Some time ago, eggplant, which is a thermophilic vegetable, was grown exclusively in the southern regions. But time is changing, through the efforts of breeders such varieties and hybrids of culture have been bred that normally grow and bear fruit in any climate. To obtain a generous harvest, an important condition is the cultivation of eggplant seedlings. How to do it right, in what ways, read the article.
Ripening planting
The timing of sowing seeds for seedlings depends on the ripening period of the fruit, which are early, medium and late. At the time of planting seedlings in the soil, its age should be at least 40-45 days. With this in mind, it is easy to calculate when to sow seeds. The main thing is not to forget to take into account three to five days during which seedlings emerge, and 10 days after a dive. This time is necessary for small plants to regain strength.
Based on this, eggplant seeds need to be sown two to two and a half months before the onset of the planting period of seedlings at the place where it will grow constantly. It can be a greenhouse or garden bed. If vegetables are grown indoors, sowing eggplant seeds for seedlings is carried out in mid-February. If they grow on the beds of the garden - at the beginning of the first month of spring.
Sowing dates by region
Seeds will only germinate when the air temperature is not lower than 16 ° C. When to plant eggplant seeds? In each region, this period begins at different times:
- For the middle strip, the optimal timing of sowing seeds is the second decade of March. Seedlings will grow, get stronger, it can be planted in the ground at the beginning of the first month of summer.
- The southern regions are characterized by a milder and warmer climate. Here the seeds are sown in early February. Accordingly, seedlings are planted earlier, in mid-April.
- The Volga region is a fertile region for growing crops, including eggplant. For sowing seeds, the best time is considered to be the end of February or the beginning of March. Planting seedlings in the ground occurs in the second decade of the month of May.
- The Urals and Siberia are characterized by a more severe climate. Eggplant will fully ripen if planted seedlings in the ground at the beginning of the first month of summer. In this case, the sowing of eggplant seeds for seedlings is carried out in mid-March. This period may continue until the beginning of the second month of spring.
Germination test
Growing eggplant seedlings begins with the selection of seeds and testing them for germination. To do this, you need:
- Make a bag of cotton.
- Put 10 eggplant seeds in it.
- Put the bag in the water for a day.
- Remove from water and put on a plate for three to six days. The bag should always be wet.
- Seeds with hatching sprouts need to be counted. If they turn out to be half of all wet, they are good and suitable for planting.
Preparation of eggplant seeds for sowing
To planting material gave friendly shoots, it must be processed. For this, a weak solution of potassium permanganate is made and the seeds are soaked in it for half an hour. Then they are washed with clean water and put into a solution for a day, which is prepared independently. For one liter of water, it is enough to add a spoonful of ash or nitrophosphate. After the manipulations have been done, the seeds must be put on a plate for germination. This method of processing is considered the easiest.
Shoots will sprout faster and the fruits ripen earlier if they are hardened after processing. To do this, put the seeds in the refrigerator, let them lie there for two days. After that, get it out and place it in a warm room, and then put it back in the refrigerator for the same time. Hardened seeds are immediately sown in containers or soil.
Soil preparation
Growing eggplant seedlings is largely dependent on the soil. It can be prepared independently with a different composition of components.
- Option 1: turf land, peat and humus are mixed in equal proportions.
- Option 2: horse peat, turf land, humus, sand or sawdust in a ratio of 60: 10: 20: 5 is taken. The unit of calculation is interest.
- Option 3: you need to mix lowland peat, compost, humus, river sand in a ratio of 4: 3: 1: 1.
- When buying finished soil, sand is added to it at a rate of 2:10.
If the seeds are sown immediately in the ground and seedlings will be grown here, the site must be prepared in advance. In late autumn, before the onset of cold weather, humus, superphosphate, potassium chloride in the proportion of 3 kg: 400 g: 100 g are spread on the surface of the bed. This amount of fertilizer is designed for a plot area of one square meter.
