Toothpaste isn't just for your smile! It turns out it works wonders on eggplants.
We reveal a forbidden secret that will turn your garden beds into a paradise for “blue ones”.
Mistakes of gardeners
Sowing in cold soil is a common mistake. Eggplant seeds germinate only at 25-28 degrees Celsius.
Lack of light makes seedlings pale and fragile.
Early transplantation injures the roots and the plants become ill for a long time.
Do not ignore side-sonning. Without shaping, bushes waste energy on extra shoots.
Scientific approach
The soil for eggplants should be loose: mix peat, humus and sand (2:1:1).
Provide additional light with blue spectrum phytolamps 14 hours a day.
After picking, feed with calcium nitrate (1 g/l) - it will strengthen the stems.
To protect against the Colorado potato beetle, treat the leaves with the preparation "Aktara" (1 g per 10 l of water).
If the beetles have already appeared, collect them by hand and dust the bushes with tobacco dust.
Tricks for a Super Harvest
Dissolve 1 teaspoon of toothpaste (without menthol) in 1 liter of water. Water the seedlings once every 2 weeks. Calcium from the paste will protect against blossom-end rot.
Dust the leaves with ash - this will repel the Colorado potato beetle.
Form the bushes and remove side shoots up to the first fork. This will direct the energy to the fruits, not to the greenery.
After the ovaries appear, feed the eggplants with potassium magnesium sulfate (10 g per 10 l of water) - this will increase the size of the fruit.
Summer residents claim that by using toothpaste they get a healthy and high-quality vegetable harvest.
