Why You Can't Get an Eggplant Harvest: 9 Growing Rules from Experienced Gardeners
Eggplant is a crop that requires the right approach.
This plant will reward an attentive owner with a rich harvest, while an inattentive owner will have difficulty growing a few fruits.
Experienced gardeners have many rules that concern eggplants. Nine of them are given in this article.
9 rules for a rich harvest
1. Eggplants yield much more if they are formed by removing the first flower and side shoots. Side shoots are removed in the same way as with tomatoes. Plants are formed into 2-3 stems, the remaining side shoots are pinched.
2. In a greenhouse, it is recommended to pollinate manually before 10 a.m. It is most convenient to do this with a soft paintbrush. This way the fruits will set much better. For better pollination, you can plant several varieties.
3. Eggplants require light, airy, deeply cultivated loamy-sandy or loamy soils rich in nutrients. On dry sandy soils, the plant develops poorly and bears almost no fruit.
4. Strong, pre-grown seedlings with a well-developed root system are the key to a good harvest. The age of seedlings when planting in the ground should be 50-60 days.
5. Plants react painfully to damage to the root system, so it is not recommended to pick them more than once. The first picking is carried out when 1-2 true leaves appear.
6. Mulching helps to increase crop yields, eliminate the need to fight weeds, and prevent the soil from drying out. You can mulch with straw, hay, pre-prepared leaf litter, or compost.
7. Eggplants are watered regularly and abundantly; the plants are very demanding of moisture, especially during the period of fruit growth (from the second half of July to the second half of August). Despite the fact that the plant belongs to the nightshade family, its moisture requirements are the same as those of cucumbers.
8. In terms of soil fertility requirements, eggplant is also more like cucumbers. This crop loves to "eat". Therefore, the bed should be filled with a large amount of organic matter. It is also recommended to feed the plants with various fertilizers throughout the season. At the beginning of summer, emphasis is placed on nitrogen fertilizers, and when flowers appear, on potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.
9. The number of flowers should be standardized. When fruits begin to form, 5-7 flowers are left on the plant. The rest are removed. This allows the fruits to grow evenly, since the plant does not waste energy on flowering and new ovaries.
These rules will help increase the yield. But it is also important to try different varieties, because not only care but also the characteristics of the plants play a role. A variety that grows and bears fruit well in your relatives' or favorite blogger's garden may wither in your garden, despite all the love and care.
