Harvesting Eggplant: 5 Important Tips You Will Need

To enjoy eggplants in winter, you need to pick them up on time, and also store them correctly so that the vegetables do not go bad. If conditions are right, they can lie for several months and not deteriorate, despite the fact that they are much worse stored than, for example, zucchini or potatoes.

As you know, there are several varieties of eggplant: early, medium and late. Usually ripeness is determined by the number of days after flowering, after which about 25-40 days should pass.

Important to rememberthat if you collected eggplants, and after trying them found out that they are bitter, during the growing season the plant did not have enough liquid.

Now I will tell you how to properly collect eggplants. The fruits of this vegetable ripen gradually, so every 2-3 days you need to check them to collect the ripe ones. When cutting the fruit with a knife, you need to leave a small tail at the eggplant.

So, here are 5 important tips to help you harvest correctly:

1. The first fruits of this vegetable can be removed 22-35 days after the eggplants have released flowers.

Then you should regularly inspect the plant and remove the fruits after 5-6 days. It is best to finish harvesting before the frost sets in.

2. Do not wait until the eggplants are fully ripe, pick them a little unripe, because when fully ripe, the fruit pulp can be rough and tough.

You can determine readiness by the following criterion: the tip should lighten a little. Most often, not very large fruits are harvested, weighing about 250 - 400 g.

3. Eggplants can be stored for up to three weeks at a temperature of 12-15 degrees. If they are located where the temperature is high, they can begin to rot.

4. In order to store eggplants for a long time, after you have removed them, they must be kept in a cold place, where the temperature is about 8 -10 degrees, after which the fruits are kept at a temperature of 2 degrees.

5. If you store eggplants in the light, a substance such as solanine will build up in them, which will noticeably impair the taste. Therefore, it is best to wrap vegetables in a dark plastic bag.

A good gardener knows that eggplants need special care, they love, like potatoes, when they are spud. Thanks to hilling, secondary roots develop, and thus the yield is increased.

It is imperative to monitor the weeds, and if found, immediately destroy them. If you follow all the advice and recommendations, you can get a rich harvest.