In Russia, eggplants appeared in the 17th century and immediately fell in love with everyone. This vegetable is very beneficial for he alth. It contains a lot of fiber, rich in vitamins of groups B, C, P and provitamin A, nicotinic acid and trace elements. There are many different varieties of this crop. They are white, pink, purple, large and small, plain and striped, elongated and round. In Russia, they mainly grow purple eggplants in a greenhouse and call them "blue ones".
Which greenhouses are better?
Some time ago, glass and plastic film were used for greenhouse equipment. Then a worthy replacement for these materials appeared - polycarbonate. Most of the greenhouses and greenhouses are made from this lightweight and inexpensive analogue, which have the following advantages:
- quick and easy assembly design;
- low thermal conductivity - warm air is always stored inside;
- good transparency - in the greenhouse it is light from the scattering of sunlightrays;
- high strength - much stronger than film and glass;
- long service life.
Heat-loving eggplants in a polycarbonate greenhouse feel great and, with proper care, give an excellent harvest in any weather.
Which eggplant is preferable to cultivate in a greenhouse?
Only when growing eggplant in a greenhouse, you can get a good and guaranteed harvest in most regions of our country. At the same time, it is necessary to correctly choose a variety, plant it on time and correctly, and, of course, observe the necessary agricultural technology. Many novice gardeners often wonder which eggplant is best to plant in a greenhouse?
It is recommended to use seeds of early and mid-season varieties. When choosing them, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of this heat-loving crop, the climatic and soil conditions of a certain area, as well as the characteristics of the greenhouse design. Experienced gardeners recommend planting the best varieties and hybrids that self-pollinate, have high taste and commercial qualities, give rich yields and do not require careful care.
Best greenhouse varieties
For greenhouses, both early varieties, the ripening period of which is 110 days, and mid-season varieties, which take more than 130 days from planting to fruiting, are suitable.
You should choose undersized crops so that they do not stretch and do not require an additional garter. Most commonly used varietieseggplant:
- Black handsome - does not contain bitterness, perfectly stored, disease resistant, brown-purple fruit color, disease resistant, mid-ripening.
- Bibo F1 - fruits are even, medium size, milky white color, medium early ripening.
- Baikal F1 - fruits of round shape, dark purple color, high yield, tolerate low temperatures, mid-ripening.
- Purple Miracle - medium sized fruits, the most common early eggplant for greenhouses.
- Hippo F1 – large, purple fruits, mid-season variety, tall plants.
- Matrosik - striped fruits with excellent taste, mid-ripening variety.
- King of the North - fruits without bitterness of black and purple color. Elongated in shape. Early maturing variety.
How to grow: seedlings or seeds?
For any region of Russia, eggplants should be grown only in seedlings. It should be noted that the seeds are sown two months before planting seedlings in open ground. It is necessary to take a very responsible approach to the selection of seeds for planting, as the future harvest depends on this.
You can not neglect the inscriptions on the package: ripening period, region for which the variety was bred, plant size, various recommendations for growing. Seeds are disinfected before planting (if the manufacturer has not done this) with a solution of manganese or hydrogen peroxide. The plant really does not like to be disturbed by its root system, so eggplant is planted immediately inseparate cups one seed each and cover with polyethylene.
Preparing the land
The soil in the greenhouse begins to be prepared in the fall, for this:
- remove all plant debris and debris, water the beds twice, washing away possible fertilizer residues into the ground;
- spill with boiling water, put bleach at the rate of 100 g per square meter;
- digging up.
In the spring, the beds should be loosened, watered well, wait until it warms up to 19 degrees, and the soil is ready for planting!
How 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 feeding, and for their diseases they use the same drugs. The best neighborhood of eggplant in a greenhouse is with bell pepper. They have the same watering conditions, both crops are demanding on heat and do not tolerate sudden temperature fluctuations, and small pepper bushes do not block the light. Can I plant eggplant in a greenhouse with tomatoes?
Sometimes tomatoes are placed next to the "little blue ones", such a neighborhood is also possible. Eggplants are shorter plants than tomatoes, but they are very photophilous, so they are placed on opposite sides of the greenhouse. But eggplants should not be planted with cucumbers. For the first, high humidity is needed, and the second culture prefers the atmosphere to be dry and the soil moist. The best option is to groweach vegetable in a separate greenhouse.
Planting seedlings
When the heat is steady outside, the finished seedlings are planted in a greenhouse. To do this:
- Level the soil in the garden, make holes 15 cm deep, the distance between the bushes is 30 cm, and the rows should be no less than 60 cm from each other. It is recommended to plant eggplants in a greenhouse in a checkerboard pattern.
- Add half a glass of ash to each well and mix with the ground, pour water with potassium permanganate (pink). Use two liters of water per hole.
- Carefully remove the seedlings from the pots and, without much deepening, plant in the hole.
