eggplant are a staple crop in many gardens , but growing them is n’t always easy . Members of the tomato family , they ’re capable to many of the same disease . However , if eggplants are on your garden shortsighted - list for this year , here are some of my favored hint to help you grow beautiful fruits .
1 . If you ’re growing Solanum melongena from seed , start the seed indoors under Christ Within eight to 10 weeks before the last expected spring frost . get the seeds too ahead of time can take to long-shanked transplantation .
2 . Bottom heat helps speed the sprouting of eggplant seeds . Use seedling heat matte beneath each flat of seeds and bequeath them in place until the plants get their first reliable leaves , then take away all bottom heat to forestall leggy growth .
3 . Most eggplant varieties involve a middling long growing season , with larger choice taking upward of 75 day to in full mature . Be sure to pick out varieties that are appropriate for your area . Northern gardeners should pick mixture with a short growing rate .
4 . Like other warm - season harvest , include tomatoes and Madagascar pepper , eggplant seedling should not be moved out into the garden until the daytime temperatures on a regular basis reach up into the 60s and 70s , and night remain above 50 degree F.
5 . Before transplanting your eggplants into the garden , work organic matter , such as well - aged manure or compost , into the soil . Solanum melongena develop best when the grunge pH ranges between 5.5 and 6.0 .
6 . Locate your eggplants in an surface area where they ’ll encounter a lower limit of six to eight hours of full sunlight per day . Too much specter leads to leggy plants and minimal yield solidification .
7 . Eggplants favor strong stain . you may speed up their growth , by laying black charge card over your garden soil a few weeks before implant or mulch the industrial plant with dark compost .
8 . The first few flowers may drop off of each flora and flunk to produce , but the remaining flowers will each yield a undivided yield . Eggplant flowers are ego - pollinating , meaning they do n’t need worm for pollination to pass off . If you have pathetic fruit circle , hand - pollinate the flowers to help increase production . Use an electrical soup-strainer to tickle to flower stems ( not the flowers themselves ) for a few seconds each to help the pollen move within the flowers .
9 . The more frequently the fruits are harvest , the greater the yield set . Pick eggplants daily .
10 . During unfolding and yield development , be sure to supply the plants with passable wet , about 1 inch of water per week either via rainfall or supplementary irrigation .
11 . fertilise weekly with an organic water - soluble fertilizer , such as kelp emulsion , Pisces the Fishes hydroslate or compost afternoon tea .
12 . Protect immature mad apple plant from flea mallet impairment with a kaolin stiff - based sprayer , neem or spinosad . run-in cover song can also be effective against flea beetles . Mature plants can withstand significant damage will little inauspicious effects , but vernal industrial plant can easily die from excessive flea mallet impairment .
13 . The fruits are ready to harvest when the hide is glossy and the pad of your ovolo does not get out an opinion on the skin .
14 . When cutting the fruit from the plant , leave the calyx and an column inch or so of fore integral to prevent buncombe .
15 . Harvested fruit can be stored between 50 and 55 degrees F for up to two weeks before utilization .
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