Even novice gardeners know that you cannot plant plants from the same family in the same bed one after the other.
Especially such capricious and disease-prone plants as eggplants. But the reality is that not everyone has the opportunity to observe crop rotation, especially in a greenhouse.
Although it is not recommended to plant eggplants after tomatoes, it is possible to do so. But you will have to use techniques that significantly increase the likelihood of getting a good harvest.
Method one: careful care of tomatoes
If you know in advance that you will have to plant eggplants in the tomato bed next year, pay special attention to caring for tomatoes. Since both plants are from the same family, they have the same diseases and pests.
Only eggplant is much more vulnerable than tomato. If the disease is not particularly noticeable on tomatoes, then next year it will appear on the "blue ones" in all its glory.
Therefore, carry out regular treatments against diseases and pests, including soil.
Biological preparations based on hay bacillus and trichoderma cope well with pathogens. They are safe for humans and animals, so they can be used even during fruit ripening.
Method two: crop rotation
Since eggplants are heat-loving plants, they cannot be planted in a garden bed early, even if it is a greenhouse. Therefore, in early spring, you can sow cold-resistant green manure - oats, mustard, oilseed radish, vetch-oat mixture.
Green manure is not only crop rotation, but also organic fertilizer. And the "blue ones" love organic matter no less than cucumbers. A week before planting eggplants, green manure should be worked into the soil. If you want to speed up their decomposition, pour any EM preparation on the bed and cover it with dark film.
Method three: prevention of diseases and pests
Eggplants are more susceptible to diseases and pest damage than most crops. And in a tomato bed, the risks increase several times. Therefore, do not wait until the first signs of disease appear.
Add any hay bacillus-based preparation to the soil a week or two before planting and repeat the treatments throughout the season according to the instructions.
Regularly spray the leaves with biological preparations, since, in addition to various types of wilting (verticillium, fusarium), eggplants suffer from late blight and other fungal diseases.
Spider mites also pose a threat to this crop, as they will crawl onto the coveted eggplants from all over the plot, even bypassing the cucumbers they love so much. Spraying with preparations against the mite should begin before the leaves begin to turn yellow and dry out.
Another additional technique that increases yield is mulching. Mulch will create a barrier between the soil where pathogens have accumulated after tomatoes.
Many of them, for example, late blight, cannot overcome the mulch layer and migrate to the plant from the ground. Additionally, organic matter will rot, forming organic nutrition, which the eggplant loves so much.
