Eggplant is not without reason a private guest in many garden plots. Thanks to its beneficial qualities and universal application, this vegetable is loved by most gardeners. But is it so easy to grow eggplant, given their thermophilicity and capricious nature? If you use all known agricultural practices and create optimal conditions for the plant, then everyone can get a decent harvest of this vegetable crop. I will tell you about my secrets of growing eggplants.
Seeds or seedlings?
Unfortunately, summer in the middle lane and to the north does not always please us with stable heat during all three calendar months. For healthy growth, eggplant needs an air temperature in the region of 20-22 ° C. At lower rates, the plant can get sick, lose color and fruit ovaries. Given the rather long growing season of eggplants, when seed planting in open ground, the plant simply does not have time to produce a crop. I advise planting vegetables in seedlings. So you will get:
- strong seedlings by the beginning of the warm season;
- accelerate the start of fruiting;
- provide plants with all the necessary conditions for growth.
What does the harvest depend on?
When growing eggplant, it is worth remembering a few basic conditions that this vegetable crop needs:
- soil of high fertility;
- regular and abundant watering;
- mulching bushes;
- timely feeding.
Agricultural tricks
The soil
I recommend planning a place for an eggplant bed since the fall. Choose warm and bright areas in advance, carefully dig the soil and add a sufficient amount of organic and mineral fertilizers (manure, complex mineral compounds) to it. In the spring, the soil should be dug up again, removing all weeds. If necessary, organic matter can be added again: humus, rotted manure, compost.
Watering and mulching
Eggplants love plenty of moisture. Thanks to proper watering, the fruits develop correctly, and large vegetables can be grown. Watering plants is at the root in the morning or evening hours. So that moisture does not evaporate too quickly, I advise each bush to be mulched with sawdust, peat, straw, pine needles, or a mixture of all of the above.
Seedling feeding
When planting vegetables, pay special attention to choosing the optimal soil for these plants. It is necessary to fertilize eggplants with the appearance of the first leaves of seedlings. This time, add nitrogen and potassium (urea, potassium nitrate) to the soil or feed the bushes with ready-made fertilizer (for example, Kemira-Lux). The second top dressing of seedlings should be done a week before transplanting plants into open ground. To strengthen the overall immunity of seedlings, choose fertilizers containing potassium and phosphorus: phoscamide, superphosphate, potassium chloride.
Top dressing in the ground
After transplanting, the fertilizing schedule will depend on the fertility of the soil. If you plant plants in high-quality soil, then three top dressings are enough for a season: during the formation of color, during the formation of fruit ovaries, during the flowering of lateral shoots. For poor and infertile soils, fertilize every 2-3 weeks, alternating organic matter with mineral supplements. During the period of flowering and fruiting, I do not recommend choosing fertilizers with a nitrogen content.
The success of growing eggplant in garden plots depends on how ready you are to provide the plant with the conditions that are necessary for growth and fruiting. Follow all of the above recommendations, shelter tender plants from sudden cold weather, and you are guaranteed an excellent harvest. Perhaps you have something to add?
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