How are eggplants grown 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 in 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 light 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 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 is dived 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 a simple 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.

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. The seed 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 a place on a cotton pad in a warm place for 4 - 5 days, the cotton wool should be kept 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 stimulant 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 of them 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 just 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 removed to 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. This 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 held 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 should not drop below +18 degrees at night.

3 weeks before planting in the garden, plants need to begin to accustom themselves to fresh air, sunlight and a decrease 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 cavity 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 along 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, and 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 a heat-loving plant, therefore it must be grown using the seedling method. And the first thing we will need to do when growing it is to prepare the soil.

Preparing potting soil at home

To sow seeds, we will need to prepare a special soil mixture, which includes washed clean sand (1 part), turf soil (1 part) and good humus (2 parts). Then add 2 tbsp for one bucket of the prepared mixture. tablespoons of ash and 60 g of superphosphate, after which the resulting mixture is thoroughly mixed.

At the same time, it should be noted that if you use sand when preparing it, for example, from a sandbox in the yard, then we must spill it thoroughly with hot water and steam it for 15-20 minutes. This is due to the fact that such sand can cause all kinds of diseases (for example, black leg).

The dates for sowing seeds are mid-February - early March (valid for the central zone of Russia), but depending on the climatic conditions of a particular region, this period may change slightly in one direction or another.

Seed preparation

In order to germinate eggplant seeds, they are immersed in warm water in fabric bags. After a day, we take them out, put them in a saucer and put them in a warm place, not forgetting to keep the bags moist. In cases where more than 20% of the seeds hatch within 4-5 days, this means that they are suitable for sowing.

Sowing seeds

Eggplant seedlings can be grown in two ways: by diving and without. When using the dive method, the seeds must be sown in seedling boxes to a depth of 1.5-2 cm, with a row spacing of about 6 cm. To keep the temperature within 20-25 ° C, the crops can be covered with glass or foil.

The emergence of seedlings in germinated seeds can be expected as early as on the 5th day, and in non-germinated seeds on the 8-10th day.

When using the method without diving, seeds are immediately sown (2-3 pieces each) in cups or peat pots. But in the future, we will need to reject weak shoots.

This method is more acceptable in cases with a small number of seedlings, since eggplant transplantation is poorly tolerated.

After the sprouts appear, the film or glass can be removed and we turn on additional lighting, since light for seedlings takes about 12 hours during the day.

In the first 3-4 days, the air temperature must be kept at 15 ° C during the day and 10 ° C at night. In the future, before planting eggplant seedlings in open ground, the temperature can be kept within 25 ° C during the day and 12 ° C at night.

Sowing care

In the first 10 days, the planted seedlings require daily watering. Multiple watering can be avoided if, after the first watering, you cover the planted plants with non-woven material (agril, agrotex, etc.).

This material partially prevents moisture evaporation and protects the seedlings from the sun's rays.

Eggplant seedling care

Proper watering also plays an important role in growing eggplant seedlings at home.

It is necessary to water the seedlings regularly, that is, every 5-6 days, so that the entire soil mixture is moistened in the pot (the soil must always remain moist). But at the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the water does not stagnate, and therefore a hole is made at the bottom of the pot.

If the seedlings have been transfused, then this can become a causal stop in growth and the appearance of certain diseases.

For irrigation, use settled water with a constant temperature of about 25 ° C.

Watering is best combined with top dressing. For example, we finely crush the shell of 10 eggs, put it in a 3-liter jar, fill it with hot water and leave it in this position for 5-6 days, remembering to stir occasionally. Then we filter and water the plants.

But you can also use this method: take the leaves of drained tea (1 glass), put them in a 3-liter jar and fill them with hot water. Then we filter and water the seedlings.

In cases where the seedlings develop slowly, and the leaves have acquired a light green color, then they must be fed in the following way: in 10 liters of water we dilute 1 glass of mullein and 1 teaspoon of urea.

In cases with green, small and poorly growing roots, additional feeding is also necessary: ​​for 10 liters of water, we take 1 teaspoon of potassium sulfate and 2 tablespoons of superforsphat.

