How to properly grow eggplant seedlings from seeds. We prepare eggplant seeds competently

Growing eggplants is a very labor-intensive task. And in the Urals this culture requires special attention, because... conditions for growing them here are not always favorable, especially in spring and the first half of summer.
Eggplant seeds take a very long time to germinate; shoots most often appear after two weeks, and seedlings are ready for planting after 60–70 days. Moreover, 60-day-old seedlings produce a yield that is 50% less than 70–80-day-old ones. That is why eggplants are sown starting in early February. And now in more detail about the features of growing eggplant seedlings.
In early-ripening eggplant varieties, 90–100 days usually pass from germination to technical ripeness of the fruit; in mid-ripening varieties, from 120 to 140 days, and full ripening of the fruit occurs after another 30–40 days. That is why in the Urals eggplants are grown only through seedlings, and the success of obtaining a good harvest of fruits depends almost entirely on the age and quality of the seedlings you grow, as well as on the early maturity of the variety you choose.
Therefore, let's try to figure out together how we can best behave in this matter so as not to commit serious mistakes. Naturally, it is necessary to start growing eggplant seedlings by preparing nutritious soil and preparing seeds for sowing.

Soil preparation
There are many options for preparing soil mixtures for growing eggplant seedlings - from the simplest to the very complex. A simple soil mixture consisting of 2 parts of low-lying aerated peat, 2 parts of humus and 1 part of turf soil is quite widespread.
I advise you to try another soil mixture, which is not difficult to prepare and is effective for growing seedlings: humus - 4 parts, low-lying aerated peat (black) - 2 parts, old sawdust ( Brown) - 1 part. Add 2-3 tbsp to a bucket of any mixture. spoons of ash, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of superphosphate, 1 teaspoon of urea, a half-liter jar of coarse grain river sand and mix everything thoroughly.
Then the soil mixture prepared from “homemade” components must be watered with a warm solution of “Rizoplan” to combat blackleg. If you do not want to use it, you can limit yourself to watering the soil with a warm, strong solution of potassium permanganate.
The result will be even better if you use ready-made primers from the store. It is best to take ready-made soil “Special No. 1” for this purpose, created on the basis of “Living Earth”. Add 2-3 handfuls of Agrovit-Kora, Pixa or Biud-soil, a liter jar of Agrovermiculite, and 20 g of Trichodermin to a bucket of this soil.
Excellent and inexpensive soil can be obtained by mixing 2 parts of ready-made and inexpensive soil “Gardener” (for tomatoes), 2 parts of old sawdust, 1 part of “Vermicompost”. Instead of “Gardener”, you can use ready-made soils “Uralets”, “Flora”, “Krepysh”, “Ogorodnik”, universal primers"Gumimax".

Whether it is necessary
prepare seeds?
It is better to use fresh eggplant seeds, because... after 4 years of storage, their germination rate sharply decreases. Therefore, if you have old seeds, then 2-3 weeks before sowing they should be checked for germination in the same way as tomato seeds. Even if out of 10 seeds only 5 seeds germinate, they are suitable for sowing.
The most effective and least labor-intensive is to combine one of the methods of disinfecting seeds with treating them with certain growth stimulants, i.e. application of the most effective ways their pre-sowing preparation. In this case, the seeds are first disinfected, and only then treated with growth stimulants.
For pre-sowing treatment of eggplant seeds, the following two schemes are most optimal.
Scheme No. 1 - First heat treatment seeds in water at a temperature of 50–52°C for 25 minutes, followed by rapid cooling in cold water within 2–3 minutes. Both the temperature of the water and the time the seeds remain in it must be strictly maintained within the above limits. This treatment guarantees the complete destruction of infection both on the surface of the seed and inside the seed.
Then the seeds are soaked and kept for 24 hours in a 0.01% solution of sodium or potassium humate. This working solution must be prepared immediately before use, very strictly following the attached instructions.
And after treating the eggplant seeds in a solution of humates, they are either sown, or first germinated, and only then sown.
Scheme No. 2 - First, treat the eggplant seeds in a 1.5% solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes. Seed treatment is carried out at room temperature followed by washing in tap water. This treatment reliably kills the infection on the surface of the seeds, but does not guarantee the death of the infection located inside the seed.
Then the seeds are soaked and kept in Epin solution (2 drops per half glass of water) for 18 hours at a temperature of 24–30 degrees. After this, the seeds are either sown or first germinated.
To germinate, seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth placed on a saucer for 3–4 days and placed in plastic bag. In this case, the temperature must be maintained at 26–28 degrees. You cannot place seeds on the battery; they will dry out and will not germinate.
To speed up germination and increase immunity, seeds can be treated with Novosil, Baikal EM1, Ideal fertilizers, etc. before soaking them in water. according to the attached instructions. A positive effect is obtained by soaking the seeds in a solution of slurry (1:10) or ash solution (2 tablespoons per 1 liter of hot water).
It is common practice to soak eggplant seeds for 24 hours in undiluted aloe juice. To do this, cut aloe leaves must first be placed in the refrigerator for 5–6 hours, and then the juice must be squeezed out of them.
Well, what about seeds bought in a store? Remember that hybrid seeds and varietal seeds produced by large manufacturing companies are supplied to stores already treated against pests and diseases. Therefore, you need to read the annotations that are usually on the back of branded bags.
It is better to grow eggplants without picking, sowing the prepared seeds directly into pots or milk cartons. But this will require a large area for seedlings at once. Therefore, due to its absence, many gardeners grow eggplant seedlings with picking.
Given the long growing season, soaking and sowing seeds, depending on the type of seeds and the quality of the greenhouse you have, usually starts from the beginning of February to the beginning of March...

Hello all my guests and blog subscribers! How are you doing? How are you? I hope everything is great. I remind everyone that in my previous notes we learned how and when to plant plants such as and according to the Lunar calendar, now let’s look at eggplants. How do you like this idea?

I know that many people have quite a lot of problems and troubles with this capricious guest, so let’s first learn how to correctly determine the timing of planting seeds in the ground, and also do preparatory work excellently.

