Today, eggplant is no longer associated with purple and an oblong shape. This vegetable can be burgundy, striped and even white, and its shape can be from spherical to pointed-nosed. Despite this diversity, the cultivation of eggplant seedlings at home is carried out according to standard technology. Many gardeners consider this plant too capricious and prefer to buy ready-made seedlings, but in fact there are no difficulties in the process, you just need to follow all the rules to create optimal conditions for seedlings to grow.
Seed selection
In order to grow a good crop, it is first necessary to prepare the best planting material, otherwise you can not even expect good fertility care. It is recommended to purchase seeds for this only at trusted points of sale and from the best producers. The package must contain contact information and basic information about the variety.
The most reliable, time-tested cultures will certainly be tied to the duration of daylight hours. Eggplant "Almaz" also belongs to such. In this case, seedling should be started as early as possible so that already mature plants can form a maximum of ovaries before the daytime becomes longer than 12-14 hours. At this time, the eggplant ceases to form new ovaries until the day decreases again.
Newer varieties are no longer tied to the length of the day and bear fruit equally well in all latitudes. When buying a hybrid, it is better to give preference to the first generations. Such crops labeled F1 are more resistant to pests, diseases and other negative factors.
If the packaging indicates that the seeds have already been processed, then the stage with their preparation in the future can be skipped.
Departure Dates
Growing eggplant from seeds for seedlings begins in late February and early spring. It is at this time that seeds need to be sown, since the plant is characterized by a very slow growth rate and a long vegetative period. Seedlings will be transferred to the soil only at the age of 45-80 days, depending on the variety.
If desired, it is possible to sow both late, and early, and middle varieties at the same time, only their time of transplantation into the soil will differ. So:
- early eggplants (85-90 days to maturity) are ready for transplantation already on 45-55 days after germination;
- medium (90-120 days) - transplanted on 55-70 days;
- late (120-150 days) - ready only for 70-80 days.
In the northern regions, the cultivation of eggplant seedlings should begin no earlier than mid-March and give preference to varieties of rapid ripening.
Seed preparation
The very first step after acquiring planting material is to verify it. To do this, you need to dilute a teaspoon of salt in a glass of water and pour seeds there. Everything that comes up is not suitable for landing, it is better to throw them away right away. Those seeds that remained at the bottom must be thoroughly washed with salt and dried.
The first step in the preparation of planting material is its calcination. To do this, planting material must be placed in a fabric and immersed in water for 450-500 minutes. The main thing is not to overexpose and pull out the seeds after 2-5 minutes.
After that, the seeds are disinfected with Fitosporin or a weak solution of potassium permanganate. To do this, they are placed in the prepared solution in a tissue bag for 10-20 minutes, after which they are washed and dried.
Growing eggplant seedlings is not too painstaking, but very long. To accelerate the growth of the crop, the seeds must be treated with a stimulant for seedlings. You can combine this stage with disinfection. To do this, you need to separately prepare solutions, then mix them and process the seeds. In this case, it is not necessary to rinse them, it is enough to simply dry them.
The final stage of preparation is hardening of planting material. To do this, dried seeds a week before sowing must be laid out at night in the refrigerator, and on the day - on the windowsill.
After hardening, the seeds can be placed in a warm place for germination if desired. To do this, they are placed on a damp cloth and covered with another layer of wet gauze.
Faster Option
Progress is manifested in everything and the secrets of growing eggplant seedlings are also constantly updated with innovations. To speed up the process of preparing planting material, you just need to combine several stages at once, and an ordinary cellophane bag and two soft kitchen sponges will help in this.
First you need to prepare a solution of any growth stimulator and while it is still warm, dip the sponges in it. The liquid must drain from them. On the surface of one sponge, you need to spread the seeds, cover with a second sponge, place the resulting “sandwich” with seeds in a prepared bag and in a warm place. For better fixation, the sponges can be fastened together with an elastic band or thread.
After 12 hours, the package must be transferred to the refrigerator, after another 12 - to a warm place, after another 12 again to the cold, so 2-4 days. Thus, additional nutrition is combined with hardening and germination, because the seeds are in a humid environment and after a few days already start the first sprouts. In this case, the material does not feel sudden changes in temperature due to the air cushion.
Soil preparation
While the seeds are undergoing preparation, it is necessary to tackle the soil. If desired, you can purchase ready-made soil mix for seedlings or make it yourself. To do this, mix the parts of the following components:
- 1 rotted hardwood sawdust;
- 1 sand;
- 1 peat or 1-2 turf land;
- 2nd humus.
You can use another composition:
- 2nd peat;
- 1st humus;
- 1 sand;
- 2nd soil of sheet or sod.
