Eggplants appeared in Russia in the 17th century and were immediately loved by everyone. This vegetable is very healthy. It contains a lot of fiber, is rich in vitamins of groups B, C, P and provitamin A, nicotinic acid and trace elements. There are many different varieties of this culture. They are white, pink, lilac, large and small, plain and striped, elongated and round. In Russia, they are mainly engaged in growing eggplants in a purple greenhouse and call them "little blue ones."
Which greenhouses are better?
Some time ago, glass and plastic wrap were used to equip greenhouses. Then there was a worthy replacement for these materials - polycarbonate. From this lightweight and inexpensive analogue, most greenhouses and greenhouses are made, which have such advantages:
- quick and easy assembly of the structure;
- low thermal conductivity - warm air is always stored inside;
- good transparency - it is light in the greenhouse from the diffusion of sunlight;
- high strength - much stronger film and glass;
- long term of operation.
Heat-loving eggplants in a polycarbonate greenhouse feel great and, with proper care, give an excellent harvest in any weather.
What eggplant is preferable to cultivate in a greenhouse?
Only when growing eggplants in a greenhouse can you get a good and guaranteed harvest in most regions of our country. At the same time, it is necessary to correctly select the variety, timely and correctly carry out the planting, and, of course, observe the necessary agricultural equipment. Many novice gardeners often wonder which eggplant is best planted in a greenhouse.
It is recommended to use seeds of early ripe and mid-ripening varieties. Choosing them, it is necessary to take into account the features of this heat-loving culture, climatic and soil conditions of a particular area, as well as the design characteristics of the greenhouse. Experienced gardeners recommend planting the best varieties and hybrids that are self-pollinating, have high taste and marketability, give rich harvests and do not require careful care.
The best greenhouse varieties
For greenhouses, both early ones, the ripening period of which is 110 days, and mid-ripening varieties are suitable, from planting to fruiting which takes more than 130 days.
Low-growing crops should be chosen so that they do not stretch and do not require additional garter. The most commonly used varieties of eggplant:
- Black handsome - does not contain bitterness, is perfectly stored, resistant to disease, the color of the fruit is brown-purple, resistant to disease, mid-ripening.
- Bibo F1 - fruits are even, medium size, milky white, mid-early ripening.
- Baikal F1 is a round-shaped fruit of a dark purple color, has a high yield, tolerates low temperatures, and ripe ripening.
- Violet miracle - medium-sized fruits, the most common early eggplant for greenhouses.
- Hippopotamus F1 - large, purple fruits, mid-season variety, tall plants.
- Sailor - fruits are striped, with excellent taste, mid-season variety.
- King of the North - fruits without the bitterness of black and purple. Elongated in shape. Early ripening grade.
How to grow: seedlings or seeds?
For any region of Russia, eggplant should be grown only in seedlings. It should be noted that the seeds are sown two months before transplanting seedlings in open ground. One must take a very responsible approach to the selection of seeds for planting, since the future harvest depends on this.
The inscriptions on the package should not be neglected: the ripening period, the region for which the variety is bred, the size of the plant, various recommendations for growing. Seeds are disinfected before planting (if the manufacturer has not done so) with a solution of manganese or hydrogen peroxide. The plant really does not like to be disturbed by its root system, so the eggplant is planted immediately in separate cups with one seed and covered with polyethylene.
Land preparation
The soil in the greenhouse begins to prepare in the fall, for this:
- remove all plant residues and debris, water the beds twice, washing away any possible fertilizer residues into the ground;
- spilled with boiling water, put bleach at the rate of 100 g per square meter;
- dig up.
In spring, you should loosen the beds, water well, wait until it warms up to 19 degrees, and - the soil is ready for planting!
What to plant eggplant in a greenhouse?
One of the rules for selecting plants in a greenhouse is the same care for them. Together, plants are planted that require the same amount of light, heat and moisture. It is very convenient when vegetables require the same nutrition, and with their diseases they use only drugs. The best neighborhood of eggplant in a greenhouse is with bell pepper. They have the same irrigation conditions, both crops are demanding of heat and cannot tolerate sharp temperature fluctuations, and small pepper bushes do not block the light. Is it possible to plant eggplant in a greenhouse with tomatoes?
Sometimes tomatoes are placed next to the “blue ones”, such a neighborhood is also possible. Eggplants are undersized plants than tomatoes, but are very photophilous, so they are placed on opposite sides of the greenhouse. But eggplant should not be planted with cucumbers. For the former, high humidity is needed, and the latter culture prefers the atmosphere to be dry and the soil moist. The best option is to grow each vegetable in a separate greenhouse.
Transplanting
With steady heat on the street, the finished seedlings are planted in the greenhouse. For this:
- Level the soil on the bed, make holes 15 cm deep, the distance between the bushes is 30 cm, and the rows from each other should be no less than 60 cm. It is recommended to plant eggplants in the greenhouse in a checkerboard pattern.
- Add half a glass of ash to each well and mix with the ground, spill with water with potassium permanganate (pink). Use two liters of water per hole.
- Carefully remove the seedlings from the pots and, without much deepening, plant them in the hole.
- Tamp the soil, water the plant again from above.
Eggplants are planted, it remains to care for them and wait for the harvest.
