How to grow eggplant seedlings at home

Eggplants are capricious and heat-loving representatives of the nightshade family. To get hardy seedlings that can give a high yield, it is not enough to put the seeds in a pot with soil, and from time to time to water. Culture requires careful care, adherence to temperature, and plenty of light.

Seed: selection criteria

Seeds recommend using fresh ones. Give preference to varieties that easily adapt to the characteristics of the local climate. The packaging must indicate in which regions the yield will be high, and in which the plant dies, or gives birth poorly.

Material that is more than 4 years old is checked: soak 10 seeds, and if at least 5 out of 5 sprouts sprout, you can plant them. To increase germination, the workpiece is poured into a thermos, and heated at a temperature of 50º for 2 hours.

Natural selection
Not all seeds can become seedlings. The seed should be immersed in a 5% saline solution and vigorously stirred. Insist 5 minutes: empty shells will emerge on the surface, which are drained with water. Healthy specimens remain at the bottom. Sort the seeds, throwing out damaged and too small.

Rinse the remaining workpieces in hot water: the temperature of the liquid should be in the range of 50–52 degrees. This procedure will help to flush the essential oil from the seeds, which makes germination difficult. Soak the seed in hot liquid for half an hour, and dip in cold water for 3 minutes.

Preparatory Activities

Seeds from sachets that manufacturers process with special mixtures do not need additional disinfection. Home varieties obtained from a neighbor or grandmother are recommended to soak in potassium permanganate or another solution that will kill the infection.

Disinfection Options

1. For 100 ml of ordinary water you will need 3 ml of pharmaceutical peroxide. Heat the solution to 40º, and immerse in it a bag of seeds for a maximum of 10 minutes.
2. Dilute potassium permanganate in a liquid until a deep pink, with a purple tint, hue is obtained. Put the seed in the solution for 20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly in distilled water.

Top dressing
The plant will give more yield if, at the initial stage, natural and chemical agents are used to feed the seeds with useful components. You can take solutions:

• sodium humate;
• Ivina
• nitrofoski;
• succinic acid;
• heteroauxin.

About 5-6 g of fertilizing should be diluted in a liter of liquid. Dosage is indicated on the packages, or can be checked with the seller. An alternative to mortars is ordinary wood ash or Ideal fertilizer, which is sold ready-made.

Tie the seeds in a gauze bag, and immerse for 25-40 hours in the prepared liquid. The solution must be warm, because in a cold seed, it begins to rot, or dies.

Tip: Some summer residents are used to fuel aloe juice. Cut two thick sheets and place in the refrigerator for 6 hours. To get, and grind. Using gauze, squeeze the juice, and put the future eggplant in it.

Germination
Transfer the treated and infected seeds to the saucer, covering it with a damp cloth, or place it on the bottom of a stainless container. Cover with a cloth and place next to the battery. Constantly add warm water. It is necessary that the temperature inside the container does not fall below + 20º, otherwise the eggplants will not hatch.

In order to accelerate the germination of seeds, it is possible to add preparations "Novosil" or "Baikal" to the water. An alternative is slurry or willow broth.

Tip: Do not put seeds in gauze bags. Sprouts are initially weak and thin. They get stuck between threads, come off or get damaged. Then, the percentage of germination is reduced, and the seedlings become weaker and more whimsical.

Optimal time for landing
Planting seeds in pots is recommended in early February. Seedlings have time to grow and get stronger until mid-May, when the garden warms up, it will be possible to transfer young eggplants to the open ground.

Pots, drawers and milk bags

In specialized stores you can find peat pots and pills for growing seedlings, but most summer residents prefer to do with improvised means. If the selected eggplant variety does not belong to the category of whimsical and capricious, wooden boxes, plastic cups or milk bags are suitable for growing it.

Plants that need careful care are recommended to be placed in cassettes with a capacity of 50 ml cells.

Foundation preparation
You can pick up land from the garden by adding some sand. Both components are recommended to first be calcined in a baking sheet or pan, and then pour boiling water over with boiling water. Thorough heat treatment will protect the root system of eggplant from fungus, parasites and various infections.

Soil options

1. Part of the turf land will need 2 parts of ventilated peat of the upper type and humus, which will feed the seeds.
2. An alternative variety consists of stale brown shavings. Add 4 parts of humus and 2 lowland peat to the part of this component, which should be black.
3. You can limit yourself to fertile black soil, prepared soil, which is sold in stores specifically for seedlings, and coarse or fine-grained sand. Mix solids in equal proportions, if necessary add vermiculite.
4. In some cases, peat and sawdust are enough, which is watered with a solution for growing seedlings.