Landing tanks
Before you start growing eggplant seedlings, you need to think about what to plant it in. There are many options, but everyone chooses the most suitable for the conditions in which the plants will grow. Regardless of preference, the container should have a height of seven centimeters, no less, otherwise the roots will develop inferiorly.
- Plastic cassettes - are interconnected cells. At their bottom, drainage holes were made with different volumes and quantities.
- Peat tablets - this is the best in which you can grow seedlings. Such containers are made from prepared for plants composition. They are good because they dissolve in the soil during planting, in the future the roots do not develop in cramped conditions.
- Peat pots are similar to tablets, but they are more often used to dive seedlings.
- Glasses from plastic - containers are used for sowing seeds, the volume of which is 200 ml. Seedlings dive in large glasses - 500 ml.
- Boxes made of wood and plastic are the most common containers for growing seedlings, but also the worst for plants, since when transplanted, their roots are often damaged.
The traditional way of sowing
Vegetables are susceptible to transplanting, so growing eggplant seedlings at home without a pick is considered the best option. How it's done? Cooked containers are filled to the extent of moistened soil. There should not be an excess of water, otherwise the seeds will suffocate, seedlings may not appear. You can do differently. Fill the boxes with soil, put a grid with cells on top. Each nest acts as a separate cup. Several seeds (1-2 pieces) are placed in a container or cell. They are buried in the soil by one or two centimeters and sprinkled with the same soil in a thin layer. Capacities with landings are placed in a warm and dark place. If the seeds are planted immediately in the soil of the greenhouse, the crops should be covered with lutrasil. The emergence of seedlings should be expected in 10-14 days.
Growing eggplant seedlings according to the method of Galina Kizima
This method is popular among gardeners, as the result is a saving of space, and most importantly - effort. First the base is prepared. As a substrate, you can take a laminate, insulation or other material. It must be cut into tapes of the desired length and prepare the soil. Then pour it on a substrate with a thickness of three to five centimeters, moisten well with water and seal with your palms. Next, spread the seeds along the entire length of the strip. The distance between them should be four to five centimeters, three centimeters should be retreated from the edge. The substrate together with its contents should be twisted into a roll. If there is not enough land, they pour it. It will turn out to be a “snail”. It can be of different lengths and diameters. Its size depends on how many seeds are needed to obtain seedlings. By this method not only eggplant is sown but also other crops, for example, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage and others.
Then the roll is fixed with an elastic band in several places. The finished "snail" with planting material is placed on a pallet. Before sprouts, it is not watered; it is covered with a package on top to create a greenhouse effect. The tray with “rolls” is placed in a large box and left in a warm room, preferably near the battery. To seedlings in the box is not cooled below, it must be put on something warm. When the first sprouts appear, the film is removed. For the further growth of seedlings, it is necessary to establish sources of additional lighting.
Pros and cons of the Galina Kizima method
The advantages include:
- Space saving. This is especially true with a lack of lighted places for planting seedlings.
- Plants have no contact with the ground, which avoids infection with a disease such as the black leg.
- Substrates are not disposable.
The disadvantages of the method include:
- Plants do not receive enough light.
- The stems of seedlings grow thin and stretch up.
- Plants in any case are transplanted into separate containers.
Sowing seeds in boiling water
Using this method guarantees a quick shoot. The prepared soil is placed in a greenhouse. Its thickness should be three to four centimeters. Seeds scatter along the surface, then are poured with boiling water, but so that the water does not cover the soil. Planting material is not buried. The greenhouse is covered and placed in a room where it is warm and light. After three to four days, seedlings will appear.
The most convenient way
Growing eggplant seedlings in peat tablets is considered an easy and very convenient way. Plants do not need to dive, as a result of which they do not get stress, the roots remain without damage. Seedlings grown in this way will be strong and healthy.