So that later you and I can prepare a bunch of different tasty treats in the fall, such as, and much more.

When to plant eggplant seedlings in 2019?

Didn't you have a lot of questions when you started growing this vegetable? I think a large number. And all because its growing season is much longer than that of tomatoes and therefore blue ones are more difficult to grow, because our summer is very short.

For the most part, many summer residents grow this crop in a greenhouse, and this helps alleviate all the conditions, but you can do it differently and plant eggplants under a greenhouse.

Of course, no one even argues with this that the harvest itself depends only on proper care, also on the seeds themselves, storage and growing conditions, but at the same time the sowing time is also important. Let's start with this.

The optimal age for planting eggplant seedlings in the ground is 60-70 days. Plus, we must add about 10 days for the emergence of seedlings. Well, now, as always, determine the optimal and most favorable planting dates applicable to your region.

If you start to understand this in more detail, then you should know well the weather conditions of the area where you live. This factor is one of the most important and decisive. What does it mean? The soil itself should already warm up well to 20 degrees Celsius, or at least should be close to these values.

It turns out that on average optimal indicator Transplanting plants into the ground is the period from mid-May until early June. So that there are certainly no frosts, but also no sharp drops in temperature.

Interesting! According to folk superstition, if you see that a dandelion has bloomed, then this indicates that the earth has warmed up and you can sow the majority vegetable crops and plant potatoes.

So, we need to subtract 70 days and plus 10 days for germination and you get that in the Central and Southern regions In our country, the period for planting eggplant seeds is from mid-February to the very beginning of March. And more in the northern regions of our country, including Siberia and the Urals, sowing is carried out in the second ten days of March.

And in the end, after such a mathematical calculation, when you start from the reverse point of calculation and from the climatic conditions of your place of residence, as well as taking all kinds of signs and beliefs, you can easily determine the date.

Eggplant sowing table taking into account the lunar calendar

If you use such a calendar, then you can very easily determine the correct auspicious day, namely, choose the days when the Moon is waxing. If you need this entire lunar calendar for all vegetable and fruit crops, then go and download it for free from my website. These tables have been updated this year!

We must not forget that there are quite a few legends and beliefs about planting and harvesting. Are you familiar with these? Moreover, even each region has its own stories about when it is best to plant this or that plant.

Interesting! For example, vegetables such as zucchini, peppers, eggplant and all other vegetables male should be planted on men's days))). It's funny isn't it? But women's vegetables, such as cabbage, radishes on women's days are on Wednesday or Friday.

But according to grandmother’s superstitions, eggplants are sown on men’s holiday, that is, February 23, and she is my tomato feminine, by the way, on Women's Day, March 8th. It is according to their forecasts that there will be an excellent and great harvest.

Planting seeds and growing in open ground

So, now let's go through all the preparatory and working steps to get a big and early harvest blue ones. The first thing you will need to do is check the seeds.

Germination

How to check seeds for germination? To do this, you need to place the seedlings in fabric bags for about one day, and then put the bags in a plate for five days, while you need to constantly maintain humidity, i.e. water if necessary.

If at least half of the seeds sprout, then this batch is suitable for further action.

Disinfection or treatment

After checking, you need to disinfect and treat, to do this, dilute potassium permanganate in a glass of water, as I told you how to do this in the previous one about planting tomatoes. The solution should turn out to be dark purple in color and place the seeds there for 20-30 minutes. After which, you need to wash thoroughly with water.

Soil preparation

After the previous work, you need to purchase special soil for seedlings from the gardening supermarket.

If you use a good nutrient soil that contains both mineral and organic fertilizers, then this is the key to quality seedlings.

Or make it yourself using these recipes.

Planting seeds

And only now the pre-prepared seeds are sown in the ground, 2-3 seeds at a distance of 2 cm from each other, in a separate glass and covered cling film. In the future, select the strongest sprout and cut off the rest.

Sowing depth is approximately 1.5-2 cm.

Remember! Please note that seeds germinate well at a temperature of 22-26 degrees, approximately 6-10 days after sowing.

When the shoots appear, you need to put them in the light, remove the film and the temperature should be 14-17 degrees, this is necessary so that there are strong roots and they do not stretch out.

If you notice that your sprouts are frail and very thin, then fertilize the soil. To do this, take and dilute 3-4 g of nitrophoska per 1 liter of water or mix 3 g of superphosphate and 1 g of urea per 1 liter of water. This feeding is very effective when there are 2-3 leaves on a sprout and when you plan to plant the plant in a permanent place

Remember that fertilizing is best combined with watering; it is necessary to water at the root, and not on the leaves, and of course with warm melt water, preferably, at least in the first weeks.

Additional lighting

In the first month of care, additional illumination of eggplant seedlings is a must. To do this, use a florolamp, place it at a distance of about 20 cm above the seedlings, and then gradually raise it as the seedlings grow.

To enhance the effect of lighting, install reflective screens on both sides, and when the daylight hours become longer, which means mid-March, then it will be enough for you to illuminate the seedlings in cloudy weather, as well as a couple of hours in the morning and a couple of hours in the evening.

Make sure that your seedlings do not stand where there are drafts, because if the soil gets too cold, the roots will suffer. Therefore, you can get out of this situation and put a piece of foam plastic, or wooden board, i.e. material that does not allow cold to pass under the containers.

Dive

In general, there are two ways to land, with or without a dive. Which one do you usually use? If you grow with a dive, then the sprouts should be planted in boxes to a depth of 1.5-2 cm, and the row spacing should be about six centimeters.

After you see 2-3 leaves on the sprouts, start picking, after watering them.

You need to remember that eggplants do not tolerate transplantation very well, because the roots can be damaged and you will see that the plant freezes and lags behind in development. In order to somehow help the plant, you can feed it with root or its equivalent.

Therefore, it is better to immediately plant in special containers; ordinary plastic cups will do.

If you see yellow leaves at the stage of growing seedlings, this indicates that there are not enough minerals; in this case, urgently feed the plant with complex mineral fertilizer specially marked “for seedlings.”

