How to grow eggplant seedlings at home. Our tips and tricks for a consistently high yield

I want to share my experience in growing eggplant. We have been growing these vegetables on our personal plot for 5 years, but we did not immediately manage to get a high yield, it took several years to master the technology.

To grow good eggplant seedlings, you need good lighting. The fact is that eggplants grow slowly, so they need to be sown earlier than tomatoes and peppers. They are sown, as a rule, in late January - early February. During this period of the year, the daylight hours are not long enough, so additional lighting will be needed. The second important factor is warmth. The temperature should not drop below 25 degrees.

Good results for stimulating seedlings are given by plant growth regulators (PPR) - Kelpak, Eraiz, Terra Sorbo Foliar. All of them make it possible to accelerate the emergence of seedlings and align them in terms of growth intensity.

Eggplant seeds quickly lose their germination. Better to use seeds from last year's or biennial.

We grow potted seedlings, treat seedlings from whiteflies, aphids and other pests.

What problems did we face when growing eggplant, and how we solved them:

• High humidity increases the risk of developing powdery mildew. Such a disease can occur with constant waterlogging of the soil and high humidity.
• The causative agent of powdery mildew reproduces by spores. To combat this disease, it is recommended to spray the bushes after flowering with a 1% solution of colloidal sulfur. The disease affects all aerial parts of the plant; a white bloom forms on the affected leaves, buds, flowers, ovary. The leaves become rough, rough and curved upward, and the underside takes on a bronze tint.
• Viral diseases of the nightshade are one of the reasons for the poor eggplant harvest. In the open field, eggplants can get sick with various viral infections. Reserves of such infections are perennial weeds, or other perennials that grow nearby (up to 50-100 m). The virus lives on plants for many years, and sucking insects (aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, whiteflies, bugs, etc.) transfer this infection to an eggplant plot. Therefore, we actively fight weeds, we regularly weed and mulch the row spacings.

Throughout the growing season, we carry out feeding and watering, loosening and removing old leaves with diseases. Only an integrated approach and regular watering makes it possible to get a bountiful harvest of eggplant up to frost.