer them into small containers after germination in a common pot.

Delicate sprouts do not like direct sunlight, so if necessary, rearrange them in the shade. Along the way, start hardening the seedlings by exposing the plants to fresh air, especially if the ambient temperature rises. If the weather does not please with sunny days, the seedlings must be supplemented with lamps (preferably daylight).

The unpicked eggplant seedlings are planted in a permanent place in the ground after the appearance of 6-7 true leaves (the first pair of leaves are called cotyledons, and all the rest are real). The height of plants by this time should reach 20-25 cm.

2. Growing eggplant seedlings without picking

Given that the root system of eggplant is rather weak, many gardeners prefer not to disturb it and immediately sow seeds in peat pots. 2-3 seeds are sown in each pot, and after the emergence of shoots, the sprouts are pinched, leaving the strongest and healthiest.

Eggplant seedling care

It is not difficult to take care of eggplants, it is enough to create the necessary conditions for them. At different stages of growing, you need to maintain a certain temperature regime.

After the seedlings have sprouted, it is advisable to maintain the temperature at 15-17 ° C for 7-12 days - this is how the root system is strengthened.

Then the temperature can be increased to 24-26 ° C (at night - 17-19 ° C, gradually decreasing to 13-14 ° C). So you imitate natural conditions, adapt the seedlings for planting in the ground.

Balance is important when watering eggplants. Excessive humidity in combination with temperature changes can provoke the development of black leg - a dangerous and intractable eggplant disease. Therefore, it is recommended to water the eggplants abundantly and rarely (no more than 1 time per week) with settled water at room temperature.

Eggplants do not tolerate drying out of the soil, so they need to be watered abundantly and regularly.

In winter, eggplants suffer most from lack of light. In this case, the plants stretch out and weaken. A southern culture requires at least 10-12 hours of daylight hours, so it needs additional illumination with fluorescent lamps installed at a distance of 40-50 cm from the plants.

How to feed eggplant seedlings

The attitude to fertilizing among gardeners is different - some prefer not to bother with fertilizing at all and expect that nature itself will do everything necessary. However, it is better to help weak seedlings and feed them:

• first feeding suitable for growing eggplants with and without picking. In the first case, it is carried out on the 10-12th day after the emergence of shoots, and in the second - on the 7-10th day to stimulate the growth of the root system. To do this, use a solution of Kristalon yellow (20 g of solution per 10 l of water) or potassium nitrate (30 g per 10 l of water). You can also prepare a mixture of 1 tsp. ammonium nitrate, 3 tbsp. superphosphate and 3 tsp. potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water. The amount of fertilizer applied depends on the capacity of the container - the substrate must be completely saturated with water;
• second feeding It is carried out to stimulate the vegetation with the formulations of Kristalon special (20 g per 10 l of water), Kemira Lux (20-30 g per 10 l of water), a mixture of 60-80 g of superphosphate and 25-30 g of potassium salt, diluted in 10 l of water.

Before each feeding, the eggplant seedlings must be well watered, otherwise the roots of the plants can be burned.

When and how to plant eggplant seedlings in a permanent place

Eggplants are planted in the greenhouse around the second half of May, and in open ground at the beginning of June. Two weeks before planting, the seedlings are sprayed with a 0.5% solution of copper sulfate to protect against fungal diseases.

Before planting eggplant seedlings in open ground, make sure that the weather is warm and that return spring frosts have passed

10-14 days before planting seedlings in a permanent place, begin to harden them. First, open the window for a short time, gradually increasing the time the plants stay in the open air to several hours. The day before planting seedlings in the ground (at a temperature not lower than 10 ° C), transfer them to a greenhouse or film greenhouse and leave overnight. Just remember to water the plants abundantly before doing this.

A high-quality eggplant seedling looks like this: a strong and stocky plant with a height of 20-30 cm, on which 8-12 large bright green leaves and several buds have formed.

As you can see, growing healthy and robust eggplant seedlings is easy. It is enough just to fulfill a few simple conditions, and you are guaranteed to get a high yield of this wonderful crop.

Eggplants are capricious and thermophilic members of the nightshade family. To get hardy seedlings that can give a high yield, it is not enough to put the seeds in a pot of soil and water from time to time. Culture requires careful maintenance, temperature control, and an abundance of light.

Seed material: selection criteria

The seeds are recommended to be used fresh. Give preference to varieties that are easily adaptable to the characteristics of the local climate. The packaging must indicate in which regions the yield will be high, and in which the plant dies, or gives birth poorly.