Hardening

Before planting the little blue ones in the ground, they will need to undergo a hardening procedure. To do this, organize this event two weeks before planting, water them less and ventilate the room more often. Next, you will need to take them outside when it is plus 20 and leave them in the cups for a couple of minutes, then add more each time. This way they will adapt very well to the future. climatic conditions.

Care and planting in the ground

Replant into the ground only using the transshipment method, that is, plant it in the ground together with a clod of earth without touching the roots.

It is necessary to fertilize eggplant seedlings. An excellent option would be chicken manure, as well as phosphorus and potassium.

It should be planted in a country greenhouse no earlier than May 10, and it is important to remember that this is a very heat-loving plant, so the most the best option For them, this is a greenhouse, both under film and under a greenhouse.

The beds need to be leveled and planting holes made 10-15 cm deep; if you are making beds in one line, then place them every 45 cm. The second option is worse, every 60 cm in a checkerboard pattern. If the weather is too hot, shade the plants with a cloth for 1-2 days.

Do not forget to also form a bush, remove shoots where there are no fruits, as well as those that shade the fruits. And if the plant is taller than 30 cm, then it is necessary to pinch the top. At the same time, you will see active growth of side shoots. Leave two strong stepsons and when they begin to branch, leave one of the most powerful ones, and pinch the rest immediately after the first ovary.

If you have low-growing varieties, then you don’t need to pinch anything. So to say you are definitely lucky).

Plants need to be watered regularly; they require much more moisture than peppers. Insufficient moisture may cause flowers and fruits to fall off.

Remember that eggplants love water very much and it is best to water them at the root with warm water at 25 degrees and in the evening, not in the morning. It is then that the moisture will not evaporate so much and will completely go into the soil.

You can also learn about the features of caring for eggplants in open ground and some of the nuances of work by watching this video:

The simplest and most important condition for a rich eggplant harvest is the right climate. They grow quite well where it is very hot and at the same time humid.

Now let's look at some more nuances and secrets so that all the work turns out perfectly.

Rules and conditions for growing eggplants

1. First of all, the key to any harvest is strong and healthy 60-day-old seedlings. Replanting this plant will need to be done carefully so as not to damage root system, don't expose her. And a week before planting, you need to do the hardening work.

2. The second one is very important point choose and identify the variety correctly. It is best to take early-ripening varieties or at least mid-ripening ones.

3. Seedlings should be planted in a film greenhouse on well-prepared rows, into which you first need to fertilize with compost + add 50 grams of complex mineral fertilizer and two glasses of ash for each square meter.

Remember that the plant should have 6-7 leaves before planting. With all this, it is usually necessary to plant 2-3 sprouts per square meter.

But as soon as the first leaves grow and you see the long-awaited bud, a stepson will grow from under it. It is best to remove the first bud and this stepson, as well as the side shoots in the axils of the first nine leaves, they are also not needed.

4. Regular ventilation of the greenhouse. This should be done even on cloudy days, as well as after watering, as they suffer from high air humidity.

Watering should only be done in the afternoon and only warm water 2-3 times a week, in this case you need to pour 1-2 liters of water on each sprout and try not to get it on the leaves.

Important! If the soil is dry and the air is overheated, the flowers will fall off. Therefore, open the greenhouse in the morning and close it in the evening.

5. Don’t forget about fertilizing; this particular vegetable loves organic fertilizers. You need to start doing this after you have planted them in the ground after about a week with calcium nitrate. Remember the proportions: 20 grams per 10 liters of water. And after a couple of weeks, with slurry diluted with water 1 to 10. And after two weeks you should water complex fertilizer.

Once a month you need to do foliar feeding, dilute 10 g of Kemira Lux fertilizer per 10 liters of water. Remember that microelements such as boron, molybdenum and copper play an important role in the nutrition of the little blue ones.

Loosen the soil regularly every week, but there is no need to hill up. If support is needed, then provide it to the plants so that they do not lie on the beds, the leaves do not turn yellow, and the fruits do not rot.

6. Regarding the eggplant bushes themselves, there is no need to form them yourself; you need to promptly remove empty side shoots and those leaves that have turned yellow. As soon as you see 5-6 ovaries, pinch the growth points of the shoots and remove the newly appearing flowers. If you don’t do this kind of work, the fruits will be small and underdeveloped.

7. Harvest eggplants in the morning, while cutting off the stalk from the stem itself. If you notice that the purple fruits have turned brown-green or completely brown, then they are overripe and will not taste very good(.

Even light fruits will become unattractive appearance, if they are not collected in time.

8. This specific vegetable loves to grow in its eggplant group; many people plant other types of plants with it in the greenhouse, so to speak, to experiment or because of the small amount of space. And usually this is done incorrectly, they are planted either near this place at the entrance, or at the end, this harms this crop, because they do not like sharp fluctuations in temperature, and other neighboring plants darken them.

That's all for me, the article turned out to be small but rich, all materials were taken from free access to the Internet, I hope someone will find it useful and will become a lifesaver for a super harvest this year. All the best and positive wishes to everyone! Bye bye!

Sincerely, Ekaterina Mantsurova

Eggplant is one of the most capricious vegetables grown in personal plots. But, having at least minimal experience in growing vegetables on your plot and knowing the basic biological features, you can successfully tame this Indian alien (and the eggplant comes from India, if anyone didn’t know). And to tame a purple beauty you should always start from proper cultivation eggplant seedlings at home.

In most regions, eggplant can be grown both in a greenhouse and in open ground. Depending on the place of cultivation and the timing of fruit ripening, it is necessary to select the timing of sowing seeds.

Today, many varieties and hybrids of eggplant have been developed. All of them are divided into:

early;
average;
late.

Usually seedlings early varieties Eggplants are planted at the age of 45-55 days, medium - 55-70 days and late - 70-80 days. Sowing seeds for seedlings of early varieties when grown in open ground usually performed from March 15 to 25, when grown in greenhouses - from February 10 to 25.

