Do you grow eggplants in your country house yet? Why? Perhaps you do not know when to plant eggplant seedlings? Read our article, where we will share useful tips and give many recommendations.
One of the famous representatives of the Nightshade family - eggplant is considered unique in its taste, as well as the content of vitamins and microelements. In addition to the traditional purple vegetable, modern breeders have bred many new, more disease-resistant varieties that do not contain bitterness, such as white eggplant.
But despite the huge variety of species, the agricultural technique for growing this vegetable is similar - it is most effective to grow it in seedlings.
When to sow eggplant seedlings
Traditionally, the start of planting work is focused on February, mainly in its first weeks. For many thisplanting eggplant seeds for seedlings can seem very early. However, many years of experience with these vegetables proved the validity of this approach, because in order for the plant to grow and move into the fruiting stage, at least three months must pass. More specific dates for when to plant eggplant seedlings can be found by looking at the gardener's sowing calendar for the current year. They define the maximum acceptable time for planting seeds in accordance with the presence of the Moon in a certain phase and zodiac sign.
Preparations
The time when planting eggplant for seedlings is preceded by a certain period during which a number of preparatory activities must be carried out. First of all, you should decide on the choice of seeds. In order to be able to enjoy the taste of this magnificent vegetable, it is advisable to provide for the purchase of both early and medium varieties, they are more suitable for the climatic conditions of the middle zone. But growing late varieties is not recommended due to the fact that this plant from overseas countries will not have time to ripen.
Store-bought seed packages are checked by expiration date. In the case when the seeds are collected in the fall on their own, they must be sorted out, removing specimens of small size, deformed.
Further, the seeds are disinfected by immersing them for 15-20 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate. The solution is prepared with a sufficiently saturated color. Seeds prepared in this way can be checked forgermination. To do this is extremely simple. Seeds are immersed in warm water for a day, after which they are carefully laid out on a soft, damp cloth. Those that hatch on the second or third day can be planted.
For guaranteed seedlings, strong and he althy, it is recommended to treat the seeds with special solutions that stimulate plant growth. It can be "Ideal", sodium solution or wood ash.
Soil preparation
Eggplants are very demanding on the fertility and composition of the soil, so the soil prepared in advance must meet these requirements and be sufficiently loose. For convenience, modern stores specializing in the sale of seeds offer ready-to-use soil directly for growing various crops of vegetables, including suitable for sowing eggplant seeds for seedlings. However, it is easy to cook it yourself. Sod land, sand, humus are taken in equal quantities.
Sowing eggplant seeds for seedlings is carried out in containers that are not very deep, but wide. Such a container will allow you to more effectively care for hatched seedlings. Its service life is short, because eggplants require a technique such as a dive.
How to plant eggplant seedlings
The technology of sowing seeds involves keeping the distance between future shoots up to about 2 cm. The degree of seed penetration into the soil is no more than 5 mm. The best option is to organize grooves into whichand sowing eggplant for seedlings. Properly located seeds are sprinkled with soil and watered. For irrigation use either boiled water cooled to room temperature, or just settled, slightly warm.
It is necessary to water regularly during all subsequent growing time of seedlings, it is extremely important that the soil always remains slightly moist.
Location of boxes with seedlings
In order for high-quality seedlings with the correct root system to be formed from the seed, containers with planted seeds are placed in places in the shade. The optimal temperature for the growth and development of plants in the room should correspond to 22-25 oС.
Don't forget that lowering the temperature corridor to the limits of 10 oC can be detrimental to seedlings, and at 15 o As plants stop growing, their development slows down dramatically.
First shoots of greens
If all the conditions of the soil, temperature, light conditions are met, the soil moisture is maintained at the proper level, you can expect the first shoots to appear in two weeks. As soon as they appear, the containers are transferred to a brighter room. It is desirable that the lighting be natural, diffused. The direct rays of the sun act extremely negatively on tender seedlings of plants, this must be taken into account when placing containers.
You also need to remember that good lighting should be present throughout the entire light perioddays. If it is not possible to organize this in a natural way, it is allowed to use artificial lamps as an additional light source, mainly daylight.
How to ensure seed germination
In order to ensure friendly and one hundred percent shoots, it is recommended to cover the boxes with foil, thus creating greenhouse conditions. The film can be replaced with glass. In this case, watering should be limited to once every ten days, since moisture from under the film and glass will evaporate more slowly.
We can recommend this method: lightly tamp the soil mixture that covers the seeds, moisten and cover with a small layer of clean snow, then covering the boxes with glass or film.
Seedling care
So, the time when to sow eggplant seedlings is determined. The seeds have been planted by you, the first shoots have appeared, it's time to think about their fertilizer. You can use special dressings of an industrial design, although it is quite possible to get by with ordinary s altpeter. To do this, her tablespoon is diluted in ten liters of water.
The frequency of feeding should not exceed once a week. It is advisable to combine them with the watering process.
Transfer
As soon as the first two full-fledged leaves of the plant take shape, the seedling must be transplanted into an individual container. As a rule, this happens no earlier than a month after the seeds were planted in the ground. This must be done very carefully, because the plants are very fragile andtender.
Now you know how and when to plant eggplant seedlings. We wish you the best in your gardening endeavors. Big harvests, good weather and fewer pests. Let your garden always make you happy!