- Tamp down the soil, water the plant again from above.
The eggplants have been planted, it remains to take care of them and wait for the harvest.
Irrigation
Plants, having 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 grow successfully only with proper watering. For this you need:
- pour warm water at least 25 degrees;
- pour water strictly under the root to a depth of 20 cm, the foliage should remain dry;
- to carry out the procedure in the morning;
- mulch the soil after that, and ventilate the greenhouse;
- the first time after planting the seedlings, watering is carried out on the sixth day. Then this procedure is carried out once a week, and during fruiting - twice.
Who comes to the summer cottage only inweekends, the weekly norm of water must be poured out in two days - Saturday and Sunday.
Air temperature
When growing eggplant in a greenhouse, the air temperature in it should be approximately 24 to 28 degrees Celsius. At a higher one, fruit set stops, and at a lower one, their growth stops. The temperature can be lowered by watering the plants. It is not necessary to pour water between the beds, this will increase the humidity of the air, which is harmful to this crop. When airing the greenhouse, drafts should not be arranged; eggplants do not like this. In very bright sun, it is necessary to shade the sides of the greenhouse, especially in the first days after planting the eggplant.
Loosening and top dressing
Having planted seedlings, the soil is loosened and the bushes are slightly spudded. In the future, 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 during the season. Two weeks after planting the seedlings, complex fertilizer is applied to the greenhouse. Phosphorus and potassium are fed to plants before fruiting. When the first fruits begin to appear, eggplants need nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers. During flowering and fruiting, ash is suitable for feeding. A solution of mullein and bird droppings also has a good effect. Before feeding, the plants are watered, and then spud.
Plant Formation
Growing medium-sized and tall varieties of eggplant, in order to obtain a high yield, the bush of the plant must be formed. Upon reaching a height of 25 cm,the top is removed. The plant stops growing up and starts branching. There are three schemes for the formation of a bush:
- One stem. This is done when tall eggplants are planted in a small greenhouse. Sometimes one stem is left on a weakened plant so that the formed fruits can ripen.
- Two stems. The best stepchildren are left in high and medium-sized varieties. They will bear fruit. The remaining processes are systematically removed.
- Three stems. If the greenhouse is free, then choose another strong stepson on one of the remaining stems.
When branching shoots, always choose a strong one, and pinch a weak one after the second leaf above the ovary. The procedure is repeated with all stepchildren. With this formation of an eggplant bush in a greenhouse, up to 12 fruits can ripen on it. Once a week, all shoots that do not have fruits are harvested. Stepchildren located below the branching of the main stem, experienced gardeners do not recommend cutting. They protect the soil from drying out. The skeletal branches of plants are carefully tied up; due to their fragility, they can easily be broken. A month before the end of the growing season, pinch the tops of all shoots to speed up the ripening of fruits. Those who do not want to form bushes should grow undersized varieties. They remove only those ovaries that do not have time to ripen before the end of the season.
Why doesn't eggplant grow?
When growing eggplant in a greenhouse, like many other vegetables, various problems often arise. Why do eggplants stop growing? Heresome reasons:
- Yellowing of foliage. The main reason for this phenomenon is the lack of moisture or nitrogen fertilizers, and in some cases it is a reaction to the transplant.
- Twisting leaves. Thus, the plant signals excessive watering, lack of phosphate fertilizers or low light.
- No ovaries. This phenomenon is most often associated with damage to the root system, lack of light, low soil moisture or high temperature in the greenhouse.
By following the basic rules of growing and quickly fixing the problems that have arisen, you can always get a good harvest.
Disease prevention
Eggplants rarely suffer from various diseases, but plants should still be warned against the following possible misfortunes:
- Grey rot. Appears from waterlogging of the soil and a sharp temperature drop. For prevention, it is recommended to do regular ventilation of the greenhouse and warm the plants during a sharp cold snap.
- 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 for gray mold. The disease can be prevented with Fitosporin.
- Tobacco mosaic. Appears due to poor lighting and low temperature.
- Spider mite. It destroys plants, entangling the bushes with cobwebs. For prevention, disinfection of the greenhouse is used.
- Aphids. Producetreatment with special preparations. For prevention, it is necessary to observe normal humidity, do airing more often.
- Whitefly. Damages the leaves of plants from the inside. Insects are collected by hand or hung with sticky tapes, the leaves are wiped with soapy water.
Timely prevention and pest control will help preserve the harvest.
Instead of a conclusion
The birthplace of eggplant is India, so they are very thermophilic. A few decades ago, many gardeners in most of Russia did not even dream of growing this crop in their summer cottages. Thanks to the work of breeders, many new varieties and hybrids have appeared, adapted to more severe environmental conditions. The inhabitants of the southern and central parts of Russia calmly grow "blue ones" in the open field. But residents of the northern regions, in order to receive stable and high yields, need to grow eggplants in a greenhouse.