When growing medium varieties, the sowing dates need to be shifted back by 10-12 days, and when growing late varieties - by 20-25 days. You can sow seeds of all varieties at the same time, but then you will have to either plant seedlings of medium and late varieties underdeveloped, or skip optimal timing for transplanting seedlings.

Although late varieties can be grown in the middle zone, and even more so in the northern regions of the country, this requires heated greenhouses and additional temperature and light conditions. Creating such conditions is not a cheap task, and therefore their cultivation becomes unprofitable.

Seed preparation

An important stage that allows you to reject non-viable seeds and accelerate the germination and development of the remaining ones. For sowing, you can use your own seeds from last year’s harvest, or purchase them in specialized stores.

If you are going to grow eggplants from... own seeds, then select seeds for sedimentation only from varietal plants. Seeds from hybrids will not give the expected yield.

When purchasing seeds, pay attention to the following information:

variety name;
ripening time;
company manufacturer;
variety or hybrid (hybrids are marked with the letter F);
total weight or number of seeds in a bag;
carried out or not Preliminary processing seeds

Pay attention to the last point Special attention. If the seeds have passed all stages of pre-sowing preparation, then additional processing they don't need it. If there is no information about processing on the packaging, then they need to be processed in the same way as your own seeds.

First you need to discard non-viable seeds. To do this, you need to prepare a 5% solution of table salt. Pour the seeds into this solution, mix thoroughly and allow to settle for the next 5 minutes.

The seeds remaining on the surface are drained together with the solution, and those that have settled to the bottom are thoroughly washed and dried, preparing for further stages pre-sowing preparation: warming up, disinfection, growth stimulation and hardening.

Eggplant seeds are, by nature, big spitters. To “stir up” them and make them germinate faster, they change the heating. To do this, the seeds are first placed in a gauze knot and then immersed in hot (40-45°) water. You need to keep the seeds in it for no more than 3-5 minutes, otherwise you can simply boil them.

After heating, the seeds are pickled to kill harmful fungi and bacteria on them. For dressing, special biofungicides are used, for example, phytosporin-M, trichodermin, Gamair SP, etc. The dressing solution is prepared strictly following the instructions.

I use the old one for etching. folk way- 1% manganese solution. I dip the seeds in a gauze bag into a solution of potassium permanganate for 15-20 minutes, and then thoroughly rinse and dry them, preparing for sowing. If you use special fungicides for dressing, then you do not need to wash the seeds, just dry them well so that when sowing they are free-flowing and do not stick together.

Now it has become fashionable to use growth stimulants where necessary and where not necessary. But in the case of eggplant seeds, their use is not only justified, it is necessary, otherwise it will take a long and tedious time for them to germinate.

For stimulation, you can use special substances: epin, emistim S, ideal, etc. Also, to provide seeds at the germination stage with the necessary microelements and fertilizers, they can be soaked in special soluble complex fertilizers, for example, microvita.

To make your life easier and get everything done at the same time necessary steps eggplant seeds, dressing and stimulation can be carried out simultaneously.

To do this, according to the instructions, dilute solutions of a disinfectant, growth stimulator and liquid fertilizers. Then all three solutions are poured into one large container, mixed thoroughly, and the seeds are dipped into this “cocktail” immediately after heating for 10-12 hours. At the end of the procedure, the seeds are removed and dried well.

The last stage of preparing eggplant seeds for sowing is hardening them. They are simply hardened: during the day, dry seeds are kept indoors at room temperature - 18-22°, and at night they are sent to the refrigerator on the bottom shelf, where the temperature does not exceed 2-3°. Such temperature swings are repeated for 5-6 days, after which the seeds can be sown in the ground.

Many gardeners, in order to speed up the germination of seeds, additionally sprout them. To do this, 2-3 days before sowing, the seeds are poured onto a damp cloth placed in a saucer, covered with the same damp cloth and placed in a warm place. The fabric must be kept moist and not allowed to dry out.

As soon as the seeds hatch, they are transferred to a dry cloth, dried and immediately sown.

Soil preparation

It is best to buy special soil mixtures when growing eggplants. But if for some reason going to a specialized store is a burden for you, then you can prepare such a mixture yourself. But it is imperative to take into account that such a mixture should be light, with good water and air permeability, and with a neutral pH. It must be treated against harmful fungi and bacteria, and also rich in useful substances.

There are two good options such a soil mixture. First: mix rotted humus with turf soil or peat and sand in a ratio of 2:1:1. Second: mix humus or peat with turf soil and sand in a ratio of 1:2:1. Peat for preparing the mixture must be high-grade peat with a low acidity level.

There are other options for preparing soil mixtures, but based on my own experience I can say that both of the above are best option for beginner gardeners.

All components must be thoroughly mixed until a homogeneous mass is obtained. The prepared soil mixture must be thoroughly heated, calcined, frozen or disinfected in any way convenient for you. I prefer to warm it up, and then additionally water it with a solution of potassium permanganate.

Before planting, you need to add a complex of mineral fertilizers to the prepared mixture. For 1 bucket of soil mixture add:

15-20 g of urea;
30-40 g of superphosphate;
a glass of wood ash (can be replaced with 15-20 g of potassium sulfate).

After applying the fertilizer, the mixture is thoroughly mixed again and only after that the containers for sowing seeds are filled with it.

Sowing technology

When sowing seeds at home, be sure to take into account that eggplant seedlings do not tolerate picking well. Therefore, it is best to sow seeds immediately in separate containers. I do it this way: in a container filled 3/4 of the volume with moistened soil mixture, I place 1 sprouted eggplant seed.

If you have not previously germinated the seeds, then it is better to play it safe and add 2 seeds. If both sprout, then the second one can be removed or you can try to transplant it into another container.

Then I carefully add 1-2 cm of soil mixture on top, moisten it and send it to a warm place, closer to the radiator, until sprouts appear. By sowing seeds in separate cups, you can use special peat pots for growing.

If you plant seeds in a common container, take the trouble to make a special overhead grid with 6x6 cm nests in advance, and plant 1-2 seeds in each such nest.

