Secrets of a Rich Eggplant Harvest
Eggplants belong to the nightshade family, the height of which is not less than 35 cm. Eggplant begins to bloom in July. If eggplants are grown correctly, then the harvest can be very large.
You can cook anything from eggplant: make summer salads, snacks and preparations for the winter. There are a lot of recipes using eggplant.
There are also a lot of them. The most popular for growing in the garden: "King of the North" (early, frost-resistant variety), "Bibo" (super early and not whimsical), "Black beauties" (does not withstand frost), "Albatross" (fleshy eggplants), "Diamond"(Gives large fruits)," Marzipan "(pear-shaped with excellent taste)," Vakula "(not whimsical and can withstand sudden changes in temperature)
It is better to prepare the soil for eggplant in the fall, and apply fertilizers, such as manure, to it. Eggplant seeds are small, flat, and brown in color. You can buy them in the store or assemble them yourself. If you collect them yourself, then this should be done at the beginning of autumn (the seeds should be brown). Seedlings must be kept at home before planting in the soil, gradually hardening it.
Before planting seeds for seedlings, you need to hold them in a warm solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes. After - rinse under running water. After that, you need to take a small container with earth, water it with water, make grooves no more than 1.5 cm deep and sow seeds. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place. Do not forget to regularly spray the ground with a spray bottle.
When the first shoots appear, you need to remove the film and put the container on the windowsill in the sun, watering regularly, since eggplants love a lot of moisture. When the seedlings grow up to 5-7 cm, you can plant the eggplants in separate cups, in which they will spend time before planting in the open ground. Two weeks before disembarkation, they begin to harden, gradually lowering the temperature. Seedlings are planted outside when the seedlings are at least 15 cm long and have at least five leaves. They should be planted in an already warmed-up ground after May 20. For this, the earth must be well shed with water, preferably warm. Plant each seedling at least 20 cm apart. Since eggplants are heat-loving plants, arches should be installed above them and covered with foil or covering material at night.
Two weeks after planting in the ground, the plants grow very slowly. But after two weeks, if you regularly water the plant and loosen the soil, the seedling grows very quickly. It is better to water the seedlings in the evening with warm water. It is only necessary to feed the plants with fertilizer 3 - 4 times per season. Removing weeds in time is also one of the main tasks, because they can easily drown out the plants. And if you huddle the plants, then the roots will be more powerful. This, in turn, helps to increase the yield. Each variety has its own ripening time. Therefore, unripe fruits cannot be picked, they will simply be bitter.
How to understand that the fruit is fully ripe? It becomes glossy. This happens about a month and a half after the seedling has bloomed. If your eggplant is brown, then it is definitely overripe, and already tasteless. You can harvest in July, when the fruit is not less than 10 cm, the fruit is color depending on the variety and glossy. You need to cut off the fruits either with a pruner or with a sharp knife. With the arrival of cold weather, you can transplant an eggplant bush into a greenhouse. If you cut the crop correctly without damaging the calyx and stalk at the end of the fruit, then the eggplant can be kept fresh in the refrigerator or cellar for up to two months.
In the garden, it is better to plant eggplants in a sunny place, where there is no cold wind and drafts.