For planting, you need to purchase a set of peat tablets complete with a lid and a tray. The side shell is previously removed. The tablets are filled with water. When they swell, seeds are placed in them, each one at a time, deepened by one centimeter and covered with tablet earth on top. Landings are covered and placed in a room with a warm microclimate.
Chinese way
In the regions of the middle zone of our country, experts recommend sowing seeds for seedlings in the second and third decades of March. By the end of the last month of spring, young plants will reach the age of 70-80 days. Experienced vegetable growers noticed that if seedlings were planted in the soil, which was only 60 days old, the eggplant yield was halved. But the Chinese continued to experiment. They began to plant seedlings at the age of 120-130 days. This is the Chinese way of growing eggplant seedlings. Following their technology, sowing seeds for seedlings is necessary from the end of January (30th day) to the first decade of February. Yields of eggplants grown by this method are very high.
How to care for seedlings?
The process of growing eggplant seedlings is the correct and timely care. Young plants will grow and develop well if the temperature and humidity conditions of the room or greenhouse are observed. In addition, seedlings should be fed, hardened, otherwise it can become sick or die when transplanted to other conditions. If pests appear, plants should be sprayed.
Watering seedlings
Young plants should be watered at intervals of two to three days. It is necessary to use warm, settled water for this. After the procedure, the soil should be mulched so that there is no root rot. Dry sand is suitable for this. About once every half a month when watering, you need to add antifungal drugs, Trichodermin, for example.
Feeding seedlings
For good growth and development, plants need a lot of nutrition. When two or three leaves appear, the first top dressing is carried out. In the future, it must be done 10-14 days after the dive. Top dressing is carried out simultaneously with watering. After the procedure, you must wash the leaves with plain water so that young plants do not get burns. The nutrient solution is prepared independently. Urea - 5-10 g and superphosphate - 30 g should be dissolved in 10 liters of water.
The next top dressing is carried out with the same solution a week before the seedlings are planted at the place of constant growth. For feeding, you can use the Kemira fertilizer, which contains all the trace elements necessary for plants.
The process of hardening seedlings
Before planting plants in the garden, it is necessary to gradually accustom them to a new environment in which they have to grow, form ovaries and bear fruit. To do this, reduce watering, reduce the temperature in the room. Seedlings should be taken out in a cool room, first for two hours, and then left in a new microclimate for a long time. Seedlings are considered prepared for planting if their height reaches 16-25 cm, the number of leaves is seven to nine, the buds are one or two. The root system should be well developed, the trunk should be straight.
Planting seedlings in the ground
This process is simple, but requires accuracy. Planting holes for plants should be shallow, about 12 cm, the distance between them is 50. Ashes are added to each hole, and the soil in it is moistened with potassium permanganate, a weak solution. Before removing the seedlings from the container, it must be abundantly watered. Let it stand for two hours, the earth will become soft, and the roots will not be damaged. After planting in the wells, the plants are sprinkled with soil and watered again. If the next days will be hot weather, you need to create a shade.
Growing Features
Eggplants are not only tasty, but also healthy vegetables. They participate in blood formation processes, lower cholesterol, are useful in diabetes and many other diseases. But to get a unique vegetable, you first need to grow strong planting material. What are the features of growing eggplant seedlings? In accordance with the agrotechnical rules, plants need warm and humid conditions for normal growth and fruiting. In dry soil, they stop growing. If they bloom and form an ovary, they disappear. Such plants have bitter fruits, and the shape is ugly.
Excessive moisture is also negatively affected, various diseases begin to develop. Vegetables do not tolerate frosts, even small ones. They need sunny weather. But the intense heat also depresses them, especially with insufficient watering at this time. In addition, plants have large foliage and a weak root system. This does not allow the vegetable to tolerate a good transplant. Therefore, it is recommended to grow seedlings immediately in glasses, so as not to pick. Before transporting it to a greenhouse or cottage, plants do not need to be watered. So they will easier carry transportation.