If, nevertheless, you were unable to avoid picking (you sown it densely or the seedlings have stretched out and you need to delay its development), then it should be done when 2-3 true leaves appear on the plants.

Before picking, water the soil to make it easier to transplant the seedlings, minimizing trauma to their root system. When transplanting to a new place, the plants are deepened to the level of the cotyledon leaves, shaded so that they are not exposed to direct Sun rays and regularly water with settled warm water, keeping the soil moist for 2-3 days.

Eggplant seedlings are very sensitive to temperature. To grow strong, healthy seedlings, you must maintain the following temperature conditions:

After sowing the seeds until seedlings emerge, the temperature must be maintained at 25-28°.
After the emergence of seedlings, until the start of hardening, the daytime soil temperature must be maintained within 20-22°, and the night temperature - 17-18°.
The air temperature in the room in the first week after emergence is maintained in the range of 14-16° during the day and 8-10° at night.
Subsequently, until the adult seedlings harden, the night temperature is maintained at 11-14°. The daytime temperature depends on the weather outside the window. On sunny days it can be raised to 25-27°, and on cloudy days it can be maintained at 18-20°.

Compliance with the temperature “swing” does not allow the seedlings to overgrow and stretch out. Also, to prevent stretching, the container with seedlings should be turned with the other side towards the light source every 1.5-2 weeks. If these conditions are met, the plants will be strong and have a well-developed root system when transplanted.

Sowing and caring for eggplants in one photo:

Caring for eggplant seedlings

In addition to compliance temperature regime, when growing eggplant seedlings, you need to provide it proper care: timely watering, fertilizing, loosening the soil. When growing seedlings in a greenhouse, you additionally need to monitor the possible occurrence of pests.

Watering

The first watering is carried out 2-3 days after the emergence of seedlings, then - as the top layer of soil dries. Watering should be done moderately - eggplant seedlings will more easily tolerate a slight lack of water in the soil, but will not tolerate its excess. In waterlogged soil, the root system of seedlings suffocates and quickly rots.

It is best to water with settled rain or melt water heated to 22-25°. Water from a well will also work. It is better not to use tap water for irrigation - chlorine-containing preparations are used to clean it.

After each watering upper layer The soil must be loosened, but this must be done very carefully and carefully so as not to damage fragile plants.

To protect against root rot, you need to add it to the water every one and a half to two weeks when watering. antifungal drug. I use plinriz for this, but any biofungicide can be used if its use is permissible in a residential area.

Feeding

You should also care for it with the help of fertilizing. The first is carried out when the plants have formed 2-3 true leaves. If picking was carried out, then fertilizing is carried out 1.5 weeks after transplantation. For feeding, nitrophoska is dissolved in water at the rate of 3-4 g per 1 liter. You can prepare another nutritional composition: 1 g of urea and 3 g of superphosphate per 1 liter of water.

Another feeding is carried out 1.5 weeks before planting the seedlings. For fertilizing, you can use the same fertilizers in the indicated proportions, but it is better to use a complex fertilizer like Kemira, which, in addition to the main complex of fertilizers, also contains a set of microelements important for the growth and development of seedlings.

After both the first and second feeding, it is imperative to spray the plants with a spray bottle. clean water. This will protect the leaves from chemical burns if a fertilizer solution accidentally gets on them.

Hardening

Hardening off eggplant seedlings should begin 1.5-2 weeks before planting. At this time, it must be moved from the premises to glass balcony or loggia. If they are not in the house, then you need to at least take it out into the corridor, where it is usually always cooler than in the living room.

On the first day, it is left for 2-3 hours, constantly monitoring the condition of the seedlings. If she tolerates a drop in temperature normally, the interval of stay in a cool room is gradually increased, bringing it to a full day.

When transplanting seedlings into a greenhouse, there is no need for additional hardening of the seedlings in the fresh air. But when growing in open ground, such a measure is vital, otherwise the transplanted plants may get sick and even die.

The seedlings are hardened according to the same scheme: a week before transplanting, the plants are taken out into the fresh air for 1.5-2 hours, constantly monitoring their condition, and if the plants begin to “shrink” from the cold, they are brought back into the room. On the second day, the time spent in the open air is increased to 4-5 hours, on the third - to 10-12 hours. It is advisable that the seedlings stand in the fresh air constantly for the last 1-2 days before transplanting.

If all the conditions for growing eggplant seedlings are met, the plants are ready for replanting strong, with a well-developed fibrous root system. Seedlings with a height of 16-25 cm, with a straight trunk and 7-9 leaves are considered optimal for transplantation.

From such seedlings you will definitely get 15-25 eggplant fruits from each plant - provided that after transplanting you take care of them in the same way as you did when growing seedlings.

Eggplant is always associated with the purple color and oblong fruit. But recently, breeders have offered such an abundance of varieties and hybrids, unusual in external color and structure, that it makes it difficult for the buyer to choose: round, white, striped, black, they delight and alarm. The taste, yield, technology of growing seedlings and adult plants are unknown. To grow big harvest, and the eggplant bush is capable of producing up to 25 fruits, you need to know some of the biological characteristics of these Indian newcomers. By fulfilling the requirements for cultivation (creating familiar conditions), you will always have a high-quality harvest, regardless of the variety or hybrid growing in your garden.

Eggplant seedlings. © Joel Ignacio

The main requirement of eggplant is the length of daylight (no more than 12-14 hours). Eggplants are plants with short daylight hours, and lengthening them even by 1-2 hours leads to the fact that during the main warm period (June, July) the formation of ovaries does not occur. With a decrease in the length of the day (August, September), eggplants intensively form a harvest, but it is much smaller, since 2 main summer months are missed, when it is warm and other necessary conditions enough.

Eggplant varieties, especially old ones, are tied to day length and this feature is unchanged in old varieties. Currently, new generations of plants have been created - hybrids and varieties that are insensitive to day length. They can grow in any latitude. Therefore, before going to the market, look at the calendar, where the day length of your area is clearly indicated. Check out the varieties and hybrids of eggplant that experts recommend for your area and go purchase seeds or ready-made seedlings.