If possible, add wood ash to the pots when growing seedlings (1-2 times). One teaspoon of ash is used for 2-3 pots, but also make sure that it does not get on the plant itself.

Hardening at home

A month before planting seedlings in a permanent place, you will also need to start hardening them. If the air temperature outside is 15 ° C or more and there is no wind, then the plant can be taken out into the open air (for apartment cultivation on the balcony), and the time spent outdoors should be increased gradually.

Thus, you will accustom them to open ground conditions (you also do not need to allow a draft).

Growing eggplants at home

Growing eggplants at home is recommended in the absence of other options, since in this case the yield will be much lower than with greenhouse cultivation or in the open field.

When growing eggplants indoors or on the balcony, it is best to use dwarf or semi-dwarf varieties (Universal, Lolita, Dwarf early - 921, Donetsk yielding, Solaris, etc.) and only in seedlings.

By the time you put them on the window of a heated room (preliminarily it is February 15-March 10), they should already have a thick stem with 5-6 leaves, and the root system is already well developed. If possible, use windows facing south or southwest.

In cases with an unheated veranda or balcony, boxes or pots with plants are taken out in early May (depending on the climatic conditions of your region). The optimum temperature for both their growth and development is 23-28 ° C. At temperatures of 13-15 ° C and below, the growth and development of plants may stop.

Eggplant seedlings with 5-6 leaves (usually after 45-55 days) must be planted in plastic or pottery pots with a diameter of 16 to 20 centimeters, but you can also use the appropriate boxes for this.

The best substrate for indoor growing is Biogrunt, but you can also use a humus-rich garden or flower mixture. To improve the survival rate of plants, it is recommended to moisten the substrate with water before planting.

Watering the plants should be abundant and regular, and this is best done in the evening. That is, the soil must be constantly moistened. With a lack of moisture, the eggplant will begin to shed flowers. But an excess of moisture is also dangerous for them, as this can cause the appearance of some diseases.

Top dressing is carried out every 10-15 days. For these purposes, you can use universal granular fertilizer or liquid concentrated fertilizer "Rainbow".

This plant does not need to be formed, since its stem is strong and it can grow well in a pot. In cases with excessive growth, the tops of the lateral shoots are pinched.

In some cases, namely under room conditions, eggplant fruits are tied too reluctantly. In this situation, we carry out additional artificial pollination with a brush.

Planting eggplants in open ground

In cases where you have a plot where you can plant seedlings, we plant them there. Before planting, we need to make holes or planting grooves on the site. Planting is carried out according to a rather simple scheme: with a distance between rows - 45-50 cm, and between plants in a row - 25-30 cm.

After that the wells are prepared (grooves), we carry out abundant watering (for one well from 1 to 3 liters of water), immediately after watering, we plant seedlings in moistened soil and fill the holes with dry earth.

With this method of planting, the chances of rooting and survival of the seedlings increase markedly. Depending on the weather (usually 2-3 days, so that the soil is constantly in a moist state), the plants are well watered.

Also, for eggplant planted in open ground, fertilizing is necessary (3-5 times).

We carry out the first feeding 2-3 weeks after planting the seedlings. Before this period, it is not recommended to carry it out, since their roots are still weak and they are not yet able to absorb useful elements.

Until the moment the fruits appear, complex mineral fertilizers are used for feeding, and during fruiting it is recommended to use nitrogen-phosphate fertilizers: in 10 liters of water, dilute 1 tbsp. a spoonful of superphosphate and 1 tsp. ammonium nitrate.

It is necessary to apply organic fertilizers in moderation, as they cause the growth of the stems, and not the fruits.

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:

• purchase 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 of trusted manufacturers that indicate on the packaging the legal address and details, 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, it is enough just to ignite 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 rearrange them in the shade if necessary. 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 cultivation, 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 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 the seedlings in a permanent place, begin to harden them. First open the window for a short time, gradually increasing the time the plants stay outdoors up 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.