Watering
Plants, possessing a weak root system, cannot provide themselves with moisture in the required amount. As a result, during the growing season, flowers with ovaries fall off. Eggplant seedlings in a greenhouse will successfully grow only with proper watering. To do this, you must:
- pour warm water at least 25 degrees;
- pour water strictly under the root to a depth of 20 cm, the foliage should remain dry;
- carry out the procedure in the morning;
- after that, mulch the soil and ventilate the greenhouse;
- the first time after transplanting seedlings, watering is carried out on the sixth day. Then this procedure is carried out once a week, and with fruiting - two.
Those who come to the summer cottage only on weekends should pour the weekly water rate in two days - Saturday and Sunday.
Air temperature
When growing eggplants in a greenhouse, the air temperature in it should be about 24 to 28 degrees heat. With a higher, the fruit setting is stopped, and with a lower one, their growth. The temperature can be reduced by watering the plants. No need to pour water between the beds, this will increase air humidity, which is harmful to this crop. When ventilating the greenhouse, drafts should not be arranged; eggplants do not like this. With very bright sunshine, it is necessary to shade the sides of the greenhouse, especially in the first days after planting eggplant.
Loosening and top dressing
Having planted seedlings, the soil is loosened and bushes are slightly spudded. Subsequently, loosening of the soil continues, but not deep, because the roots are very close to the surface of the earth. After loosening, hilling is done every time.
Eggplants are fed at least five times per season. Two weeks after transplanting seedlings, a complex fertilizer is introduced into the greenhouse. Phosphorus and potash feed plants before fruiting. When the first fruits begin to appear, eggplants need nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers. During flowering and fruiting, it is suitable for feeding ash. A solution of mullein and bird droppings also has a good effect. Before feeding, the plants are watered, and then they are spudded.
Plant formation
Growing medium-tall and tall varieties of eggplant, to obtain a high yield bush plants must be formed. When reaching a height of 25 cm, the tip is removed. The plant stops growing up and begins to branch. There are three schemes for forming a bush:
- One stalk. This is done when tall eggplants are planted in a small greenhouse. Sometimes they leave one stem in a weakened plant so that the formed fruits can ripen.
- Two stems. The best stepsons are left in high and medium-sized varieties. The fruits will ripen on them. The remaining processes are systematically removed.
- Three stems. If the greenhouse is free, then choose another strong stepson on one of the left stems.
When branching shoots, they always choose the strong, and the weak after the second leaflet over the ovary pinch. The procedure is repeated with all stepsons. With this formation of an eggplant bush in a greenhouse, up to 12 fruits can ripen on it. Once a week, all shoots without fruit are harvested. Stepchildren located below the branching of the main stem, experienced gardeners do not recommend pruning. They protect the soil from drying out. Skeletal branches of plants are neatly tied up, because of their fragility they can easily be broken. A month before the end of the growing season, pinch the tops of all shoots to accelerate fruit ripening. Those who do not want to form bushes should grow undersized varieties. They remove only those ovaries that before the end of the season do not have time to ripen.
Why is eggplant not growing?
When growing eggplant in a greenhouse, like many other vegetables, various problems often arise. Why do eggplants stop growing? Here are some reasons:
- Yellowing foliage. The main reason for this phenomenon is a lack of moisture or nitrogen fertilizers, and in some cases it is a reaction to a transplant.
- Twisting the leaves. Thus, the plant signals excessive watering, lack of phosphorus fertilizers or low light.
- Lack of ovaries. This phenomenon is most often associated with damage to the root system, lack of light, poor soil moisture, or high temperature in the greenhouse.
Observing the basic rules of cultivation and quickly eliminating the problems encountered, you can always get a good harvest.
Disease prevention
Eggplant does not often suffer from various diseases, but nevertheless, plants should be cautioned against the following possible misfortunes:
- Gray rot. Appears from soil waterlogging and a sharp temperature difference. For prevention, it is recommended to do regular ventilation of the greenhouse and warm the plants with a sharp cooling.
- Internal necrosis is a viral disease with the appearance of which yellow-brown spots form on the fruits. A plant with such signs must be urgently removed from the greenhouse, the rest should be treated with special preparations.
- Late blight. Symptoms and causes are the same as gray rot. The disease can be prevented with the help of Fitosporin.
- Tobacco mosaic. Appears due to poor lighting and low temperature.
- Spider mite. It destroys plants, entangling bushes with cobwebs. For prevention, greenhouse disinfection is used.
- Aphid. They are treated with special preparations. For prophylaxis, it is necessary to observe normal humidity, more often do airing.
- Whitefly Damages plant leaves on the inside. Insects are collected by hand or sticky tapes are hung, the leaves are wiped with soapy water.
Timely prevention and pest control will help preserve the crop.
Instead of a conclusion
Eggplant is home to India, so they are very thermophilic. Several decades ago, many gardeners in most of Russia did not dream of growing this crop in their summer cottages. Thanks to the work of breeders, many new varieties and hybrids have appeared that are adapted to more severe environmental conditions. Inhabitants of the southern and central part of Russia quietly grow "blue" in the open ground. But residents of the northern regions, in order to get stable and high yields, they need to produce eggplant in a greenhouse.