Content:

Technology for growing eggplant seedlings

Seed preparation

Beginning gardeners often purchase ready-made seed material on the market or from private owners. This is the first mistake. It is unknown what quality and variety the seeds will sell you. Always purchase seed from specialized stores and centers. They have already been processed and prepared for sowing. Seeds home collection must be varietal, hybrids will not produce the desired yield. In this case, it is better to purchase ready seedlings in specialized shopping centers.

Choosing eggplant seeds when purchasing

When purchasing seeds, carefully read the instructions on the bag:

the name of the variety or hybrid, legal information about the producer (telephone, physical address, etc.) must be clearly indicated,
when buying a hybrid, give preference to the first generation (label F1). Seeds of this generation are the most resistant to temperature conditions, diseases and pests,
number of seeds in a bag,
date of seed collection,
readiness of seeds for sowing (processing).

Independent preparation of seeds for sowing eggplant seedlings

To awaken the seeds from biological dormancy and speed up the emergence of eggplant shoots, warm them in a thermos or hot water. At a water temperature of +45..+50 °C, lower the seeds in a gauze bundle into hot water for 3-5 minutes (be careful not to cook them).
After heating, we pickle (disinfect) the eggplant seeds in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate to protect against diseases. Place the seeds in a gauze bag into the solution for 15-20 minutes and rinse under running water. Instead of potassium permanganate, you can treat the seeds from bacteria and fungi in a solution of one of the biofungicides phytosporin-M, alirin-B, gamair SP, trichodermin, albite according to the recommendations. In this case, the seeds are not washed, but immediately dried until they flow.

Eggplant seeds germinate slowly and need initial stages in sufficient quantities of nutrients. Therefore, they still need to be treated with growth stimulants and nutrients. To reduce the number of seed treatments, you can combine disinfection with biofungicides, growth stimulants (epin, ideal, zircon and others) and microfertilizers (microvit, cytovit) in the tank mixture.

When preparing a tank mixture, dissolve each drug separately according to the recommendations, and then pour it into one container and mix. After warming up, the seed material is immersed in the solution for 10-12 hours. Then, without washing, dry at room temperature until free-flowing.

Eggplant seedlings. © Hey! Sam!

The last stage of preparing eggplant seeds for sowing is hardening

We keep the prepared dry eggplant seeds indoors during the day at a temperature of +18..+22 °C, and at night we transfer them to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator at a temperature of +2..+3 °C. We repeat this procedure for a week (5-6 days).

After hardening, the seeds are almost ready for sowing. To speed up the emergence of seedlings, eggplant seeds are germinated 2-3 days before sowing. To do this, they are scattered on a damp cloth in a saucer, covered with the same damp cloth on top and placed in a warm, dark place. As soon as the seeds grow, they are transferred to a dry litter, dried and sowing begins.

Preparing the soil for sowing eggplant seeds

The soil mixture for sowing eggplant seeds must be neutral in acidity, light, air- and water-permeable, moisture-absorbing, saturated with nutrients, and disinfected from fungi, viruses, bacteria and pests.

mature humus 2 parts,
turf soil 1-2 parts or 1 part high-moor peat (neutral),
1 part sand or semi-rotten sawdust (not pine).

You can use another combination:

1 part humus (vermicompost) or 2 parts high-moor peat,
2 parts of turf or leaf soil,
you can add 0.5-1.0 part of sand.

We must disinfect the prepared mixture in the way that is most convenient for you (by heating, calcining, scalding, freezing or otherwise). After drying the disinfected soil mixture, we revive it by mixing it with biological products “Baikal EM-1”, trichodermin, planriz and others. They promote the rapid proliferation of beneficial or effective microflora (EM drugs) and at the same time destroy microbial and fungal pathogens.

If the soil was tilled wet method(solutions), then dry the substrate again and add fertilizers for 1 bucket of soil mixture: 30-40 g of nitrophoska and a glass of wood ash. You can add a mixture of fertilizers: 15-20 g of urea, 30-40 g of granulated superphosphate, 15-20 g of potassium sulfate or a glass of wood ash. Mix the mixture thoroughly and fill the prepared container with soil.

Eggplant seedlings. © Chris Traweek

Time for sowing eggplant seeds

Eggplants have a long growing season and a slow rate of development. Depending on the duration of the period from germination to technical maturity, eggplants are divided into 3 groups:

early,
average
late.

For early eggplants, the technical ripeness of the fruit occurs 85-90 days from germination, for middle ones 90-120 and for late ones 120-150 days.

In the southern regions of Russia and other regions, eggplant seeds are sown for seedlings at the end of February - the first ten days of March. Seedlings are planted in open ground from mid-May to the first ten days of June. Depending on the timing of fruit ripening, sowing of seedlings is shifted relative to the first date by 10-12 days.

You can simultaneously sow early, middle and late varieties of eggplants for seedlings, but the timing of transfer to open ground will be different: early eggplants at the age of 45-55 days, middle 55-70 days and late 70-80 days. You can plant seedlings earlier permanently if they outgrow (stretch) and weather conditions are suitable.

IN middle lane and northern regions of Russia, when planting seedlings in open ground or unheated greenhouses, under temporary shelters, eggplant seedlings are planted at the age of 60-70 days, that is, seedlings are sown on the 15th of March. Permanent planting is extended until the first ten days of June, when stable warm weather sets in. Late varieties It can also be grown in these regions, but heated greenhouses, additional lighting and other additional conditions are needed (which is unprofitable).

Technology for sowing eggplant seeds for seedlings

Eggplants do not tolerate transplantation well, so it is better to grow seedlings without picking. In the prepared container, I moderately moisten the soil mixture. In waterlogged soil, seeds may suffocate and will not sprout. I apply a special lattice with nests 6x6 or 8x8 cm (depending on the habit of the future bush). In the middle of each nest I sow 1-2 seeds to a depth of 1-2 cm. With such schemes, from 1 sq. m of total area, the yield of seedlings will be on average 250-150 seedlings.

