How to dive eggplant seedlings

In an effort to get a good harvest of vegetables, many domestic gardeners use the seedling method of growing. First of all, this applies to such heat-loving crops as tomato, cucumber, pepper and, of course, eggplant. Already in early spring, farmers sow eggplant seeds in small containers and carefully care for young plants until favorable warm weather sets in. It is at this time that the next and very important stage of cultivation begins – the picking of eggplant seedlings. Properly carried out planting of plants in the ground allows you to prevent a long period of their adaptation to new conditions, increase the number of ovaries formed, and speed up the process of fruit ripening.

The article below provides detailed information on what time and how to dive eggplants correctly, what features must be taken into account.

What is good seedlings

Growing seedlings is a very labor-intensive business, however, many gardeners use this particular method of cultivating eggplants, since it has a number of advantages:

• Allows you to speed up the process of crop maturation due to the so-called race (the age of plants at the time of diving into the ground, measured in days, days). Most regions of Our Country are characterized by relatively cold and short summers. Under such conditions, eggplant, which has a long growing season, cannot fully bear fruit if the seed is sown directly into the ground.
• Young plants in favorable home conditions gain enough strength to resist diseases and pests in open ground.
• Growing seedlings allows you to sort out weak plants and not occupy the soil area with sick, low-yielding eggplants. 

Eggplant seedlings can be grown indoors or in heated greenhouses, greenhouses. In this case, it is necessary to monitor the temperature and humidity indicators.

Best time

It is not possible to name a specific date for sowing eggplant seed for seedlings, since each region has its own climatic characteristics. That is why the sowing date of the seed should be calculated: 60-70 days must be subtracted from the day of the proposed dive of plants into the ground. For example, when growing eggplants in the Moscow region, seeds for seedlings should be sown in mid-March and dive plants into open ground in early June. If eggplant is supposed to be grown in a greenhouse or greenhouse, then sowing the seed for seedlings can be done in late February – early March and dive into the soil in mid-May.

However, it is worth remembering that diving eggplant seedlings into the ground should be carried out only when the average daily atmospheric temperature exceeds +18⁰ C, and the thickness of the earth is warm enough.  

Otherwise, the crop will ripen only in late autumn.

It is worth noting that many gardeners, not being able to initially grow seedlings in separate small containers of 1-2 eggplants, sow the seeds quite thickly in a single large tray. This method of cultivation provides for an intermediate dive of plants into separate pots.

Young plants take root well and slow down their growth by no more than 2-3 days. This method of cultivation is rather not a rule, but a necessity for those who do not want to take up much space in “empty” pots in early spring. How to properly carry out an intermediate picking of small eggplants is described in detail in the video:

Preparing for a pick

Some farmers argue that eggplant cannot be grown in seedlings, because the plants have a weak root system that is very easy to damage. However, this is not the case if some points are foreseen:

• As far as possible, you should not sow the seeds in one container, since when they are separated, the root system can really be damaged;
• If it was not possible without mass crops, then it is necessary to dive the seedlings into separate pots when the second leaf appears. If at the time of transplantation the root of the sprout is more than 1 cm, then it should be pinched. It is impossible to leave dense crops without picking seedlings into separate pots until planting in the ground. Because this leads to a lack of nutrients, wilting of plants and the spread of diseases.
• It is recommended to sow eggplant seeds for seedlings in small flexible plastic cups, from which plants can be taken out while preserving an earthen clod in the vine;
• Peat pots and tablets are also excellent containers for growing seedlings. Using them, you do not have to take out the sprouts at all, which means that the root system will definitely remain unharmed.

When growing seedlings in room conditions, it is easy to observe a certain temperature and humidity regime. So, it is recommended to water the plants 1-2 times a week with warm water. The optimum air temperature for culture is 21-23⁰C. In this case, the plants are protected from direct sunlight. Such gentle conditions are great for growing young plants, and the process of picking outside is stressful for them.

To accustom small eggplants to new conditions, it is necessary to start hardening 2 weeks before picking. To do this, pots with plants need to be taken out into the street, first for half an hour, then the time is gradually increased to full daylight hours. Such a measure will allow eggplants to adapt to street temperature and exposure to direct sunlight.

picking process

A few hours before transplanting the plants, it is necessary to water them so that the soil is moderately moist and does not sprinkle from the root. The soil in which the plants are supposed to dive is recommended to be fertilized. To do this, use a mixture: a glass of mullein, a tablespoon of urea and a teaspoon of ash are added to a bucket of water.

The rest of the picking of seedlings consists of the following steps:

• Depending on the tallness of the variety, indentations are made in moistened soil with a certain frequency. So, low-growing varieties (Diamond, Black handsome, Fabina and some others) can dive 5-6 bushes per 1 m². Tall eggplants, over 1,5 meters high (Goliath) are planted no thicker than 2-3 bushes / m².
• If the seedlings were grown in peat tablets or pots, then the plants are placed in the ground along with the container, without removing the sprout, pressing and compacting the soil around the planting perimeter.
• If plastic containers were used, then they should be carefully pressed on all sides so that the soil lags behind the walls. The root system of the eggplant is poorly developed, so the procedure must be carried out as carefully as possible, keeping as much soil as possible on the vine.
• If the soil was moist before the dive, then watering the planted plants is not required.

eggplant care

Depending on the variety, eggplants can be dived into open or protected ground. Care of planted seedlings is as follows:

• during the first month after picking, it is recommended to water daily;
• once every two weeks eggplant should be fertilized. To do this, you can use manure infusion and other organic matter, as well as special mixtures with a high nitrogen content;
• it is especially important when growing eggplants to carry out regular and thorough weeding with simultaneous loosening;
• bushes with a height of more than 70 cm must be tied up;
• yellowed leaves on the bushes should be broken off;
• pests, in particular the Colorado potato beetle, can be eliminated with salt flour, wet wood ash, or special chemicals.

Properly grown and timely dived seedlings have sufficient strength to take root in new conditions without problems and resist all kinds of diseases. In the process of transplantation, it is very important to carry out all manipulations as carefully as possible in order not to damage the delicate root system of the plant. As for the method of cultivation, then, of course, in domestic climatic conditions, eggplant must be cultivated by seedlings. Whether to use an intermediate dive at the same time or immediately sow in separate pots of 1-2 seeds, perhaps only the gardener himself decides. However, do not forget that such manipulation poses a certain risk to the plant and helps to slow down its growth.