The material, which is more than 4 years old, is checked: soak 10 seeds, and if at least 5 seeds hatch, sprouts can be planted. To increase germination, the workpiece is poured into a thermos and heated at a temperature of 50º for 2 hours.

Natural selection
Not all seeds can become seedlings. The seed must be immersed in a 5% saline solution and stirred vigorously. Insist 5 minutes: empty shells will float to the surface, which are poured together with water. Healthy specimens remain at the bottom. Sort the seeds, throwing out the damaged and too small ones.

Rinse the remaining workpieces in hot water: the temperature of the liquid should be in the range of 50-52 degrees. This will help flush out the essential oil from the seed, which is making it difficult to germinate. Soak the seed in hot liquid for half an hour, and immerse it in cold water for 3 minutes.

how to properly grow seedlings in peat tablets

Preparatory activities

Seeds from bags, which are treated by manufacturers with special mixtures, do not need additional disinfection. Homemade varieties obtained from a neighbor or grandmother are recommended to be soaked in potassium permanganate or other solution that will kill infections.

Disinfection options

1. For 100 ml of ordinary water, you will need 3 ml of pharmacy peroxide. Heat the solution to 40º, and immerse the bag of seeds in it for a maximum of 10 minutes.
2. Dissolve potassium permanganate in a liquid until a deep pink, with a purple tint, shade. Put the inoculum in the solution for 20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly in distilled water.

Top dressing
The plant will give more yield if, at the initial stage, natural and chemical means are used to nourish the seeds with useful components. You can take solutions:

• sodium humate;
• ivy;
• nitrophosphate;
• succinic acid;
• heteroauxin.

In a liter of liquid, you need to dilute about 5-6 g of top dressing. The dosage is indicated on the packages, or you can check with the seller. An alternative to solutions is ordinary wood ash or Ideal fertilizer, which is sold ready-made.

Tie the seeds in a gauze bag and immerse them in the prepared liquid for 25–40 hours. The solution should be warm, because in the cold the seed starts to rot, or dies.

Tip: Some gardeners are used to feed aloe juice. Cut off two thick sheets and place in the refrigerator for 6 hours. Take out and grind. With the help of cheesecloth, squeeze out the juice, and put the future eggplants in it.

Germination
Transfer the treated and fertilized seeds from infections to a saucer, covering it with a damp cloth, or place on the bottom of a stainless container. Cover with a cloth on top, place next to the battery. Continuously add warm water. It is necessary that the temperature inside the container does not drop below + 20º, otherwise the eggplants will not hatch.

To accelerate the germination of seeds, you can add the preparations "Novosil" or "Baikal" to the water. An alternative is slurry or willow broth.

Tip: Don't put seeds in gauze bags. The shoots are initially weak and thin. They get stuck between the threads, break off or get damaged. Then the percentage of germination decreases, and the seedlings become weak and more whimsical.

Optimal time to disembark
Planting seeds in pots is recommended in early February.The seedlings will have time to grow and get stronger until mid-May, when the garden warms up, it will be possible to transfer young eggplants to open ground.

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Pots, drawers and milk cartons

In specialized stores you can find peat pots and tablets for growing seedlings, but most summer residents prefer to do with improvised means. If the selected variety of eggplant does not belong to the category of whimsical and capricious, wooden boxes, plastic cups or milk bags are suitable for growing it.

Plants requiring careful care are recommended to be placed in cassettes with a cell capacity of 50 ml.

Preparation of the base
The land can be taken from the garden by adding a little sand. Both components are recommended to be calcined first on a baking sheet or frying pan, and then pour boiling water over. Thorough heat treatment will protect the eggplant root system from fungus, parasites and various infections.

Soil options

1. For a part of the sod land, you will need 2 parts of aerated high-type peat and humus, which will feed the seeds.
2. An alternative variety consists of stale brown shavings. To a part of this component, add 4 parts of humus and 2 low-lying aired peat, which should be black.
3. You can limit yourself to fertile black soil, ready-made soil, which is sold in stores especially for seedlings, and coarse or fine-grained sand. Mix dry substances in equal proportions, add vermiculite if desired.
4. In some cases, peat and sawdust are enough, which are watered with a solution for growing seedlings.

To keep the eggplants strong, it is recommended to add nutrients to the main mixture. For a bucket of bases you will need:

• wood ash (60–70 g);
• urea (5-7 g);
• superphosphate (20 g).

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Landing subtleties

The soil must be warm, 25-28 degrees, otherwise the seeds will not sprout.