After sowing, I sprinkle the eggplant seeds with the same soil mixture layer 1-2 cm. If sowing is carried out in separate containers (cups, peat-humus pots, special cassettes), I place them in a common box and place them in a warm, dark place. If sowing is carried out in greenhouse soil, I cover the sowing with lutrasil. Shoots appear in 1.5-2.0 weeks.

If you decide to grow eggplant seedlings through picking, then it is carried out in the phase of 2-3 true leaves. Water 2-3 days before picking to reduce damage to the root system. Transplant into containers or containers with a larger feeding area, deepening the plants to the cotyledon leaves. The pick is shaded and the soil is kept moist. Watering is carried out with warm, settled water.

Temperature conditions for eggplant seedlings

Temperature plays a significant role in growing healthy seedlings. Therefore, it is necessary to adhere to the recommended temperatures:

the soil temperature from sowing to germination should be maintained within +20..+28 °C.
During the first 2 weeks after germination, the soil temperature drops to +17..+18 °C at night, and is maintained within +20..+22 °C during the day.
Subsequently, until the seedlings are hardened, the soil temperature at night and during the day is maintained within the limits of post-emergence temperatures.
In the first week after emergence, the air temperature drops to +8..+10 °C at night, and is maintained within +14..+16 °C during the day.
Subsequently (from hardening of seedlings to hardening of adult seedlings), the air temperature is +11..+14 °C, and during the day it depends on the lighting. On sunny days you can raise the temperature to +25..+27 °C, and on cloudy days it can be lowered to +18..+20 °C. A change in air temperature is necessary so that the seedlings do not stretch.

Caring for eggplant seedlings

During the period of growth and development of eggplant seedlings, in addition to the temperature regime, it is necessary to monitor soil and air humidity, feed the seedlings in a timely manner, protect them from pests and diseases, and harden them. Unhardened seedlings when planted in changed conditions environment gets sick and may even die.

When pests (aphids, caterpillars, whiteflies) appear, eggplant seedlings are sprayed with bioinsecticides according to the recommendations (fitoverm, bitoxybacillin, lepidocide and others).

Watering eggplant seedlings

I water after 2-3 days with moderate amounts of settled water heated to +20..+25 °C. After watering, I mulch the soil with dry sand to prevent root rot.

When watering twice a month, I add antifungal biological products (trichodermin, planriz and other biofungicides) to the irrigation water. They are harmless to humans, which is especially important when growing seedlings in a residential area. I reduce air humidity by ventilation without drafts.

Feeding eggplant seedlings

I carry out the first feeding in the phase of 2-3 leaves or 1.5-2.0 weeks after picking. I apply fertilizing with irrigation water. I'm cooking nutrient solution based on a bucket of water: 5-10 g of urea and 30 g of water-soluble superphosphate. You can prepare a solution from a complete mineral fertilizer by dissolving 30-35 g of nitrophoska in 10 liters of water. After feeding, I wash the leaves with clean water from a spray bottle to prevent chemical burns to young plants.

I carry out the second feeding with the same composition 7-10 days before permanent planting, but without nitrogen. It is better to carry out the second feeding with Kemira fertilizer, intended for comprehensive plant care. This fertilizer contains, in addition to the main nutrients, microelements boron, manganese, molybdenum, iron, which will give the plants additional energy.

Hardening off seedlings

Before permanent planting (2 weeks in advance), I accustom the plants to new environmental conditions. I gradually reduce the frequency of watering, lower the temperature in the room, for which I take the container with eggplant seedlings out into the corridor or onto a glassed-in balcony or loggia. At first I keep the seedlings for 2-3 hours, gradually leaving them for more long term in a cool room. If there is not enough lighting in the corridor, I turn on additional lighting.

Hardened seedlings prepared for planting should be 16-25 cm high, with 7-9 dark green leaves, 1-3 buds, a well-developed fibrous root system, and a straight stem.

Eggplant varieties and hybrids

Early ripening eggplants

Bibo F1 (87-93 days);
Black handsome (60 days);
Fabina F1 (40-50 days);
Mileda F1 (66-75 days).

Early eggplants

Alekseevsky (from germination to harvesting 90-100 days);
Valentina F1 (90-95 days);
Behemoth F1 (100-105 days);
Quartet (107-122 days);
Maxik F1(90-100 days);
Nancy F1 (75-85 days);
Lilac fog (102-105 days);
Purple miracle (95-100 days).

Eggplants are medium

Diamond (109-150 days);
Comet (118-125 days);
Swan (100-130 days);
Sailor (104-110 days);
Surprise (116-120 days);
Ping Pong F1 (116-117 days);
Pelican F1 (116-117 days).

Late eggplants

Mishutka (133-145 days);
Sophia (134-147 days).

Early ripening and early eggplants can be grown through seedlings in the northern regions of Russia. When creating appropriate conditions for protected soil. Medium and especially late ones are suitable only for the southern regions and warm temperate zones of the Russian Federation. When choosing planting material, select zoned varieties and hybrids. They are closer to the climatic conditions of the area, the length of daylight, and are more resistant to damage by diseases and pests.

Attention! As usual, we ask you to write in the comments to this article about your methods and tricks for growing eggplant seedlings. Please do not forget to indicate in which region you grow them and at what time you sow and plant them permanently. Thank you!

Eggplants take a long time to ripen, the most early ripening varieties It will take more than 100 days from germination to technical ripeness of the fruit. Sowing seedlings begins early, and a long time before the emergence of seedlings makes it impossible to replant in case of unsuccessful results. Therefore, increasing the germination of eggplant seeds has great importance.

How long does it take for seeds to germinate?

How many days it takes for eggplant seeds to germinate depends on many reasons. Different varieties have different germination times, what matters is the year the seeds were collected or the time of their storage - although they are considered suitable for up to 8 years, germination is best observed in seeds 2 - 4 years of storage, then it decreases noticeably.

