Cultivation of aubergine seedlings has its own characteristics. This culture is characterized by a long period of growth. Of all Solanaceae, they are most demanding of heat and light. Eggplant seedlings with too thick planting, acidified soil, prolonged overcast weather, insufficient humidity and other unfavorable conditions slows down its growth.
The technical ripeness of even early-ripening varieties of eggplant is 85-100 days. Planting aubergine on seedlings (mostly early ripening varieties) begins in February or early March, depending on the region.
Eggplant seedling on seedlings
For eggplant seedlings, the following soil mixtures should be used:
- humus and turf land (1: 2);
- turf and sand (4: 5: 1);
- peat, fermented or fermented sawdust, diluted with water mullein (3: 1: 1: 0.5).
In any of the listed mixtures (per 10 kg) add 40 g of potassium salt, 40 g of superphosphate and 12 g of ammonium sulphate. Prepared land a day before sowing seeds, fill in the seedlings and pour.
Preparation of seeds for sowing consists in their disinfection in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 15 minutes, and also for hardening. Tempering is as follows: 10 days in the daytime, the seeds warm up at a temperature of 25-30 ° C, and at night they are placed in a refrigerator (5-7 ° C). Then wrap the seeds in a wet gauze for a couple of days and sprout. When 5% of the seeds are poured, they can be planted.
How to grow eggplant seedlings?
There are two ways to grow seedlings - with and without diving. When sowing with a dive, the seeds are sown to a depth of 1.5-2 cm in seedlings. The width of the rows should be 6 cm. The crops should be covered with a film or glass so that the air temperature is kept within 20-25 ° C. The germinated seeds of eggplant will begin to rise on the fifth day, not germinated - on the 8-10th day. Without picks, seeds (2-3 pieces each) are sown in cups. In the future, weaker sprouts are discarded. This method of growing is more acceptable with a small amount of seedling, as the eggplant poorly tolerate transplantation. Glasses are also covered with glass or film before emergence. With the advent of shoots, the film is removed and additional lighting is turned on. The plant needs light 12 hours a day. During the first 3-4 days, the air temperature should be 15 ° C in the daytime and 10 ° C at night. Subsequently, eggplant seedlings before planting in the ground are grown at 25 ° C in the daytime and 12 ° C at night.
Watering of eggplant seedlings
It is important to properly water the seedlings. Lack of moisture leads to premature lignification of the aubergine stalk and a significant decrease in yield. Overmoistening of the soil can cause diseases of seedlings. The scheme of watering the seedlings is approximately the same: up to the first real leaf carry 1-2 waterings (7 liters per m2) and then 2-3 waterings (14-15 liters per m2). If the seedlings
Two weeks before planting the seedlings in the ground, they begin to temper it - they often ventilate the room and reduce watering. Plants can be taken for a couple of hours on the balcony in the penumbra, if the air temperature is not below 15 ° C. The plant ready for planting should have 6-7 leaves, a height of 20 cm and a developed root system. The approximate age of the eggplant seedlings for planting in the soil is 45-50 days.