It is important to remember that growing seedlings of pepper and eggplant, as well as any other crop, is not possible in contaminated land. To protect the sprouts from diseases, any soil must be calcined, frozen, or treated with special disinfecting drugs, and then fertilized.
For top dressing, you can use ready-made complex fertilizers for seedlings or prepare your own mixture from a glass of ash and:
- 30-40 g nitrofoski;
- 30-40 g of superphosphate + 20 g of urea and potassium.
Seed planting
Basically, eggplant seedlings are cultivated without diving, since the plant tolerates such stress very hard. Sprouts can stop growing for several days, or even for a week, and the leaves of seedlings turn yellow and become lifeless.
In order to less disturb eggplant, it is recommended to plant seeds immediately in peat pots, so that later along with them and transfer the plants to the ground. You can also use other wide containers, in which when digging seedlings the roots will not be affected. If this is not possible or picking has already become a habit, it is better to carry it out in the phase of 2-3 leaves when transplanting the sprouts into large containers. In such cases, it is possible to sow seeds quite densely.
Landing ground should not be too wet. Seeds are buried 1 cm into the ground and sprinkled on top of the ground without compaction. Between the rows should be 3-4 cm, and between the holes 2 cm. After this, the soil is moistened with a spray gun, the container is covered with polyethylene and put in a warm place.
Landing in the "snail"
Growing eggplant seedlings in the "snail" allows you to save a lot of space that would take pots.
To manufacture such a device, it is necessary to prepare a dense tape from polyethylene, a large bag or other waterproof material. The tape is laid out on the table, a strip of toilet paper is placed on it and moistened. Not reaching the upper edge of the 1 cm strips, seeds are laid out with an interval of 1-2 cm. After that, they are covered with a second stripe, covered with a layer of earth, the design is folded into a “snail”. So that it does not fall apart, it is bandaged, put on a shallow pallet and covered with a bag.
If desired, you can first twist the structure itself without using paper, and after turning it over, make indentations in the soil, place seeds in them.
Sprout care
The main rule for growing and caring for eggplant seedlings is an imitation of natural conditions. To do this, you must constantly monitor the lighting, temperature fluctuations, timely feed and water the sprouts. As soon as the first loops appear in the container with soil, the film must be removed and the seedlings should be placed in the illuminated place. The temperature should not be higher than 160 degrees, otherwise the seedlings will stretch and will not form a strong root system.
Lighting and temperature
Further cultivation of eggplant seedlings suggests a gradual increase in temperature. It is important to remember that naturalness is the basic rule, if the window is cloudy, then the temperature must be reduced.
Before seedlings need to be brought to the main place of growth, it must be hardened. To do this, the sprouts are taken out onto a loggia or street, gradually increasing the time from 20 minutes to several hours. A couple of days before planting, you can leave the sprouts for the whole night in a greenhouse or barn. Seedlings are planted when its height reaches 15-20 cm, the sprouts will already have 8-10 real leaves.
It is very important to avoid drafts when growing eggplant seedlings.
As for lighting, additional illumination of the sprouts is required only in the first month of their life. To do this, use a lamp with a capacity of not more than 80 watts and placed above the sprouts of 0.2 m. As they grow, the lamp rises. Extra light should be turned on only in the morning and evening for a couple of hours or in cloudy weather. Instead of a lamp, foil panels can be placed near the seedlings, which will reflect the sun's rays, increasing natural light.
Feeding and watering
It is important to water the plants only under the root and warm water. The procedure should be repeated every 2-4 days, if desired, you can add antifungal drugs to it.
It is very rare to manage eggplant seedlings with care and cultivation without top dressing. Ready-made complex mixtures or one of the options below can be used:
- 30-40 g nitrofoski;
- the same amount of superphosphate and 5-10 g of urea.
Each option is bred in a bucket of water. The mixture is first introduced during the formation of a second true leaf, then after a couple of weeks and a third time a week before transplanting into the ground.
Main problems
Growing eggplant seedlings without picking allows you to avoid many problems with growth, but few others refuse this method. So, if after a dive, the sprouts slowed down and became lifeless, then it is recommended to feed them with “Kornevin”.
Slowed growth can also be observed when the sprout already has insufficient capacity. In this case, seedlings need to be transplanted.
Yellow leaves in seedlings are a sign of starvation. Such sprouts urgently need complex top dressing.
Eggplants can wither for two reasons - due to cold or improper watering. The first reason is eliminated by the exclusion of drafts. For this, containers with seedlings must be placed on polystyrene foam or boards. Excessive watering can lead to rotting of the roots, which will provoke damage to the whole plant. At the initial stage, you can remove the sprout from the ground and carefully remove the damaged roots, then treat it with “Kornevin” and plant it again.
The cause of damage to seedlings can be pests. To get rid of them, you need to treat the young plants with an insecticide.