If you sow dry, unprepared seeds, you can wait up to 25 days or even longer for results. Therefore, before planting, all vegetable growers usually carry out a number of measures with the seed material, which are aimed at shortening the period of uncertainty and eradicating possible infections.

The timing of germination often depends on the air temperature at which it occurs, the lighting regime, even the depth of placing the seeds in the soil, and the quality of the soil itself.

Video “How to check seed germination?”

From the video you will learn how to check the germination of eggplant seeds.

How to increase germination

It is advisable to check the germination of purchased seeds in advance. To do this, take 10–14 of them, place them on a damp cloth, wrap them in polyethylene, and keep them warm. After a few days (it can take from 5 to 15, the fabric must be kept damp all the time) tiny sprouts will appear. A result of 50% is considered acceptable, which means that every second seed will germinate. If the result is lower, then it is better to buy another seed.

The seeds were most likely stored at a low temperature to awaken the ability to grow, they need to be kept warm for several days. Many gardeners bring seeds home a month before sowing; at first they simply lie somewhere at room temperature, then for a day or two they are placed near a battery or other heating device. You can speed up this whole process by placing the seed in hot water (+50 degrees) for 25 minutes; after such warming up, they are kept in the refrigerator for another day. So, simultaneously with awakening, disinfection and hardening of the seeds occurs thermally. You can stratify them by placing them alternately in the refrigerator at night and in the room during the day for about a week. The most common way to disinfect seed is to soak it in a bright solution of potassium permanganate for 25 minutes.

Soaking in growth stimulants will help speed up the germination of eggplant seeds and increase their germination. Can be bought in the store special means, dilute according to the instructions, soak the seed for the specified time. You can use sodium humate, nitrophoska, aloe juice or wood ash infusion. Some producers have already carried out all the measures for disinfection and preparation for sowing; their seeds are sold covered with a colored coating of nutrients.

After all that has been described, you can also place the nucleoli for germination in a damp cloth or cotton pads, wrap them in polyethylene, and put them in a warm place. The result will be visible after 4 – 5 days.

When and how to plant seeds

Eggplants are heat-loving plants; in order for the seedlings to quickly grow in the garden, they need to be planted when the soil has warmed up enough and the air temperature has risen to +25 degrees. This occurs depending on the region from the end of May to the first half of June. By this time, the seedlings should reach the age of 60 - 75 days, so that things will go well for them, and the harvest will have time to reach technical maturity by the end of summer. Some more time (10 - 15 days) needs to be planned for seedlings to be obtained. Based on these dates, the sowing time is calculated; in the south it can be the end of February, and in the middle zone - the second half of March. At the end of winter, they usually begin to prepare eggplant seedlings for planting in the greenhouse.

Prepared or even sprouted seeds are placed in light nutrient soil at a shallow depth, covered with glass or film, and placed in a warm place with an air temperature of at least +25 degrees. With the appearance of the first loops of sprouted seeds, the dishes with them are brought out into the light. And after the sprouts appear, small eggplants are put into a bright room with a temperature of +16 - +18 degrees for a week.

Rules for proper landing

Eggplants really don’t like transplanting; their roots are usually injured, and then it takes time for the plant to come to its senses and take root in a new place. That is why it is advisable not to pick seedlings, but to use individual containers for growing. These can be ceramic pots, special cassettes for seedlings, plastic cups with a volume of at least 0.5 liters, peat cups or tablets. The dishes should have drainage holes to drain excess water.

The soil should be light, fertile, but always fine-grained so that the sprouts do not encounter additional resistance during germination. Sometimes gardeners sift it dry. The dishes need to be washed and doused with boiling water, and the soil should be disinfected by spilling a hot solution of potassium permanganate. Some people prefer to heat it for 20 minutes in a hot oven or freeze it for half an hour and then defrost it. The methods are all good, the main thing is to kill pathogens and pest larvae.

Seeds are placed on moist, warm soil, sprinkled with dry soil 1–1.5 cm thick on top. 2–4 seeds are placed in individual containers, then the strongest sprout is selected from those that have sprouted, and the rest are pinched off or cut off near the ground. If the material is sown in common containers or boxes (with subsequent picking), then it is placed in grooves at a distance of 3–4 cm between seeds and 5–6 cm between grooves.

The dishes with sowing are covered with polyethylene to create a greenhouse effect, and placed in a warm, unlit place. At this stage, warmth is important; light will be needed when the shoots appear above the ground.

Why don't eggplant seeds germinate?

Prepared seeds should sprout in 5 – 7 days. Different varieties It is advisable to sow in different containers; they may differ in terms of emergence. If after a week nothing appears above the surface of the earth, this is already a reason to think about the reasons and check all stages of preparation, sowing and care.

Poor quality seeds

It is advisable to buy seeds in specialized stores from a trusted manufacturer. This can be a certain quality guarantee. Responsible manufacturers indicate on the packaging the time of seed collection, the approximate dates of sowing and expected germination.

Before sowing, be sure to check the seeds for germination. You can reject low-quality seeds by placing all seed in salt water for 3 to 5 minutes.

High-quality ones will sink to the bottom, low-quality ones can be thrown out right with the water, anyway, those that remain on the surface will not germinate.

Improper watering

Can delay the appearance of sprouts improper watering. If you over-moisten the soil, it will stick to the grain, depriving it of air. This is especially dangerous if the soil is not very light and contains a lot of clay.
Too dense soil can require a lot of effort from the germinating seed, even deeper than 1.5 cm can be a problem, delaying germination for several days. It is not for nothing that they recommend not pressing the grains, but simply spreading them out on damp soil and covering them with dry soil.

Incorrect temperature

The most comfortable temperature for sprouts to appear is between +25 and +28 degrees. It is at this temperature that they will appear in 5–10 days, if, of course, the soil temperature is the same. More low temperature will delay seedlings; below +18 degrees it can deprive even hope of their appearance, as well as above +30 degrees.

Video “Sowing seeds for seedlings”

From the video you will learn how to properly sow eggplant seeds for seedlings.