In order for eggplants to be strong, it is recommended to add nutrients to the main mixture. On the base bucket you will need:

• wood ash (60–70 g);
• urea (5–7 g);
• superphosphate (20 g).

The subtleties of landing

The soil should be warm, degrees 25–28, otherwise the seeds will not sprout.

Crates
The first layer is drainage so that the root system of the eggplant receives oxygen. The second is the earth, 8 cm high. Humidify and gently stick the seeds, deepening them by 1.5 cm. The interval between future bushes is from 5 to 7 cm.

Cassette
In cells covered with earth, put 1 seed. Top layer of soil with a thickness of 0.5 cm. Cover with thick glass, and on the windowsill.

Cups
This planting option is suitable for peat and plastic pots, bags of milk or sour cream. There must be holes below that can be made with a needle. Pour a layer of small pebbles or gravel. Above is a mixture of soil with additives.

Stick seeds to a depth of 1.5 cm, 3 pieces per cup. When the seedlings hatch, leave the strongest and healthiest sprout, carefully tear out the rest.

Tip: On some shoots there are shells that prevent eggplant from growing. To remove a kind of hat, it is necessary to moisten the sprouts with water 4-5 times a day. When the film softens, it is picked up with a needle and removed.

Seeds that are in the soil do not need light, only heat and the absence of drafts. Cells or pots are covered with a black film attracting the sun's rays, or glass. Filmed after 6 days, when the first green shoots appear in the ground.

Proper care

After emergence, the earth should not be watered so as not to flood the plant. If the soil is very dry, it is moistened with a spray gun. Spray 2-3 times a day. Water the eggplant on day 3.Water is added to the pots every 4–5 days. If the soil dries quickly, more often.

Tip: Watering melt or rainwater is useful. In extreme cases, you can use the tap, which is defended for at least a day.

Seedlings have enough of the sunlight that she receives while standing on the windowsill. Eggplant is advised to be placed on windows that overlook the eastern part. If the ultraviolet light is small, you can use phytolamps or luminescent.

The distance from the pots to the lighting fixture is 50 cm. Schedule: from 7-8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Comfortable temperature
The room should be from 17 to 25 degrees heat. If the temperature drops to 15, eggplant growth slows down. From + 13º and below, plants simply die.

Film or glass is removed after the appearance of young shoots. In the first week, increase the temperature to + 17º in the afternoon, in the dark, lower to + 14–15, but not lower. This mode contributes to the development of the root system.

In the second week, the daytime temperature should vary between 25 - 27º, and the nighttime temperature should not rise above +15. Eggplant hardened in such conditions, and prepared for the natural environment. If you constantly keep the seedlings warm, after falling into open ground, it can freeze at night, and wither.

After 14 days, plants can be moved to a room where the temperature does not rise above +18. The main thing is that there should be no drafts in the room, otherwise the seedlings will weaken and fade.

Feed or not feed

If the eggplants are of normal quality, you can not additionally feed them. Seedlings look weak? It is worth trying to revive it with the help of special tools.

For the first time, plants are advised to feed 7-10 days after the appearance of sprouts, before a pick. In 10 l of irrigation liquid, dilute 20 g of Yellow Crystal. The natural alternative is mullein. Superphosphate or urea may be used. The agent is added to the irrigation liquid in small quantities to obtain a weakly concentrated solution.

Water with fertilizers is poured under the root, in small portions, so that it does not stagnate in the ground.

The second feeding is recommended after 10 days. You can take a solution with urea or superphosphate, or buy a special tool Crystal Special.

Some nuances of growing eggplant

1. The seedling box must be rearranged, and turned to the sun on the other side every 7 days, otherwise the seedlings will stretch out and become too thin and brittle.
2. It is recommended 2 weeks before planting in the open ground to take out the eggplant on the balcony, or leave it near wide-open windows. Street temperature should not be lower than +15.
3. After 50 days, when the seedlings will have 6 full leaves, it is transplanted into separate pots, with a diameter of at least 20 cm.
4. To protect the first sprouts from diseases, you can water young eggplants with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
5. You can disinfect the soil in a water bath: cover the sieve with gauze, pour the workpiece, and hold for 30 minutes.
6. Plants that have reached a height of 25, a minimum of 20 cm, which have at least 7 leaves, can be planted in open ground.
7. Eggplant is recommended to be treated with copper sulfate (0.5% solution) 5 days before planting, to prevent damage to the fungus.

The representative of the nightshade family requires constant care, does not tolerate low temperatures and lack of light. Many summer residents do not like eggplant because of their whimsicality, but if you follow the recommendations, regularly feed seedlings, and take care of it, the plant will thank you with a rich and useful crop.

Video: preparation of seeds of peppers and eggplant for sowing