Boxes
The first layer is drainage so that the eggplant root system receives oxygen. The second is the earth, 8 cm high. Moisten, and gently stick the seeds, deepening them by 1.5 cm.The interval between future bushes is from 5 to 7 cm.

Cassette
Put 1 seed in the cells covered with earth. Top layer of soil 0.5 cm thick. Cover with thick glass, and on the windowsill.

Cups
This planting option is suitable for peat and plastic pots, milk or sour cream bags. There must be holes at the bottom that can be made with a needle. Apply a layer of fine pebbles or rubble. Above - a mixture of soil with additives.

Stick the seeds to a depth of 1.5 cm, 3 pieces per cup. When the seedlings hatch, leave the strongest and healthiest sprout, carefully pull out the rest.

Tip: On some seedlings, shells remain that prevent the eggplant from growing. To remove a kind of cap, it is necessary to moisten the sprouts with water 4–5 times a day. When the film softens, pry it off with a needle and remove it.

Seeds that are in the ground do not need light, only warmth and no drafts. The cells or pots are covered with a black film that attracts the sun's rays or glass. They are removed after 6 days, when the first green shoots appear in the ground.

Correct care

After germination, the soil should not be watered so as not to flood the plant. If the soil is very dry, it is moistened with a spray bottle. Spray 2-3 times a day. Watering the eggplants begins on day 3. Add water to the pots every 4–5 days. If the soil dries quickly, you can often.

Tip: For watering, melt or rainwater is useful. As a last resort, you can use a tap, which is defended for at least a day.

The seedlings have enough sunlight, which she receives while standing on the windowsill. Eggplants are advised to be placed on windows that face the eastern part. If there is little ultraviolet light, phytolamps or fluorescent lamps can be used.

The distance from the pots to the lighting fixture is 50 cm. Schedule: from 7-8 am to 7 pm.

Comfort temperature
The room should be between 17 and 25 degrees Celsius. If the temperature drops to 15, eggplant growth slows down. From + 13º and below the plants simply die.

The film or glass is removed after the emergence of young shoots. In the first week, increase the temperature to + 17º during the day, in the dark, lower it to + 14–15, but not lower. This mode promotes the development of the root system.

In the second week, the daytime temperature should vary within the range of 25 - 27º, and the nighttime temperature should not rise above +15. Eggplants are hardened under these conditions and prepared for their natural environment. If the seedlings are constantly kept warm, after being exposed to open ground, they can freeze at night and wither.

After 14 days, the plants can be moved to a room where the temperature does not rise above +18. The main thing is that there are no drafts in the room, otherwise the seedlings will weaken and wither.

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To feed or not to feed

If the eggplants are of normal quality, you do not need to feed them additionally. Seedlings look weak? It is worth trying to revive it with the help of special tools.

For the first time, it is advised to feed the plants for 7-10 days after the emergence of sprouts, before the pick. In 10 liters of watering liquid, dilute 20 g of Crystal Yellow. A natural alternative is mullein. Superphosphate or urea can be used. The agent is added to the irrigation liquid in small quantities to obtain a weakly concentrated solution.

Water with fertilizers is poured under the root, in small portions, so that it does not stagnate in the soil.

The second feeding is recommended after 10 days. You can take a solution with urea or superphosphate, or buy a special product called Kristalon Special.

Some nuances of growing eggplant

1. The box with seedlings must be rearranged, and turned to the sun with the other side every 7 days, otherwise the seedlings will stretch out and become too thin and fragile.
2. It is recommended to take out eggplants on the balcony 2 weeks before planting in open ground, or leave them next to wide open windows. The outside air temperature must be at least +15.
3. After 50 days, when the seedlings have 6 full leaves, they are transplanted into separate pots with a diameter of at least 20 cm.
4. To protect the first shoots from diseases, you can water the young eggplants with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
5. You can disinfect the soil in a water bath: cover the sieve with gauze, pour the workpiece, and hold for 30 minutes.
6. Plants that have reached a height of 25, at least 20 cm, with at least 7 leaves, can be planted in open ground.
7. Eggplants are recommended to be treated with copper sulfate (0.5% solution) 5 days before planting, to prevent fungal damage.

A representative of the nightshade family requires constant care, does not tolerate low temperatures and lack of light. Many summer residents do not like eggplants because of their whimsicality, but if you follow the recommendations, regularly feed the seedlings and take care of them, the plant will thank you with a rich and useful harvest.

Video: preparing pepper seeds and eggplant for sowing